Senate campaign begins with Kim in South Orange

The campaign to take the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Bob Menendez opened in South Orange last week with an appearance by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who spoke to about 150 people at a local restaurant.

The event was held at Papillon on Valley Street in South Orange and endorsed by SOMA Action, which was formed in the wake of the 2016 election with a stated mission of opening democracy for all, creating a just and equitable society and government at all levels and building a more educated, informed and politically active community.

Kim represents New Jersey’s Third Congressional District, which covers part of Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth counties. He was first elected in 2018. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2004 with a degree in political science. While in college, he had an internship at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to study international relations at Oxford, where he met fellow Rhodes Scholar Pete Buttigieg, now the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

After completing the program at Oxford, Kim worked in the State Department and served as a civilian adviser to Gens. David Petraeus and John R. Allen in Afghanistan. Under President Barack Obama, he was a national security adviser.

In the House of Representatives, Kim said his priorities are bringing the country together and strengthening its national and economic security. He supports strong measures that boost the economy by investing in small businesses and innovation, creating fairness and opportunities for working families and honoring America’s promises to military families and veterans.

Kim is the son of Korean immigrants, born and raised in America. He is married and has two young sons.

The seat Kim is running for is currently held by Bob Menendez, who is under investigation for bribery and allegedly being a foreign agent. Menendez was first elected in 2006 and has not said if he’s running again.

In addition to Kim, the following Democrats are running, Patricia Campos Medina, Kevin Cupples, Lawrence Hamm, Patrick Merrill, and Tammy Murphy who is the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy. Tammy Murphy is the front runner. Republicans running are Curtis Bashaw, Daniel Cruz, Michael Estrada, Albert Harshaw, Shirley Mai-Cusick, Gregg Mele, Justin Murphy, and Christine Serrano-Glassner.

Amy Higer of SOMA Action introduced Kim.

“I’m an Andy Kim groupie at this point,” Higer said. “Support Andy Kim. We can out-organize the rich and the powerful.”

Kim’s appearance was met with a thunder of applause, and you could hear a pin drop as he began to speak. However, he wasn’t at the podium very long when he was interrupted by two women who held up signs that read, “Ceasefire” and shouted, “Andy Kim, did you hear about the children of Gaza?”

Attendees were in an uproar, and yelled at the women, telling them to “Shut up.”

One of the women continued, “We’ve been waiting over an hour here and I’ve been trying to get a meeting with you…”

Other attendees barked back, “Go away!” and “Boo!!”

The women were persistent in trying to get his attention.

Kim said to them, “I promise you we’ll talk after this.”

But one of the women demanded, “No, I want to talk to you right now!”

Kim stepped away from the podium to speak with them, while a SOMA Action member addressed the audience and said, “Hold, please, one moment, everybody.”
When Kim returned to address the audience, he said, “There is so much at stake right now.”

In his remarks to the audience, Kim spoke of the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the White House; his colleague, the late John Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and his willingness to put his life on the line.

He shared that he wondered, with all time apart from his family due to his time spent in politics, if he’s not being the kind of father his kids need. But he rationalized, “When I see all the craziness, I’m going to be the ‘fight for their future’ kind of dad.”

Disclosing that he disappointed his parents by not becoming a doctor, he expressed, “I wanted to serve this country.”

Continuing he said, “When Trump was elected, what does this mean for our country? Someone so deeply wrong for this nation. If you have a problem with what is going on, what are we gonna do about it? The senator got indicted. What is happening to our country? I work alongside a lot of people in Congress that shouldn’t be there, putting us in harm and sabotaging us. I saw that indictment. Things have to stop. I am tired of it being ‘the lesser of two evils.’ I called for the senator to resign. He said,
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ These jobs don’t belong to us, they belong to the people. We need someone to meet this moment head on. I am ready. I am ready to fix this brokenness that’s not gonna fix itself. We have to show we are a party of integrity. Eighty-four percent of people in New Jersey believe their politicians are corrupt. We don’t have to be that way.”

The event ended with Jessica James, president of SOMA Action encouraging attendees to donate to the campaign.

SOMA Action trustee, Joann Gaughran, in support of Kim, said, “He’s the real deal. He’s very impressive. He’s who we want in the Senate and who the country needs.”
Anthony Ewing, of Maplewood, said Menendez needs to be out.

“Kim is the best candidate right now,” Ewing said. “I respect what he’s done in Congress so far. He shares my values of the importance of keeping the House Democratic.”
Barbara Schwartz, of Springfield, supported Kim by sharing, “I’m very impressed. He’d be a great representative of our state. He’s a man of morals and integrity. We need that.”

Elliot Asarnow, of Maplewood, agreed that Kim had integrity.

Quashinna Williams, of Hopatcong, said; “Andy is perfect. He’s what we need.”

Dr. Kyle Younger of South Orange, said he believes Kim wants to better people’s lives.

“Tammy Murphy was a Republican,” Younger said. “I don’t trust her. She could get into office and charge parties. I’m worried about that.”

  Andy Kim, Senate, South Orange