1. Andrew Kim was born on July12,1982 and is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2024.
50 Facts About Andy Kim
1. 2.
Andy Kim worked as a civilian advisor at the United States Department of State in Afghanistan during the Obama administration.
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Andy Kim was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Tom MacArthur.
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Andy Kim won the Democratic primary after successfully petitioning to abolish "county line" primary ballots in New Jersey.
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Andy Kim went on to win in the 2024 general election, becoming the first Korean-American in the Senate and the first Asian-American US senator from New Jersey.
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Andy Kim was born on July12,1982, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Korean immigrant parents, and grew up in South Jersey.
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Andy Kim's father was a geneticist and his mother was a nurse.
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Andy Kim grew up in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, and attended Rice Elementary School before moving to Cherry Hill and graduating from Cherry Hill High School East in 2000.
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Andy Kim later received a Rhodes Scholarship and a Harry S Truman Scholarship to study international relations at Magdalen College, Oxford.
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At Oxford, Andy Kim became friends with fellow Rhodes Scholar Pete Buttigieg, the future US secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025.
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Andy Kim served in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser to generals David Petraeus and John R Allen before working as a national security adviser under President Barack Obama.
12.
Andy Kim served as a United States National Security Council official.
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Andy Kim was endorsed by Barack Obama, former US vice president Joe Biden, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, and actress Piper Perabo.
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Andy Kim said he was inspired to run by MacArthur's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
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Andy Kim became the first Asian American US representative from New Jersey.
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Andy Kim won by a margin of 11.8 percentage points, defeating the Republican nominee, yacht manufacturer Robert Healey, Jr.
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Andy Kim is the first Democratic member of Congress of Korean descent and the second overall after Republican Jay Andy Kim.
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Andy Kim cited the need to reopen the government amid the ongoing government shutdown for his decision to back Pelosi.
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In February 2019, Andy Kim introduced his first bill, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act.
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In June 2019, Andy Kim co-sponsored an amendment to stop a pay raise for members of Congress.
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Andy Kim supported The Inflation Reduction Act, The American Rescue Plan, and the CHIPS and Science Act.
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In 2021 and 2022, Andy Kim was included on Gold House's annual "A100" list, which honors those of Asian Pacific descent, "who made the greatest impact on culture and society over the past year".
23.
On January7,2021, after voting to certify the 2020 presidential election, Andy Kim gained widespread media attention after he was photographed cleaning up trash left behind after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
24.
Andy Kim donated the blue suit he wore in the photo to the Smithsonian Institution, which was collecting items from the riot.
25.
On September23,2023, Andy Kim announced that he would mount a primary challenge to incumbent Democratic senator Bob Menendez in the 2024 Senate election, the day after Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges.
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Andy Kim was the first major Democrat to challenge Menendez, and did not first notify any state or county Democratic party officials.
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Andy Kim said he felt disappointed by the corruption charges, and that he sought to restore integrity in politics.
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Andy Kim was challenged by New Jersey first lady and former Goldman Sachs analyst Tammy Murphy, the wife of incumbent governor Phil Murphy.
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Andy Kim was endorsed by former national security advisor Susan Rice and former New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski; both had worked with him during his time at the State Department.
30.
Ultimately, Andy Kim won 17 of the 19 county line endorsements.
31.
Andy Kim called the system "unconstitutional" and sought a general redesign of ballots.
32.
Politico reported Andy Kim would stand to benefit from the line due to a lack of serious opposition, but the lawsuit proceeded.
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Andy Kim said he would accept an invitation to be appointed to the Senate by Governor Phil Murphy were Menendez to resign or be expelled.
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Andy Kim said he supported the appointment and that he would "look forward to working with him in the Capitol".
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Andy Kim was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus during his time in the House of Representatives.
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Andy Kim supports providing aid to the Ukrainian military amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has been ongoing since February 2022.
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Andy Kim called the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny a murder.
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Andy Kim called the 2023 Camp David Principles between the US, Japan, and South Korea "historic".
39.
Andy Kim has called himself "proudly pro-choice" and said reproductive healthcare is an "essential human right".
40.
In December 2022, Andy Kim voted for the Respect for Marriage Act enshrining interracial and same-sex marriage protections into federal law.
41.
In 2020, Andy Kim co-sponsored and voted for the Justice in Policing Act.
42.
Andy Kim has been endorsed by the End Citizens United political action committee.
43.
Andy Kim supports investing in clean energy and electrifying transit systems.
44.
Andy Kim was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club in the 2024 Senate election.
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Andy Kim was named a Gun Sense Candidate by Moms Demand Action in 2024.
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Andy Kim has voted to raise servicemember pay every year through the NDAA, and supports doubling funding for veteran suicide prevention and outreach programs.
47.
Andy Kim supports banning members of Congress from trading stock, saying in December 2021 that he "disagree[d] strongly" with speaker Nancy Pelosi, who defended the practice.
48.
Andy Kim supports ending the filibuster in the US Senate.
49.
One of Andy Kim's passions is making bagels, and he has said that were he not a politician, he would have started his own bagel shop.
50.
Andy Kim taught bagel making classes over Zoom in April 2021 in an effort to raise money for his 2022 reelection campaign.