Andy Kim (politician)


Andrew N. Kim is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. The district stretches from the eastern suburbs of Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore.
Kim is the first member of Congress of Korean descent in the Democratic Party and the second overall.

Early life and career

Kim was born in Boston to Korean immigrant parents. He was raised in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, and attended Rice Elementary School before moving to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and graduating from Cherry Hill High School East in 2000. Kim attended Deep Springs College for two years before transferring to the University of Chicago, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in political science. During college, Kim was an intern at the United States Agency for International Development. Kim later received a Rhodes Scholarship and a Harry S. Truman Scholarship to study international relations at Magdalen College, Oxford.
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 for the White House under U.S. President Barack Obama. Kim served as a United States National Security Council official to Obama.

Congress

2018 election

A resident of Bordentown Township, New Jersey, Kim ran in the 2018 United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey on November 6, 2018, after advancing from the June Democratic primary. Kim ran against two-term incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur, in a district that had been won by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. Kim was endorsed by former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and actress Piper Perabo. Kim said he was inspired to run in reaction to MacArthur's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
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 has been criticized for its racial undertones.
The race was considered too close to call on election night. However, on the following night, an influx of absentee ballots in the Burlington County portion of the district, home to the majority of the district's voters, gave Kim a 2,500-vote lead, prompting Kim to declare victory. MacArthur conceded defeat eight days later. With a margin of victory of less than 4,000 votes, or slightly over one percent of votes cast, this congressional race was the closest in New Jersey.

2020 election

Kim had planned to launch his 2020 re-election campaign on March 14, 2020. The event was to be held at Rice Elementary School in Marlton, which Kim had attended as a child, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kim faces businessman David Richter, who won the Republican primary. 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.

Tenure

Kim's first official action during his tenure was voting in favor of Nancy Pelosi as United States Speaker of the House, though he voted against her nomination during a Democratic caucus meeting in November 2018. Kim cited the need for reopening the government amid the ongoing government shutdown for his decision to ultimately back Pelosi's nomination.
The first bill that Kim introduced was the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act.. In May 2019, the SAVE Act was passed by the House, 234–183. The bill is 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.
The second bill that Kim introduced was the . The bill would expand and protect the right to vote and was named for Alice Paul, whose birthplace and childhood home are in Kim's congressional district.
In June 2019, Kim co-sponsored an amendment to stop a pay raise for members of Congress.
In April 2020, House leadership appointed Kim as the only freshman member of a newly-formed House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus crisis, a twelve-member panel chaired by Representative Jim Clyburn.
In June 2020, Kim, along with Representatives Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer, and Jason Crow, introduced a bill that would provide aid to communities adjacent to large military installations that are affected by the coronavirus crisis.
In 2020, Kim co-sponsored and voted for the Justice in Policing Act.

Committee assignments