Andrew Kim (born July 12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2024. A progressive Democrat, Kim served from 2019 to 2024 as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district.
Kim worked as a civilian advisor at the United States Department of State in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Tom MacArthur.
With incumbent senator Bob Menendez facing corruption and bribery charges, Kim announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in September 2023. He won the Democratic primary after successfully petitioning to abolish "county line" primary ballots in New Jersey. Kim went on to win in the 2024 general election, becoming the first Korean-American in the Senate and the first Asian-American U.S. senator from New Jersey.
Early life and career Kim was born on July 12, 1982, in Boston, Massachusetts, to South Korean immigrant parents, and grew up in South Jersey. His father was a geneticist and his mother was a nurse. Kim grew up in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, and attended Rice Elementary School before moving to Cherry Hill and graduating from Cherry Hill High School East in 2000. After two years at Deep Springs College, he transferred to the University of Chicago, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2004 with a degree in political science.
During college, Kim was an intern at the United States Agency for International Development and at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. He later received a Rhodes Scholarship and a Harry S. Truman Scholarship to study international relations at Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford, Kim became friends with fellow Rhodes Scholar Pete Buttigieg, the future U.S. secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025.
Kim worked at the U.S. State Department. He served in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser to generals David Petraeus and John R. Allen before working as a national security adviser under President Barack Obama. Kim served as a United States National Security Council official. After the Sinjar massacre, Kim wrote the plan implemented by Obama to strike ISIS.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
A resident of Bordentown Township, New Jersey, Kim ran against two-term incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur in the 2018 United States House of Representatives election after winning the June Democratic primary.
Kim was endorsed by Barack Obama, former U.S. vice president Joe Biden, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, and actress Piper Perabo. He said he was inspired to run by MacArthur's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
During the campaign, MacArthur sought to portray Kim as a D.C. elitist and outsider. In an ad run by the New Jersey Republican Party, Kim was described as "Real Fishy" in Wonton font on a picture of dead fish. The ad was criticized for its racial undertones.
The race was considered too close to call on election night, but the next night, an influx of absentee ballots in Burlington County, home to the majority of the district's voters, gave Kim a 2,500-vote lead, prompting him to declare victory. MacArthur conceded eight days later. 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. Kim became the first Asian American U.S. representative from New Jersey.
2020 Kim ran for reelection in 2020. In the general election, he faced Republican nominee David Richter, a businessman. Richter originally planned to run against then-Democrat Jeff Van Drew in the second district, but after Van Drew switched parties, Richter decided to run against Kim in the third district. Although the race was projected to be close, Kim won by 53% to 45%, even though the district again voted for Donald Trump.
2022
After redistricting, 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. Kim won by a margin of 11.8 percentage points (55.4 to 43.6), defeating the Republican nominee, yacht manufacturer Robert Healey Jr.
Tenure
Kim is the first Democratic member of Congress of Korean descent and the second overall after Republican Jay Kim (no relation).
Kim's first official action during his tenure was to vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House, but he voted against her nomination during a November 2018 Democratic caucus meeting. He cited the need to reopen the government amid the ongoing government shutdown for his decision to back Pelosi.
In February 2019, Kim introduced his first bill, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act (SAVE Act). 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.
In June 2019, Kim co-sponsored an amendment to stop a pay raise for members of Congress.
In April 2020, House leadership appointed Kim to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus crisis.Kim voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. This results in a Biden Plus/Minus score of +45, indicating significantly higher support for Biden's priorities than would be expected given the makeup of his district. He supported the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan, and the CHIPS and Science Act.
During his tenure, Kim made an effort to host at least one Congressional town hall a month.
In 2021 and 2022, Kim was included on Gold 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".
2020 presidential election On January 7, 2021, after voting to certify the 2020 presidential election, Kim gained widespread media attention after he was photographed cleaning up trash left behind after the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He donated the blue suit he wore in the photo to the Smithsonian Institution, which was collecting items from the insurrection.
Committee assignments Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee on Military Personnel Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Caucus memberships Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Future Forum Congressional Dads Caucus Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment Congressional Ukraine Caucus Rare Disease Caucus
U.S. Senate Election
Primary election
On September 23, 2023, Kim announced that he would mount a primary challenge to incumbent Democratic senator Bob Menendez in the 2024 Senate election, the day after Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges. Kim was the first major Democrat to challenge Menendez, and did not first notify any state or county Democratic party officials. He said he felt disappointed by the corruption charges, and that he sought to restore integrity in politics. Kim was soon challenged by New Jersey first lady and former Goldman Sachs analyst Tammy Murphy, the wife of incumbent governor Phil Murphy. Her candidacy was accused of being nepotistic, with some papers calling Kim an "underdog" and "insurgent" taking on the "New Jersey political machine". On November 14, 2023, he released his first campaign ad, which showed him having an unscripted conversation with voters.
Early in the race, Kim received some endorsements, most notably from Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, U.S. representatives such as Brendan Boyle and Grace Meng (of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively), and various local party chapters, mayors, and unions. He was also endorsed by former national security advisor Susan Rice and former New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski; both had worked with him during his time at the State Department. When Kim was endorsed by the College 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." He later accused "party elites" of trying to "put their thumb on the scale" in the election. The National Organization for Women (NOW) endorsed Kim over Murphy in late February.
After Murphy declined to participate in what would have been the first primary debate, Kim discussed his candidacy and platform alone with the New Jersey Globe on February 4. The two debated on February 18, in a live-streamed event again hosted by the New Jersey Globe. Polls conducted since October showed Kim maintaining a lead over Murphy with a plurality of support. On February 10, Kim secured New Jersey's Monmouth County Democratic Party nomination, the first in the state, having won the county convention with 265 votes to Murphy's 181. The result was seen as an upset, as it was Murphy's home county, and various county officials had already endorsed her. Kim won the endorsement of his home county of Burlington on February 24 with 90% of the vote. Ultimately, Kim won 17 of the 19 county line endorsements.
On February 26, Kim's legal team sued in the District Court of New Jersey to abolish the "county line" ballot system, joined by opponents Patricia Campos-Medina and Larry Hamm. Kim called the system "unconstitutional" and sought a general redesign of ballots. After Murphy dropped out of the race, Kim said he would continue his efforts against the county line procedure. Politico reported Kim would stand to benefit from the line due to a lack of serious opposition, but the lawsuit proceeded. Federal judge Zahid Quraishi struck down the county line on March 29, and directed clerks to instead print ballots with candidates organized by office in random order for the 2024 primary election. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block the ruling on April 4, 2024, ahead of a deadline to finalize ballot designs for the primary on April 5.
On March 24, 2024, Murphy announced that she was suspending her campaign. 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". Kim was then considered the presumptive nominee, and many predicted an easy victory in the general election. Various news outlets, including The Hill, considered Murphy's withdrawal a victory for Kim against New Jersey "machine politics". The development, along with the Menendez scandal, helped boost Kim's campaign and spurred hope of greater reform.
On June 4, Kim won the Democratic primary with 75% of the vote.
General election The same day as the primary, incumbent senator Bob Menendez, who was still on trial for bribery, filed to run for reelection. Although still a registered Democrat, Menendez was set to appear on the ballot as an independent. Curtis Bashaw, a real estate developer and former director of the Casino 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 of Donald Trump in the presidential election.
By July, Kim had raised more than $9 million for his campaign, with 94% of the donations $100 or less. On July 9, he voiced concerns over President Biden's age and his presidential campaign. When Biden suspended his campaign on July 21, Kim endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who eventually became the nominee. He later addressed the Democratic National Convention in August.