A Republican has not won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey since 1972. New Jersey is a Democratic stronghold in the Northeast — it has been for decades. Tuesday’s primary brought hope that voters could change that, with Curtis Bashaw winning decidedly over Trump-endorsed Christine Serrano Glassner. Bashaw is a local business owner and real estate developer. 

The decisive win for Bashaw means the electorate could get behind a single candidate against Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the Democratic nominee. The path to victory is also more open due to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Democratic incumbent, filing to run as an independent candidate. Menendez has spent the past year fighting bribery allegations and 16 federal corruption charges on trial. Speculation that Menendez will only split the Democratic vote increased when on the way to trial following his independent filing, he said in Spanish, “No, ‘independent’ doesn’t mean I’m changing [parties].”