By Nikita Biryukov, NJ Monitor
Rep. Andy Kim will ascend to the U.S. Senate seat once held by Bob Menendez, capping a tumultuous campaign that reshaped New Jersey’s ballots and politics.
Kim defeated his GOP opponent, Cape May hotelier Curtis Bashaw, in a race where Kim, a former U.S. State Department and Obama White House staffer, was considered a heavy favorite. The victory extends New Jersey Democrats’ U.S. Senate winning streak to 52 years.
Kim chose to give his victory speech at a Cherry Hill hotel that housed his family after they moved to New Jersey during the congressman’s childhood.
“There have been only a few moments in my life where I’ve felt the weight of the moment as I do right now, like a gravity generated by the magnitude of the consequence in our country,” Kim said.
The senator-elect will be the first Asian American to represent New Jersey in the upper chamber of Congress. He will replace Sen. George Helmy (D), whom Gov. Phil Murphy appointed to Menendez’s seat after Menendez resigned on the heels of his federal convictions for bribery and other charges.
Because Helmy was appointed to the seat to fill a vacancy, state law allows Kim to take the seat after state election officials certify his victory. The deadline for them to certify election results is Dec. 5.
Kim, a Burlington County resident born to Korean immigrants, was the first New Jersey public official to call for Menendez’s resignation after the then-senator was indicted last September.
Kim has represented New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District since ousting Rep. Tom MacArthur (R) in 2018 amid a Democratic wave that left Democrats with 11 of the state’s 12 House seats.
He gained a national profile in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, when he was photographed cleaning up debris left by rioters who sought to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
“We’ve shown the country that there’s a better way to be able to do this. It could mean a politics that lifts people up, that gives people hope, that delivers for everyone,” Kim said Tuesday. “It could mean a politics that changes the trajectory of our nation and builds a brighter future.”
Kim’s Senate campaign was initially met with opposition from New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, who entered the race with backing from numerous Democratic county chairs — endorsements that promised her the coveted county line on primary ballots.
The primary balloting practice grouped candidates by slogan and, opponents argued, lent an advantage to party-backed candidates who found themselves in a single row or column with others endorsed by party officials for separate offices.
In February, Kim sued clerks in the 19 New Jersey counties that use county-line ballots, arguing the ballot design violated First Amendment protections on free association and impacted election results in violation of a separate provision in the U.S. Constitution.
Days after Murphy withdrew her candidacy in March, a U.S. District Court judge barred the use of lines in Democratic primaries. Most county clerks named in the suit have since settled Kim’s suit and agreed not to use the county line on ballots moving forward.
With Murphy out of the race, Kim sailed to the Democratic nomination, easily defeating activists Larry Hamm and Patricia Campos-Medina. He entered the general election cycle as the clear favorite.
“To my campaign team who carried out our message of change going forward, I know that many of you took risks to join this campaign. You had people doubt your choice to join this campaign. You worked long hours and struggled and stressed about the challenges we confronted. I hope you take pride in this moment,” Kim said.
The GOP had backed Bashaw, a pro-abortion rights and openly gay Republican who put more than $2 million of his own money behind his Senate bid.
Bashaw told reporters Tuesday shortly after the race was called for Kim that “the acrimony in our politics is not where we want to be.”
“I think New Jersey is a moderate state of people that just want to get things done, and so I’m proud of having our own lane in this race throughout the entire time,” Bashaw said.
Despite his moderate positions, Bashaw faced an uphill climb in a state that last elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1972 and where there were 905,748 more registered Democrats than Republicans on Election Day, according to state data.
Bashaw conceded the race Tuesday night.
“I believe we have fought a good fight. This race has played by the rules of our American values, keeping it civil and focusing on the issues. I am proud and grateful for the commitment, dedication, and tireless effort of our amazing campaign team who focused on our mission of restoring hope for New Jersey,” he said during his concession speech.
