Kim worked as a civilian advisor at theUnited States Department of State in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbentTom MacArthur.
With incumbent senatorBob Menendez facing corruption and bribery charges, Kim announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in September 2023.[1] He won the Democratic primary after successfully petitioning to abolish "county line" primary ballots in New Jersey. Kim went on to win in the2024 general election, becoming the first Korean-American in the Senate and the first Asian-American U.S. senator from New Jersey.[2][3][4]
During the campaign, MacArthur sought to portray Kim as a D.C. elitist and outsider. In an ad run by theNew Jersey Republican Party, Kim was described as "Real Fishy" inWonton font on a picture of dead fish. The ad was criticized for its racial undertones.[14][22]
The race was considered too close to call on election night, but the next night, an influx of absentee ballots inBurlington County, home to the majority of the district's voters, gave Kim a 2,500-vote lead, prompting him to declare victory.[23] MacArthur conceded eight days later.[24] With a margin of victory of fewer than 4,000 votes, or slightly over 1% of votes cast, this was New Jersey's closest congressional race.[6][25][26] Kim became the firstAsian American U.S. representative from New Jersey.[27]
Kim ran for reelection in 2020. In the general election, he faced Republican nomineeDavid Richter, a businessman. Richter originally planned to run against then-DemocratJeff Van Drew in the second district, but after Van Drew switched parties, Richter decided to run against Kim in the third district.[28] Although the race was projected to be close, Kim won by 53% to 45%,[29] even though the district again voted forDonald Trump.[27]
Afterredistricting, Kim's district became considerably more Democratic: Joe Biden would have won the reconfigured district by 14.1 percentage points in 2020, and Phil Murphy would have won it by 1.6 percentage points in 2021.[30] Kim won by a margin of 11.8 percentage points (55.4 to 43.6), defeating the Republican nominee, yacht manufacturer Robert Healey, Jr.[31]
Tenure
A headshot of Kim taken during his second term in 2021.
In February 2019, Kim introduced his first bill, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act (SAVE Act).[34] In May, the SAVE Act passed the House, 234–183. The bill, designed to lower prescription drug costs, included a provision to prohibit brands from stopping generic versions of drugs from being sold on the market and was not expected to pass the Senate.[35]
In June 2019, Kim co-sponsored an amendment to stop a pay raise for members of Congress.[36]
During his tenure, Kim made an effort to host at least one Congressional town hall a month.[40]
In 2021 and 2022, Kim was included onGold House's annual "A100" list, which honors those of Asian Pacific descent, "who made the greatest impact on culture and society over the past year".[41][42]
On September23, 2023, Kim announced that he would mount aprimary challenge to incumbent Democratic senatorBob Menendez in the2024 Senate election, the day after Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges.[6][53][54] Kim was the first major Democrat to challenge Menendez, and did not first notify any state or county Democratic party officials.[6] He said he felt disappointed by the corruption charges, and that he sought to restore integrity in politics.[55] Kim was soon challenged by New Jersey first lady and formerGoldman Sachs analystTammy Murphy, the wife of incumbent governorPhil Murphy.[56] Her candidacy was accused of beingnepotistic, with some papers calling Kim an "underdog" and "insurgent" taking on the "New Jersey political machine".[57][58][59][60][61][62][63] On November14, 2023, he released his first campaign ad, which showed him interacting with voters in an unscripted conversation.
Early on in the race he picked up some endorsements, most notably from SenatorJohn Fetterman of Pennsylvania, U.S. representatives such asBrendan Boyle andGrace Meng (of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively), along with various local party chapters, mayors and some unions.[64][65] He was also endorsed by former national security advisorSusan Rice and former New Jersey congressmanTom Malinowski; both had worked with him during his time at theState Department.[66][67] When Kim was endorsed by theCollege Democrats of New Jersey, they were reportedly pressured to endorse Murphy instead. Kim criticized these efforts, saying, "We seek fairness in our democracy and must not deviate when it advantages us."[68] He later accused "party elites" of trying to "put their thumb on the scale" in the election.[69] TheNational Organization for Women (NOW) endorsed Kim over Murphy in late February.[70]
Kim speaking in March 2024.
