In the midst of NJ Senator Bob Menendez’s growing legal troubles, Congressman Andy Kim announced that he will challenge him in the Democratic Primary.
Kim represents NJ District 3 which includes all five of RV’s sending districts, the rest of Burlington County and parts of Mercer and Monmouth countries.
Kim has centered his campaign platform on transparency, not taking money from corporate PACS, regularly holding town halls and “putting people before politics.”
“Making sure we doing what we need to on addressing climate change, mak[ing] sure we can address the increasing inequality in our nation, mak[ing] sure that education is something that can not only access and thrive in and not be saddled in 10 of thousands or 100s of thousands of dollars in debt ” are all priorities of his should he be elected to the Senate, Kim told the Holly Spirit.
Other than Kim, there are no other major challengers for Menendez’s seat so far. According to Axios however, New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy is “seriously considering a run.”
According to an ECU/LAV poll, Kim has leads in a head-to-head matchup over Menendez 63-10. If Murphy enters the race, Kim still leads the three-way race. He would get 42% of the vote, Murphy would get 19% of the vote and Menendez would get 5% of the vote.
Kim is very active among the communities he represents. Many RV students have volunteered on his campaigns and have personal experiences with Kim.
“He was so kind,so nice,” said junior Class President Ruhan Shah, who volunteered on Andy Kim’s House campaign in 2022. “He works with the people he makes the change he wants to see and I really respect that. In my personal experience with Andy Kim I felt that he doesn’t only listen to the voices of older people, but also listens to the voice of the youth, especially people my age who want to see change in this nation.”
Kim has been to numerous RV events, including RV’s Juneteenth celebration for the last two years, where he addressed members of the Black Student Union, alongside NJ State Senator Jean Stanfield, about the importance of getting involved in community service.
“I would probably support Andy Kim in the primaries,” said junior Lauren Pancheri.
