Democratic Rep. Andy Kim retained his seat in the House after he made history in 2018 by becoming New Jersey’s first Asian American representative.
The Associated Press called the race around 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
Kim, 38, defeated his Republican challenger David Richter, who had campaigned on painting the Democrat as an ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi despite his initial campaign promise two years ago not to vote for her as the leader of the House.
The race was viewed by analysts and election forecasters as leaning in favor of Kim. Kim defeated two-term Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur in 2018, flipping New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District blue.
Republicans campaigned on painting Kim as a false ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom he promised not to vote for as the lower chamber’s leader when he was campaigning in 2018. He reversed that position in his first official action in Congress when he voted in favor of Pelosi to return to her previous position as speaker.
Before being elected to the House, Kim was a career public servant, spending the majority of his career expanding his expertise in counterterrorism and national security, mainly under the Obama administration but also briefly under George W. Bush.
Kim’s victory is promising for Democrats, who are expected to hold onto their majority in the House. Analysts also predicted that the Democrats have the potential to pick up even more seats in vulnerable Republican districts.
