Andy Kim shows momentum in first week as U.S. Senate candidate

After less than one week in the U.S. Senate race,  early momentum continues to build for Rep. Andy Kim, who landed a significant labor union endorsement on Friday in his bid to unseat indicted incumbent Bob Menendez in the 2024 Democratic primary.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) said they would support Kim’s challenge to indicted incumbent Bob Menendez, calling the three-term congressman “a champion for working families.”

“IFPTE was relieved and pleased when we learned earlier this week that Congressman Kim had announced his candidacy for the Senate,” said Matt Biggs, the international president of the 90,000-member union.   “He is pro-worker and pro-union, and IFPTE is honored to give him our full backing.”

Two top state lawmakers, Senate Majority Whip Troy Singleton (D-Delran) and Assembly Majority Whip Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel).

Kim also brought in endorsements from Daily Kos and the Progressive Turnout Project and support from End Citizens United//Let America Vote and Vote Vets.

Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said he was impressed by Kim’s early momentum.

“For an organic campaign that didn’t exist seven days ago, the Andy Kim campaign has certainly moved the ball ahead by a lot,” said Rasmussen.  We’ve even got our first numbers, and they bolster the base.”

A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey commissioned by Vote Vets put Kim’s statewide favorables at 30%-31%, compared to Menendez’s bottom-of-the-ocean 8%-74%.  The poll showed Kim defeating a generic Republican by twelve points, 44%-32%; in a head-to-head with former Gov. Chris Christie, who says he’s not running, Kim leads by 26 points.

The poll did not test Kim vs. Menendez among Democratic primary voters, or include other possible candidates, like First Lady Tammy Murphy and Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-Long Branch) and Donald Norcross (D-Camden).

A former Obama White House National Security staffer, Kim unseated two-term Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-Toms River) in the 2018 midterm election by one percentage point in a district Donald Trump carried two years earlier.  While Trump won his district again, narrowly, in 2020, Kim was re-elected by nearly eight points.  After redistricting dropped heavily Republican Ocean County from NJ-3, Kim won by almost twelve points.

In each of his three House races, Kim faced Republican self-funders.