Rep. Andy Kim wins ‘very challenging and difficult’ Dem primary for U.S. Senate

Rep. Andy Kim is set to be the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in November after defeating Patricia Campos-Medina and Larry Hamm. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

Democratic voters overwhelmingly backed Rep. Andy Kim in the party’s U.S. Senate primary Tuesday, handing him the nod to seek Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat over two challengers who ran to Kim’s left.

Kim, 41, will face Republican hotelier Curtis Bashaw in November . Menendez himself may also be on the ballot: the incumbent, who is now standing trial for bribery and other charges in the Southern District of New York, filed this week to seek reelection as an independent.

“This has been a very challenging and difficult race, a very dramatic one at that, and one that frankly has changed New Jersey politics forever, and that’s something that we’re really proud of in terms of what we’re fighting for in this movement for change,” Kim said during a press conference Tuesday night.

The Associated Press called the race for Kim minutes after polls closed.

Kim’s victory was widely expected following first lady Tammy Murphy’s withdrawal from the race in March, and he remains an overwhelming favorite moving into the general election.

Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate race in New Jersey since the state reelected Sen. Clifford Case in 1972, though Menendez’s presence in the race could complicate Kim’s path to victory.

“If we are able to get our message out there, mobilize, I believe that we will be able to overcome any of these challenges going forward. That’s what we’re planning to do,” Kim said.

The congressman prevailed over two progressive primary challengers, labor activist Patricia Campos-Medina and activist Larry Hamm.

“Tonight’s results were not what we hoped, but grateful for your support. It has been an honor. So proud of the campaign we built together. Thank you to all who stood by me. My sincerest congrats to Andy Kim. Looking forward to working together for the progress of NJ,” Campos Medina said in a statement.

Kim entered Congress alongside a wave of first-term New Jersey representatives elected in 2018 in what was broadly seen as a rebuke of former President Donald Trump in places like suburban Morris and Somerset counties.

The former Obama White House staffer first won election in the 3rd Congressional District over Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur in a campaign that took aim at MacArthur’s role in shepherding his party’s doomed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act through the House in 2017.

The 2018 election was a narrow one, and Kim won it by only 1.3 points. Two years later, He won a broader 7.7-point victory against Republican David Richter.

The 3rd District shed Republican-heavy Ocean County towns when its lines were redrawn in early 2022, gaining portions of Monmouth County and Democrat-heavy Mercer towns in exchange.

Kim’s margin expanded again under the new boundaries, and he defeated Republican challenger Bob Healey Jr. by 11.9 points to win a third term in 2022.

Kim’s Senate campaign left its mark on New Jersey politics before a single vote had been cast.

After Murphy launched her campaign days after Kim started his own in November, Democratic Party chairs in some counties immediately endorsed her and then moved to award her their county lines, a unique New Jersey balloting practice that groups candidates with a common slogan in a single column or row on the ballot.

Kim filed suit with two congressional candidates who argued the practice violated their associational rights by forcing them to bracket with others to avoid a ballot placement disadvantage and trod on separate a constitutional provision by dictating the results of elections.

A federal judge found Kim and his co-plaintiffs were likely to succeed at trial and ordered clerks in the 19 counties that award county  lines to instead print office-block ballots, which group candidates by office sought.

Murphy suspended her campaign in March, days before the judge issued his order and days after he heard arguments on the line’s constitutionality.

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