Rep. Andy Kim May Face Indicted Sen. Robert Menendez After Winning Democratic Nomination For His N.J. Senate Seat

Rep. Andy Kim (D) won the New Jersey Senate primary on Tuesday night and has favorable odds to win the Senate seat.

Kim, a three-term congress member and diplomat, won the Democratic vote in the primary election, beating labor advocate Patricia Campos Medina and activist Lawerence Hamm.

Kim amassed 74.8% of the vote, followed by Campos-Medina at 16% and Hamm at 9%.

Kim is favored heavily in the state, which has not voted a Republican into the upper house in 52 years. The state has not voted red in a presidential election since 1988.

Kim is known for his work aiming to dismantle the New Jersey party system. The congressman was also photographed cleaning up debris in D.C. after the events on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kim must now face Republican and independent candidate Bob Menendez, who is the sitting senator for the state and has often been associated with Democratic boss politics.

Menendez is currently involved in a corruption trial, including charges of bribery, obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. He has not explicitly stated that he would remove his name from the ballot if convicted, but he has until Aug. 16.

Kim has previously criticized Menendez after announcing his indictment and calling for his resignation. He announced his Senate campaign the next day.

Kim announced his candidacy a few months before New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy (D). Murphy was expected to receive the county line vote, which gives candidates a leg up and favorable ballot placement. However, Kim sued, arguing that the county lines were unconstitutional. A federal judge eliminated this line for this year’s Democratic primary.

His Republican competitor will be Curtis Bashaw.