Andy Kim, whose term as a United States Senator begins today, has announced ten members of his new Senate office’s senior staff, with two familiar names at the top: Amy Pfeiffer will be Kim’s chief of staff, and Sue Altman will be his state director.
Pfeiffer, like Kim a Burlington County native, is the only chief of staff Kim has ever known, having led Kim’s office since he was first sworn into the House in January 2019. (All Pfeiffer has to do is stick around for another 26 years to pull even with Mary Noonan, who has been New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith’s chief of staff since 1992 and has worked for the congressman since 1981.)
Prior to joining Kim’s office, Pfeiffer spent seven years working for Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina), who was at the time the third-highest ranking Democrat in the House.
Altman, meanwhile, is a former leader of the progressive New Jersey Working Families Alliance who has long seen eye-to-eye with Kim on one key issue in particular: the county line, the primary ballot design system that helped New Jersey’s county parties retain their power for decades. She was a driving force behind a 2020 lawsuit to overturn the line; during his Senate campaign this year, Kim built on that litigation in his own successful lawsuit, bringing about fairer ballots both for this year’s Democratic primary and for future years’ primaries.
Outside of New Jersey, Altman is best known as the 2024 Democratic nominee in the swingy 7th congressional district against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield). During her campaign, Altman successfully won over many Democratic leaders who had long considered her a foe – she outmaneuvered three different opponents, two of them sitting elected officials, during the Democratic primary – and raised more than $6 million, but ultimately lost to Kean 52% to 46% in a tough year for her party. (Kim was a top surrogate for Altman this fall, with the two frequently rallying together in the 7th district.)
Altman has been considering a potential second campaign against Kean, and today’s staff announcement does not mean that she’s taking herself out of the running. But it does change her timetable for a potential decision; given her high-ranking role in Kim’s office, she’s unlikely to launch a campaign in the coming months, opening a window for other candidates to get in the race for the 7th district in the meantime.
Among Kim’s other hires for his Washington, D.C. office are Anthony DeAngelo as deputy chief of staff for strategic communications and planning; Kelly Boyer as deputy chief of staff for administration and operations; and Tom Carnes as legislative director and general counsel.
DeAngelo and Carnes already hold roles in Kim’s House office, DeAngelo as a special adviser and Carnes as general counsel; each also has a long history on Capitol Hill working for other members and committees outside of New Jersey. DeAngelo was a key member of Kim’s inner circle throughout his Senate campaign, during which Kim and his top aides shrewdly used New Jersey voters’ pent-up frustration at politics-as-usual to topple First Lady Tammy Murphy and hand a rare loss to the New Jersey Democratic establishment.
Boyer, for her part, is a newcomer to New Jersey circles but a fixture in the Senate. She’s currently a top staffer for New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan and previously worked for California Senator Barbara Boxer.
In Kim’s state office, Laura Bustamante will serve as deputy state director and North Jersey regional director; Kristen Foca as South Jersey regional director; Ben Giovine as director of intergovernmental affairs; Lynette Whiteman as grants director; and Amanda Carte as acting constituent services director.
All five are alums of Kim’s House office or his campaigns back in New Jersey. Bustamante, who has a long history in North Jersey Democratic politics, was the statewide political director for Kim’s Senate campaign; Foca has been Kim’s outreach director since 2023 and was the political director for his 2022 House campaign; Giovine was Kim’s district director for his entire tenure in the House; and Whiteman and Carte have held a variety of roles in Kim’s House office since his first term in 2019. (Giovine also ran for mayor of Toms River in 2023, losing to Republican Daniel Rodrick.)
Kim will maintain the two state-based offices, one in Jersey City and the other in Barrington, that are passing to him from interim Senator George Helmy, who himself inherited them from disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez. (In D.C., Kim is currently relegated to a windowless basement office in Dirksen Office Building, but that will soon change now that he’s been properly sworn in.)
“I’m ready to get to work for the people of New Jersey,” Kim said in a statement. “I’ll fight everyday to restore the promise of a democracy that represents the people, not the well-off and well-connected, of safety and security at home and abroad, and an economy that ensures that everyone who works hard can prosper. Whether you voted for me or not, I work for you, and will always seek to serve our state with honesty and integrity.”