NJ Rep. Andy Kim announces bid to unseat Sen. Robert Menendez

Embattled New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who faces federal bribery and corruption charges, now also has a new primary challenger in his fight for re-election next year: Rep. Andy Kim, who announced his campaign on Saturday.

Kim, who represents New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, made the announcement in a post on X, the social networking platform formerly known as Twitter. It comes as fellow Democrats – including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy – are urging Menendez to step down. But the senator has pushed back against calls for his resignation, and issued a statement in which he declared: “I am not going anywhere.”

In his campaign announcement on X, Kim wrote that he felt “compelled to run against him [Menendez].”

“Not something I expected to do, but NJ deserves better,” Kim’s post continued. “We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our integrity. I believe it’s time we restore faith in our democracy, and that’s why I am stepping up and running for Senate.”

Kim, 41, of Moorestown, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and has since served three consecutive terms. His district encompasses Burlington and parts of Mercer and Monmouth counties. Kim was a national security adviser during the Obama administration.

Gothamist's email to Menendez's office was deferred to the senator's campaign spokesperson, who did not immediately return a request for comment at press time on Saturday.

Friday’s indictment isn’t Menendez’s first brush with the law. He was previously indicted on bribery charges in 2015, but the trial ended in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury said it could not reach a verdict.

Menendez, his wife Nadine and three other defendants are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday.