Curtis Bashaw is the Republican running against Democrat Rep. Andy Kim for Bob Menendez's Senate seat in New Jersey, and he and Kim faced off Sunday in a debate—but during their sparring over the issues, Bashaw experienced what appeared to be some kind of medical episode, though he's OK now. The Hill reports that Bashaw was speaking about affordability in the US when he suddenly paused, "grew tense, gripped the podium with both hands, and appeared nonresponsive as he stared straight ahead."
A clip circulating online also shows Bashaw slightly fall forward into the podium, which elicited a concerned "You OK?" from Kim, who then went to Bashaw's side to check on him. Bashaw indicated he was fine, but he kept standing without saying anything, and Kim gestured to someone off-camera to check on his rival. The moderator then cut to commercial break.
The AP reports that Bashaw was gone from the stage for about 10 minutes, after which he came back and the debate resumed. "I got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn't eaten so much food today," Bashaw explained. "So I appreciate your indulgence." He elaborated in a later tweet, "I was out campaigning all day, and I never stopped to get a bite to eat. Excited to eat pizza with my fantastic volunteers at the post-debate party tonight!" Less than an hour later, he had his pizza. (More Senate candidate stories.)
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