Andy Kim (politician)

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Andy Kim
Andy Kim, official portrait, 116th Congress.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byTom MacArthur
Personal details
Born (1982-07-12) July 12, 1982 (age 39)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Kammy Lai
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2
EducationDeep Springs College
University of Chicago (BA)
Magdalen College, Oxford (MPhil, DPhil)
WebsiteHouse website

Andrew N. Kim (born July 12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. The district stretches from Philadelphia's eastern suburbs to the Jersey Shore.

Kim is the first Democratic member of Congress of Korean descent and the second overall after Jay Kim.[1]

Early life and career[]

Kim was born on July 12, 1982, in Boston[2] to Korean immigrant parents. He was raised in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, and attended Rice Elementary School[3][4] before moving to Cherry Hill and graduating from Cherry Hill High School East in 2000.[5] After two years at Deep Springs College, Kim transferred to the University of Chicago, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2004 with a degree in political science.[6][7]

During college, Kim was an intern at the United States Agency for International Development.[7] He later received a Rhodes Scholarship and a Harry S. Truman Scholarship to study international relations at Magdalen College, Oxford.[6] At Oxford, Kim became friends with fellow Rhodes scholar Pete Buttigieg, now the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.[8]

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.[1] Kim served as a United States National Security Council official.[9]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 3

A resident of Bordentown Township, New Jersey,[10] Kim ran against two-term incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur in the November 6, 2018, United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey after advancing from the June Democratic primary.

Kim was endorsed by Barack Obama,[11] former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden,[12] New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy,[13] and actress Piper Perabo.[14] Kim said he was inspired to run in reaction to MacArthur's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[15]

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.[1]

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.[16] MacArthur conceded eight days later.[17] With a margin of victory of less than 4,000 votes, or slightly over 1% of votes cast, this was New Jersey's closest congressional race.[18][19] Kim became the first Asian American U.S. representative from New Jersey, despite running in a predominantly white district that supported Trump in 2016.[20]

2020
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 3

Kim ran for reelection in 2020. He faced Republican nominee David Richter, a businessman, in the general election. 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.[21] Once again, Kim's district voted for Trump.[20]

Although the race was projected to be close, Kim won by 30,000 votes,[22] even though he had voted to impeach Trump in 2019.[20]

Tenure[]

Kim's first official action during his tenure was to vote for Nancy Pelosi as United States Speaker of the House, though he voted against her nomination during a November 2018 Democratic caucus meeting.[23] He cited the need to reopen the government amid the ongoing government shutdown for his decision to back Pelosi.[24]

In February 2019, Kim introduced his first bill, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act (SAVE Act).[25] In May, the SAVE Act passed the House, 234–183. The bill, which was designed to lower prescription drug costs and included a provision to prohibit brands from stopping generic versions of drugs to be sold on the market, was not expected to pass the Senate.[26]

In June 2019, Kim co-sponsored an amendment to stop a pay raise for members of Congress.[27]

In April 2020, House leadership appointed Kim to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus crisis.[28]

In 2020, Kim co-sponsored and voted for the Justice in Policing Act.[29]

On January 7, 2021, after voting to certify the 2020 presidential election, Kim gained widespread media attention for a photograph of him cleaning up debris from the earlier storming of the U.S. Capitol.[20][30][31][32] He donated the blue suit he wore in the photo to the Smithsonian Institution, which was collecting items from the riot.[33]

As of November 2021, Kim had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time according to FiveThirtyEight.[34]

Committee assignments[]

Caucus memberships[]

Electoral history[]

2018 Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andy Kim 28,514 100
Total votes 28,514 100
New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andy Kim 153,473 50.0
Republican Tom MacArthur (incumbent) 149,500 48.7
Constitution Larry Berlinski 3,902 1.3
Total votes 306,875 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
2020 Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andy Kim (incumbent) 79,417 100.0
New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andy Kim (incumbent) 229,840 53.2
Republican David Richter 196,327 45.5
For the People Martin Weber 3,724 0.9
Constitution Robert Shapiro 1,871 0.4
Total votes 431,762 100.0
Democratic hold

