2024 US Election Results: Andy Kim becomes first Korean-American to win Senate seat
2024 US Election Results: Democratic Representative Andy Kim won a Senate seat, defeating Republican Curtis Bashaw. Kim, a three-term congressman, is the first Korean-American senator and will fill the vacancy left by Bob Menendez's resignation due to bribery charges.
2024 US Election Results: Democratic U.S. Representative Andy Kim was elected to the US Senate on Tuesday, defeating Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw for the seat previously held by Bob Menendez, who resigned this year following a federal bribery conviction.
As reported by the Associated Press, Kim, a three-term Congressman from central New Jersey, becomes the first Korean-American to serve in the Senate. Reflecting on his achievement, he noted that it would validate his parents' decision to immigrate to the United States 50 years ago. Kim made history in 2018 as the first Asian-American elected to Congress from New Jersey, defeating a Republican incumbent.
Kim, a former national security aide in the Obama administration, is a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. from Oxford. Known for his unassuming and hardworking demeanour, he gained national attention in 2021 when he was seen cleaning up the U.S. Capitol after the January 6 insurrection, picking up trash, AP reported.
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“It pains me to my core to see the struggle we are going through,” Kim told supporters in a hotel ballroom following his victory. “The very foundation of our democracy is rendered fragile. We are at a moment of profound anxiety about what comes next for our country.”
Kim challenged people to see the upcoming 250th anniversary of America's independence as “a reminder that the greatness of America is not what we take from this country but what we give back.”
“Let us use that extraordinary milestone as a moment of healing,” he said.
Kim's victory ensures that the seat remains under Democratic control. He is expected to assume office before January, following Senator Bob Menendez's resignation. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has announced that George Helmy, who is currently filling Menendez’s term, will step down, allowing Kim to be appointed immediately.
At 42, Kim was first elected to Congress by defeating Republican Tom MacArthur, a former ally of President Donald Trump. He has since been re-elected three times. During his Senate campaign, Kim emphasized his opposition to tax breaks for the wealthy and his strong support for abortion rights.
Bashaw personally financed his campaign with at least $1 million, according to Federal Election Commission records. He gained the GOP nomination in June when he defeated a Trump-backed rival. A first-time candidate, he’s served on several boards, including Stockton University and a state tourism panel.
The Senate race began chaotically for Democrats. The party, which controls the Legislature and the governorship, found itself with an incumbent senator facing a second federal corruption trial. Menendez was convicted on bribery charges that he traded his office for cash, gold cars and a luxury car, and has resigned. But he’s denied the charges — as he did in his earlier trial, which ended in a hung jury.
This time, though, Democrats abandoned him. Kim launched his own race in defiance and rejection of Menendez the day after his indictment last fall.
Kim’s path to the nomination wasn’t without challenges. First Lady Tammy Murphy launched a well-funded campaign with strong backing from political insiders, but Kim disrupted the process by suing in federal court to end a practice where party leaders influenced how ballots were drawn, a system widely seen as favouring certain candidates. A judge initially sided with Kim, prompting Murphy to drop out, and Kim went on to win the nomination easily in June.
In House races, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was re-elected to a full two-year term in New Jersey’s 10th District, which includes Newark and parts of Jersey City.
McIver had previously won a special election in September to complete the remainder of the term held by the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who passed away in May. McIver is now the second Black woman to represent New Jersey in Congress, joining current Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
(With inputs from AP)
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First Published:6 Nov 2024, 10:09 AM IST
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