New Jersey Federal Senator Elected
US Media: "Threw a Grenade at Political Machines"
On the 5th (local time), during the federal Senate and House elections held alongside the 47th U.S. presidential election, Korean-American Congressman Andy Kim (Democrat, New Jersey) was elected as a senator, becoming the first Korean-American senator in the history of the U.S. Congress.
In the Senate and House elections held together with the presidential election that day, Congressman Kim competed for the New Jersey Senate seat against Republican candidate and businessman Curtis Bashaw, defeating him to win the Senate seat.
Kim, a three-term congressman from New Jersey, was the first to declare his candidacy for the Senate seat last year after Bob Menendez, a fellow Democrat and New Jersey senator, was indicted on bribery charges. He was officially confirmed as the Democratic Senate candidate in the New Jersey primary last June.
Previously, the U.S. political sphere and media had been confident about Kim’s advancement to the Senate. Since 1972, New Jersey has never elected a Republican senator, making Kim’s chances of winning very strong.
Becoming the first Korean-American senator in U.S. congressional history, Kim was born to first-generation Korean immigrant parents and raised in southern New Jersey. Before entering politics, he worked as an expert in diplomacy and security. During the Barack Obama administration, he served as a staff member to the NATO commander stationed in Afghanistan and as an Iraq advisor at the White House National Security Council (NSC).
Mainstream U.S. media have described Kim as having thrown a grenade into New Jersey’s corrupt “political machine,” breaking through money-driven and entrenched politics.
In the House, Young Kim (Republican, California), Michelle Park Steel (Republican, California), and Marilyn Strickland (Democrat, Washington) are all seeking their third terms.
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