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Reilly, Ryan J. (October 30, 2018). "Andy Kim Is A South Jersey Boy. The GOP Calls Him 'Not One Of Us.'". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "KIM, Andy – Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress.
  3. ^ "Andy Kim Raises Over $1.1 million in First Six Months of 2019", Insider NJ, July 12, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2020. "Congressman Kim grew up in Marlton, NJ and lives in the district with his wife, Kammy, and two young children."
  4. ^ "Andy Kim to Hold Campaign Kickoff Rally in Marlton". Insider NJ. Retrieved July 12, 2020. Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) will officially launch his reelection campaign at a rally in Marlton on Saturday March 14th, at 2pm. The rally will be held at Rice Elementary, the public school the congressman attended in the Kings Grant neighborhood where he grew up.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Amy S. "Andy Kim’s campaign took off in the Mt. Laurel Wegmans. Now Kim, 36, is trying to unseat Rep. Tom MacArthur, New Jersey’s Trumpiest congressman", The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 27, 2018. Accessed November 9, 2018. "He and the super PACs supporting him have been relentless, running TV ads calling out Kim for taking a tax break on his D.C. condo after moving back to New Jersey, and suggesting the Marlton-born and Cherry Hill East High graduate is 'not one of us.'"
  6. ^ a b "Two University of Chicago students win Rhodes Scholarships". University of Chicago. November 21, 2004. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Rizzo, Salvador (April 27, 2017). "Obama's ISIS Adviser May Challenge MacArthur". Observer. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Thompson, Priscilla (February 6, 2020). "Buttigieg gets endorsement from swing-district N.J. Rep. Kim". NBC News. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Bowman, Bridget (June 19, 2017). "Former Security Official Launches Bid Against MacArthur". Roll Call. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Levinsky, David. "Andy Kim focuses first 100 days on transparency, outreach and compromise", Burlington County Times, April 21, 2019. Accessed July 26, 2020. "He now lives in Bordentown Township and is the first Asian American to represent New Jersey in Congress, as well as the first Democrat to represent the district since the late John Adler, of Cherry Hill, who served one term from 2009 through 2010."
  11. ^ Barack Obama [@BarackObama] (August 1, 2018). "Today I'm proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates – leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they're running to represent:" (Tweet). Retrieved August 1, 2018 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Hefler, Jan (October 15, 2018). "At Burlington County diner, Joe Biden rallies support for Democratic House candidate Andy Kim". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  13. ^ Phil Murphy. ".@AndyKimNJ grew up in #NJ03 and served our country on President Obama's nat'l security team – of course he's one of us. Now he's making the GOP in Washington very nervous. Trump-like rhetoric has no place in NJ". Twitter.
  14. ^ Piper Perabo. "#NewJersey Garden State! Let's win this for the home team! #NJ03 I'm looking at you! @AndyKimNJ for Congress!!!!". Twitter.
  15. ^ McBain, Sophie (October 30, 2018). "Blue Wave: Meet Andy Kim, the 36-year-old former Obama aide running to protect healthcare in New Jersey". New Statesman. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  16. ^ Joe Hernandez (November 7, 2018). "Kim declares victory in N.J.'s 3rd district; MacArthur not conceding". WHYY-FM.
  17. ^ "NJ election results 2018: MacArthur concedes, Andy Kim wins 3rd District race". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  18. ^ "New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  19. ^ "Surprises Amid Flips from Red to Blue, and MacArthur-Kim Still Undecided – NJ Spotlight". www.njspotlight.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  20. ^ a b c d "Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots". NBC News.
  21. ^ says, Wade Campbell (January 27, 2020). "Richter switches districts, will run against Kim". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  22. ^ "New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  23. ^ Levinsky, David (November 28, 2018). "Congressman-elect Andy Kim sides against Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker". Burlington County Times. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  24. ^ Levinsky, David (January 3, 2019). "Democrat Andy Kim reverses position, votes for Pelosi as speaker". Burlington County Times. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  25. ^ Levinsky, David. "Kim's first bill would fund state-based health care sites". Burlington County Times. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Levinsky, David. "Rep. Andy Kim's health care bill approved by the full House". Burlington County Times. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  27. ^ Taylor, Andrew. "Democrats re-evaluating plans to hike lawmakers' pay". Burlington County Times. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  28. ^ Levinsky, David. "Rep. Andy Kim named to new House panel reviewing coronavirus response". Burlington County Times. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  29. ^ "Andy Kim Discusses Police Reform With Burlington County Leaders". Moorestown, NJ Patch. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Catalini, Mike (January 7, 2021). "'What else could I do?' NJ Rep. Kim helps clean up Capitol". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021.
  31. ^ Woolston, George. "'Important for me to just do something': NJ congressman helps clean up Capitol after riots". USA TODAY.
  32. ^ "Photo of lawmaker cleaning up Capitol goes viral". The Independent. January 8, 2021.
  33. ^ Yam, Kimmy (July 7, 2021). "Congressman seen in viral photo quietly cleaning after Capitol mob donates suit to Smithsonian". NBC News. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  35. ^ Levinsky, David. "Rep. Andy Kim lands seat on House Armed Services Committee". Burlington County Times. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  36. ^ Levinsky, David. "Rep. Andy Kim named chair of Small Business subcommittee". Burlington County Times. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  37. ^ "Rep. Andy Kim". GovTrack. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  38. ^ "Pelosi Names Select Members to Bipartisan House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis". Speaker Nancy Pelosi. April 29, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  39. ^ a b c "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Andy Kim". kim.house.gov. Retrieved September 7, 2020.

External links[]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Tom MacArthur
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district
2019–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
John Joyce
 United States representatives by seniority
326th 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""