Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) is up with his first TV ad of the general election for U.S. Senate, and he’s not shying away from voters’ less-than-rosy perceptions of New Jersey politics.
The ad, “Believe,” acknowledges that politics in the Garden State have a “certain reputation” – no doubt a reference to the corruption scandal that felled former Senator Bob Menendez and put Kim on the path to the Senate in the first place. But Kim, who uses the ad to highlight his own work to ban congressional stock trading, says he’ll work to change that toxic culture and fight for everyday New Jerseyans in the Senate.
“We have to fix our broken politics; it’s time to stop corruption and restore integrity,” Kim said in a statement accompanying the ad. “New Jersey families deserve public servants who will fight for them, not someone chasing their ego and ambition and trying to enrich themselves and their friends.”
The Kim campaign said it was spending “seven figures” to air the ad on TV statewide, and that the spot would be accompanied by a digital and mailer campaign further promoting Kim’s anti-corruption credentials.
Kim launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate almost exactly one year ago, a day after Menendez was indicted on federal bribery charges. The damage from the charges was so intense that Menendez was politically doomed almost immediately, but Kim still had to face a tough primary challenge from First Lady Tammy Murphy, who amassed widespread support from Democratic Party leaders before ending her campaign prior to the primary.
In the ensuing general election campaign, Kim has long been considered the favorite against Republican hotelier Curtis Bashaw, though exactly where the race stands is a bit murky. Bashaw released an internal poll last month showing him losing to Kim 38%-33%, which would be the closest New Jersey Senate election in decades – but there hasn’t been any recent nonpartisan polling to corroborate Bashaw’s numbers, and national groups aren’t treating the race as though it’s competitive.
Regardless, Kim has the resources to blanket the state’s airwaves with ads through Election Day and solidify his position. As of June 30 – the most recent campaign fundraising report deadline – Kim had $4.1 million on-hand; Bashaw, who has yet to go up on the air, had $1.1 million.
“Believe” script:
Andy Kim: “Jersey politics has a certain reputation, but I believe we can change that. I’m Andy Kim, and in Congress, I championed the strongest anti-corruption bill in a generation. And I wrote a new bill to ban politicians from getting rich off their influence and trading stocks. Now I’m running for Senate to put our families above the wealthy and elite insiders that give our state a bad name. I approve this message, because Jersey can be better – but we have to believe.”