TRENTON, N.J. (AP) —
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim won his party’s nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey on Tuesday, setting up a general election contest against wealthy hotel operator Curtis Bashaw, who defeated a Trump-backed candidate for the Republican nomination.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez will also participate in the vote after declaring his intention to run as an independent candidate Monday amid a federal corruption trial. The unrest surrounding the embattled senator has created the potential for headaches for Democrats in a state where they haven’t lost a Senate election since 1972.
Kim, a three-term congressman who launched his campaign after the indictment against Menendez was announced last year, rose to the top of the state’s dominant political party in a relatively short time. A former Obama administration national security official, he defeated an incumbent Republican in a House race in 2018 and won a court ruling this year that overturned a unique system that was widely seen in New Jersey as one that left political bosses influenced who wins the primaries.
“Leadership is not about the volume of one’s voice. It’s about the actions they take,” Kim said in a telephone interview. “People are hungry for a new generation of leadership. They are hungry for change in our broken politics.”
Bashaw, a wealthy hotel developer, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money on the campaign to defeat Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who had the support of former President Donald Trump.
Democrats’ tenuous grip on control of the Senate means they can hardly afford a competitive race in a state widely seen as safe for the party. It is unclear how Menendez’s trial will play out and how his candidacy could affect the race. Republicans are eager to exploit his run as a wedge to divide the Democratic vote.
Kim’s victory came after a painful start to the primaries, as a battle between him and New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy began to take shape. Murphy, a first-time candidate and wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, left the race, saying she did not want to participate in a negative campaign against a fellow Democrat. On Tuesday, Kim defeated labor leader Patricia Campos-Medina and longtime grassroots organizer Lawrence Hamm, who remained on the ballot.
Menendez, a three-term incumbent senator, declined to run for re-election as a Democrat this year but filed Monday in Trenton to run as an independent. He has said he hopes to be acquitted of the charges this summer.
Kim attacked Menendez and tried to link him to Trump.
“New Jersey has a choice: the chaos and corruption of Bob Menendez and Donald Trump, or a policy that works for families struggling to make ends meet,” he said Tuesday.
Kim, 41, gained attention for helping to clean up the Capitol following the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Originally from southern New Jersey, he returned to his home state in 2018 to run for Congress, with he defeated Republican Tom MacArthur in the 3rd District. . Kim, a Rhodes Scholar, served in the Obama administration as a national security advisor and worked in the Departments of State and Defense, as well as the National Security Council.
Tammy Murphy entered the race later last year and quickly gained support from influential party leaders in the county, a sign that she would earn their support and with it the so-called county line — or favorable positioning on the primary ballot.
But Kim and other candidates filed a lawsuit seeking to end the decades-old practice, which is widely seen as a way to give New Jersey party bosses a say in primaries, and a federal judge agreed to to put an end to that.
In the Republican Senate contest, Bashaw defeated Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner.
Bashaw focused his campaign in part on ending the “one-party monopoly” in New Jersey, where the state government is run entirely by Democrats, and on sending a conservative to Washington. It’s unclear whether that message will resonate with voters in the general election, who haven’t elected a Republican to the Senate in more than 50 years. The number of registered Democrats in New Jersey exceeds Republicans by about 1 million.
GOP leaders were optimistic they had the best hope of winning a Senate seat in years to come after incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted for a second time on federal corruption charges. But those hopes faded somewhat when Menendez said he would not run as a Democrat, and instead Rep. Andy Kim emerged as the party’s likely nominee.
After Menendez ran as an independent, the Republican Party is hoping that Democratic voters will be divided enough to play in the Republicans’ favor.
“Republicans have the best chance to win this seat in 52 years,” said Republican Sen. Mike Testa, a Bashaw supporter.
Serrano Glassner, whose husband, Michael Glassner, was one of Trump’s earliest political advisers, was an early entrant into the race and was recently endorsed by the ex-president at a rally in Wildwood.
Bashaw says he supports Trump, but is less outspoken in his support than Serrano Glassner.
Menendez spoke briefly Monday outside the New York courthouse where his trial is being held, saying he has not changed politically despite running under his own flag rather than seeking the Democratic nomination.
Menendez, his wife and two business associates have pleaded not guilty to federal charges that the senator exchanged the promise of official actions for gold bars, cash, a luxury vehicle and a mortgage payment. A third business associate has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for prosecutors in the case.
President Joe Biden and Trump, who are already their parties’ presumptive nominees, both won in New Jersey on Tuesday.
New Jersey voters also chose candidates for the House of Representatives, with some of the most closely watched races having some ties to Menendez.
In the 8th District, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, his son, won his Democratic primary against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
Rob Menendez said Bhalla’s intense focus on his father showed he was afraid to tackle the congressman directly.
Menendez, an attorney and former commissioner of the Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey, won election for the first time in New Jersey’s 8th District in 2022, succeeding Albio Sires.
He was a lone voice in support of his father amid his legal troubles.
The 8th District includes parts of Elizabeth, Jersey City and Newark.
And in the 3rd District, Assemblyman Herb Conaway won the Democratic primary over colleague Carol Murphy.
The race is for the seat Kim is vacating as he runs for Senate.
___
This story has been updated to correct the outcome of the 3rd District race.
