New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim declares victory in Senate race; Tom Kean Jr. wins House seat
NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Democratic U.S. Rep. Andy Kim declared victory on Tuesday defeating Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw for the U.S. Senate seat that opened when Bob Menendez resigned this year after his federal conviction on bribery charges.
Kim, a three-term congressman from central New Jersey, becomes the first Korean-American in the Senate. In a recent interview, he said that accomplishment would validate his parents' decision 50 years ago to immigrate to the United States. He was the state's first Asian-American to be elected to Congress when he defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018.
A former Obama administration national security aide, Kim was a Rhodes Scholar and has a Ph.D. from Oxford. He's presented himself as an unassuming, hard-working official and gained national attention in 2021 when he was spotted cleaning up the U.S. Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection, bagging trash.
"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 keeps a reliably Democratic seat under his party's control. He is also expected to take up the seat sooner than January because of Menendez's resignation. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said that George Helmy, who is serving the remainder of Menendez's term, will step down and the winner of Tuesday's election would be appointed.
HOUSE RACES
ABC News projected Republican Tom Kean Jr. to win the U.S. House District 7 race over Democrat Sue Altman.
"Tonight, we celebrate not just a victory, but our commitment to the hard work ahead," Kean Jr. said on Tuesday night. "And I would like to thank my opponent, Sue Altman, for running a spirited race."
Kean Jr. is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former New Jersey elected officials. He was seeking a second term against Altman, a former leader of the state's progressive Working Families Alliance.
Altman also delivered remarks, conceding to Kean Jr. and thanking her supporters.
"I'm so, so grateful to have worked with you, to have fundraised with you, to have door knocked with you, to have met almost all of you over the course of the last 18 months, and the fight will not end tonight," she said. "New Jersey 7 is truly the most extraordinary place in the country, and we will find a way back to beat Tom Kean Jr. next time around. Thank you."
Another House race worth noting is the 8th District, where ABC News has projected Democrat Rob Menendez, son of the recently resigned senator, to win over Republican Anthony Valdes.
The younger Menendez has worked as an attorney and served as a commissioner on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
RACE FOR PRESIDENT
ABC News is projecting Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will win New Jersey over Republican former President Donald Trump.
New Jersey has favored the Democrat in presidential elections since 1992. In 2020, Biden carried the state with 57% of the vote; in 2016, Clinton carried it with 55%. Nonetheless, the Garden State was home to more post-primaries presidential campaign activity than in previous years, thanks to Trump. In May, he held a rally in Wildwood on the Jersey Shore, in between New York court appearances. In August, he held a press conference at his Bedminster golf club just ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
For election updates, please visit abc7ny.com/vote2024.
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