Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) won the New Jersey Senate race to replace ex-Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in the upper chamber, a positive development as Democrats battle to hang on to their Senate majority.
The Associated Press called the race for Kim at 8 p.m. EST, shortly after the polls closed in New Jersey. The New Jersey Democrat defeated Republican opponent Curtis Bashaw.
With just under a quarter of ballots counted, Kim led with 55.8% of the vote. The New Jersey Democrat defeated Republican opponent Curtis Bashaw, who had 42.6% of the vote.
The race also featured Green Party candidate Christina Khalil who received 0.7 percent support, Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan who had 0.4 percent support, Patricia Mooneyham of the Voter Better Party with 0.3 percent of the vote and Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Worker Party with 0.2 percent of the vote.
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Kim, 42, is a three-term congressman who represents a largely rural and suburban district in southern and central New Jersey. He is the Senate’s first Korean American, the chamber’s fourth youngest member, and the first senator from south Jersey since 1955. Kim is also the first Asian-American senator from New Jersey.
The child of two immigrants from South Korea, Kim served as a national security adviser in Washington under the Obama administration and in Afghanistan under Gens. David Petraeus and John Allen. He won the Democratic primary this summer after facing little resistance when Tammy Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), dropped out early in the race in what was expected to be a hotly contested battle.
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Bashaw, a first-time candidate, owns and operates hotels in Cape May and on Long Island. He ran the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2004 for two years, a job that involved attempting to lure private investment to the area and managing land use.
The 64-year-old is unlike most Republican candidates running this cycle. He is an openly gay man who describes himself as an abortion-rights advocate. He defeated a Trump-endorsed candidate in the GOP primary.