After Murphy declined to participate in what would have been the first primary debate, Kim discussed his candidacy and platform alone with theNew Jersey Globe on February4.[71] The two debated on February 18, in a live-streamed event again hosted by theNew Jersey Globe.[72][73] Polls conducted since October showed Kim maintaining a lead over Murphy with a plurality of support. On February10, Kim secured New Jersey'sMonmouth County Democratic Party nomination, the first in the state, having won the county convention with 265 votes to Murphy's 181.[74][75] The result was seen as an upset, as it was Murphy's home county, and various county officials had already endorsed her.[76] Kim won the endorsement of his home county ofBurlington on February24 with 90% of the vote.[77][78] Ultimately, Kim won 17 of the 19 county line endorsements.[79]
On February26, Kim's legal team filed a federal lawsuit in the District Court of New Jersey, seeking the abolition of the"county line" ballot system, being joined by opponents Patricia Campos-Medina andLarry Hamm.[6] Kim called the system "unconstitutional" and sought a general redesign of ballots.[80][81] After Murphy dropped out of the race, Kim said he would continue his efforts against the county line procedure.[82]Politico reported Kim would stand to benefit from the line due to a lack of serious opposition, but the lawsuit proceeded.[83] Federal judgeZahid Quraishi struck down the county line on March29, and directed clerks to instead print ballots with candidates organized by office in randomized order for the 2024 primary election.[84] TheThird Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block the ruling on April4, 2024, ahead of a deadline to finalize ballot designs for the primary on April 5.[85]
On March24, 2024, Murphy announced that she was suspending her campaign.[86] In his statement after Murphy announced she was dropping out, Kim asked supporters to respect her, saying, "we are all a part of something bigger than all of us". After Murphy's campaign suspension, Kim was considered the presumptive nominee, and many predicted an easy victory in the general election.[87] Various news outlets, includingThe Hill, considered Murphy dropping out a victory for Kim against "machine politics" in New Jersey.[88][89] The development, along with the Menendez scandal, helped boost Kim's campaign further and spurred hope of greater reform.[90][91]
On June 4, Kim won the Democratic primary, defeating Patricia Campos-Medina and Larry Hamm with 75% of the vote.[92]
General election
The same day as the primary, incumbent senatorBob Menendez, who was still on trial for bribery, filed to run for reelection.[93] Although still a registered Democrat, Menendez was set to appear on the ballot as an independent.[94] Curtis Bashaw, a real estate developer and former director of theCasino Reinvestment Development Authority, won the Republican primary on June 7. Upon winning his primary, Kim criticized Menendez for running, and attacked Bashaw for his endorsement ofDonald Trump in thepresidential election.[95][96]
Menendez was found guilty on all counts in his corruption trial on July 16, 2024.[102] Kim once again urged Menendez to resign. Both he and Bashaw called the conviction a “sad day for New Jersey".[103] Kim said he would accept an invitation to be appointed to theSenate byGovernorPhil Murphy were Menendez to resign or be expelled.[104] On July 23, Menendez announced he would resign from office on August 20.[105] Menendez later requested his name be removed from the ballot on August 16, ending his campaign.[106] On the same day, Murphy announced he would appointGeorge Helmy, his former chief of staff, to replace Menendez in the Senate.[107] Kim said he supported the appointment and that he would "look forward to working with him in the Capitol".[108] Murphy said that Helmy would step down from the Senate when either Kim or Bashaw was certified as the winner of the election on November 27. Murphy confirmed that he would then appoint the winner of the general election.[109] Helmy was sworn in on September 9.[110] Later that month,Garden State Equality, an LGBT rights group based in New Jersey, endorsed Kim over Bashaw, who is openly gay.[111]
When theSupreme CourtoverturnedRoe v. Wade in 2022, Kim said he was "outraged" by the decision, calling it an "injustice".[113] In 2024, he said he would vote to codify reproductive rights into federal law. Kim has called himself "proudly pro-choice" and said reproductive healthcare is an "essential human right".[114]
Campaign finance
Kim has said the Supreme Court decisionCitizens United v. FEC "significantly damaged democracy" and supports overturning it.[115] He has been endorsed by theEnd Citizens United political action committee,[116] which ran several ads for Kim's 2024 Senate campaign.[117]
In April 2024, along with most Democrats, Kim voted for three military aid package supplementals, forUkraine,Israel, andTaiwan.[126][127][128] He has expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself and has advocated forIron Dome funding aid to Israel. He has expressed his "empathy" for Israelis and Jewish Americans and compared the threats Israel faces to those faced by South Korea, where his parents immigrated from, fromNorth Korea.[129] In April 2025, Kim voted for a pair of resolutions proposed by SenatorBernie Sanders to cancel theTrump administration's sales of $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions to Israel. The proposals were defeated, 82 to 15.[130] As of August 2025, Kim has voted four times since he became a senator in December 2024 to block weapons sales from the U.S. to Israel, citing the unprecedented level of "human misery" and "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza. He said the investigation of Israel's "horrific" atrocities, "clear"mass starvation, andwar crimes in Gaza as agenocide is legitimate but said he had not called it that because he had not done his "due diligence from an investigatory standpoint". Kim studied genocide and atrocities in graduate school.[131]
In December 2022, Kim voted for theRespect for Marriage Act, which enshrinedinterracial andsame-sex marriage protections into federal law.[139] He co-sponsored theEquality Act, which would guarantee civil rights protections, amend existing civil rights law to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected statuses, and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in public spaces.[140] Kim has also attendedpride parades across New Jersey.[141][142]
Kim speaking at a press conference supporting a ban on Congressional stock trading in May 2023.
Stock trading
Kim supports banning members of Congress from trading stock, saying in December 2021 that he "disagree[d] strongly" with SpeakerNancy Pelosi, who defended the practice.[144]
Veterans
Kim has voted to raise servicemember pay every year through theNDAA, and supports doubling funding for veteran suicide prevention and outreach programs.[145]
Personal life
Kim married Kammy Lai, a tax attorney, in 2012.[146][147] They have two sons, born in 2015 and 2017.[148][149] His family lives down the street from his childhood home inMoorestown,South Jersey.[150]
One of Kim's passions is makingbagels, and he has said that were he not a politician, he would have started his own bagel shop. He taught bagel making classes overZoom in April 2021 in an effort to raise money for his2022 reelection campaign.[152][153]
^"Andy Kim to Hold Campaign Kickoff Rally in Marlton".Insider NJ. March 2, 2020. RetrievedJuly 12, 2020.Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) will officially launch his reelection campaign at a rally in Marlton on Saturday March 14th, at 2pm. The rally will be held at Rice Elementary, the public school the congressman attended in the Kings Grant neighborhood where he grew up.
_Headshot_Photo.jpg)
.jpg)
