Richter concedes, citing significant vote deficit

Former Hill International CEO David Richter conceded his congressional bid to Rep. Andy Kim (D-Marlton) on Tuesday.

“While there remain many votes still to be counted in the race for the Third District seat, it is highly unlikely that our current vote deficit can be overcome,” Richter said. “So earlier today, I called Congressman Kim and congratulated him on his re-election victory.”

Narrower-than expected margins in Ocean County left Richter without a real path to victory. As of Tuesday morning, the Republican leads in Ocean by 26,380 votes, less than half of Kim’s 58,227-vote lead in Burlington County.

Overall, the incumbent leads his challenger by 31,847 votes, 54%-46%, when independent and third-party candidates are excluded.

“I ran for Congress because I care very deeply about our country, and I wanted to work hard to ensure a better future for my fellow South Jerseyans and for all Americans,” Richter said. “I intend to continue that effort because the success of our great nation — and of each and every one of you — is worth fighting for. I encourage everyone who supported my campaign to do the same.”

The campaign in the third district never became quite as nasty as House races in some of New Jersey’s other districts.

Richter and Kim did face attacks over their records — the challenger for his time at the head of Hill International and the incumbent for his time in the Obama White House — but those jabs never rose far beyond that.

Still, Richter’s defeat was a resounding one compared to Kim’s nail-biting win against Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-Toms River) in 2018.

Kim won that race by just 3,973, about an eight of his current lead against Richter.