CALDWELL – There may not be all that many Republicans in Essex County, but on Wednesday night they were jammed into a local pizzeria for food, drink and some upbeat speeches.

It was a festive and happy crowd that spilled out onto Bloomfield Avenue where one found state Senators Joseph Pennacchio and Kristin Corrado.

Pennacchio set the tone for what county GOP chair Al Barlas termed a “Get Out The Vote” rally by talking about the election in rather stark terms.

He said that when the “crazies and the insane are the majority, you’re going to get crazy and insane government.”

There was no missing who Pennacchio, the chair of the 2020 Trump campaign in New Jersey, considered the crazies.

He spoke of an emboldened Republican Party that now includes blue collar workers – long the province of Democrats.

Pennacchio, a longtime representative of LD-26, said such states as Iowa and Ohio used to be battleground states, but no more. Now, they’re solidly Republican.

Fair point. But change in politics happens both ways. Arizona and Georgia were very “red” states a decade or so ago, but now they’re competitive.

This night, however, was not about political theory. It was about rousing up the troops.

The three Republicans seeking House seats in districts covering parts of Essex County all spoke.

They were Anthony Valdes who is challenging Rob Menendez Jr. in CD-8, Carmen Bucco, who is challenging Lamonica McIver in CD-10 and Joseph Belnome, who is challenging Mikie Sherrill in CD-11.

It is never easy running for the House in districts that are so lopsided against you. So, these men certainly deserve credit for “stepping up.” Just for the record, registered Dems outnumber Republicans in Essex by about 301,000 to 64,000.

Valdes admitted that victory was probably not likely, but said his race against Menendez will be closer than people think.

The star of the evening – other than a variety of exquisite pizza toppings – was Republican Senate candidate Curtis Bashaw.

Noting that as of around 7 p.m. Wednesday, there were 314 hours left in the campaign, Bashaw talked about affordability and security.

“That’s called inflation and the border – and we (will) just keep talking about that,” he said.

Bashaw said opponent Andy Kim and the Democrats talk about solving the border problem, but they’re the ones who created it.

“That’s right,” yelled someone in the crowd.

Bashaw reiterated a previous attack line – calling Kim a career politician. In comparison, he said he has created thousands of jobs.

“That is public service,” he said.

The crowd cheered again.

With such a partisan audience, Bashaw eschewed talking about being pro-choice or quoting Muhammad Ali, as he often does, and stuck to more basic conservative principles.

Bashaw brought up the fact that Kim said at one of their debates that he has not visited the border.

That was a good moment for Bashaw and had him in a fighting mood.

“We smacked him pretty hard on this issue,” he said.