It can be fun debating someone who isn’t there.
So it was no surprise that Christine Serrano Glassner took full advantage.
“Curtis is a chicken,” she said Wednesday night during a “debate” with the absent Curtis Bashaw.
A bit later, she called Bashaw a “never Trumper,” and a “puppet” of Chris Christie. The former governor has been a staunch Donald Trump critic.

A poll this week by Emerson College showed that almost 84 percent of respondents were undecided when it came to the June Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

No surprise there. All the Senate-related news of late had been about Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy, and more recently, the Kim-driven challenge to the “county line.”

In the midst of all that was a scheduled debate  among the three leading GOP Senate candidates –  Serrano Glassner, Bashaw and Alex Zdan. Sponsors included the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey,  Save Jersey, and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

But between the scheduling and the date of the debate,  Zdan dropped out and supported Bashaw, a Cape May hotel and inn proprietor.

No big deal, right?

That meant a one-on-one faceoff between Bashaw and Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham in Morris County.

Not really.

Bashaw decided not to show up.

In a conversation Wednesday morning, he said there was no reason for the candidates “to beat each other up for 90 minutes.”

In fact, he said to do so would end up benefiting Kim.

Bashaw also suggested that a debate would not do him much good, noting that, “We’re sitting on 14 county committee endorsements.”

Continuing in this vein, Bashaw previously has suggested that Serrano Glassner get out of the race and leave things to him. That was one of the reasons for his appearance with Zdan last week.

Regarding the committee endorsements, it is true that last week’s court ruling preserved the “county line” for Republicans this year, although it was ruled out for Dems. But that can change, given the fact four Republican candidates have asked the court to expand its ruling to include the GOP.  So, those endorsements may not turn out to be all that meaningful.

There also is the opportunity to make your views known to those who watch the debate. By definition, they are the most interested voters out there.

Bashaw countered that he’s doing that every day, noting that on Wednesday alone, he met the public at a diner in Burlington County and also looked at potential flood problems with officials in Belmar.

With this backdrop, the debate went on with Serrano Glassner and an empty chair in place of Bashaw.

So this became a campaign ad for Serrano Glassner more than anything else.

She expressed conventional Republican positions about a need to fix Joe Biden’s horrible economy, noting – with a great rhetorical flourish – that some people have trouble buying groceries and gas.

This view is very much a product of the polarization of the day. While inflation remains a bit high, unemployment is under 4 percent, the stock market has reached record highs this year and the economy is growing.

Nonetheless, expect the debate over the economy to continue into November.

Abortion has been an awful issue – politically, that is – for Republicans since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Serrano Glassner pointed at Democrats and the media for “demonizing” Republicans on abortion, saying at one point, “I don’t know if pro-life is anti-abortion.”‘

She explained that it’s time for Republicans to be more aggressive on the issue by asking Dems if they want any restrictions on abortion at all.

In her closing statement, Serrano Glassner came back to the vacant chair.

Serrano Glassner endorsed Trump months ago, but Bashaw just did it on Wednesday. Serrano Glassner was unimpressed, saying that a man who “has not been a supporter of President Trump” will not be able to connect with Republican voters.