Andy Kim

Andrew N. Kim (born July 12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the Congressman 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.

Kim was born in Boston to Korean immigrant parents. He was raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and graduated from Cherry Hill High School East. He attended Deep Springs College in California 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 Harry S. Truman Scholarship to study international relations at Magdalen College, Oxford.

Kim worked at the U.S. State Department and served in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser to General David Petraeus and John R. Allen, before working as a national security adviser for the White House under President Barack Obama. Kim served as a United States National Security Council official to Obama.

2018 election

A resident of Bordentown, 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 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 says 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. MacArthur dismissed accusations of racism surrounding the ad.

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.

Kim's victory made him only the second Democrat to represent what is now the 3rd in 133 years. The first was John Adler, who held the seat for one term from 2009 to 2011. The district was the 1st for most of the time until 1967, then was the 6th from 1967 to 1983, the 14th from 1983 to 1993, and has been the 3rd since 1993.

Tenure

Kim's first official action during his tenure was voting in favor of Nancy Pelosi as United States Speaker of the House, despite voting 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.

In May 2019, Kim's SAVE Act was passed by the House, 234-183. The bill is designed to help lower drug-prescription costs, including a provision which prohibited brands from stopping generic version of drugs to be sold on the market.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce Development

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Freshman Representative)
• Congressional Progressive Caucus