KOREAN NET

Rep. Andy Kim (Democrat-New Jersey) on Nov. 8 won a third term in this year's U.S. midterm elections, the first Korean American legislator in 26 years to do so.

Earning 55% of the votes, he easily defeated his Republican opponent Bob Healy (44.2%) in New Jersey's third congressional district, with 89% of the votes counted.

Rep. Kim is now tied with former Rep. Jay C. Kim (Kim Chang-joon), a Republican in California who earned a third term in 1996, for the most congressional terms won by a Korean American.

In his victory speech, the New Jersey lawmaker said, "I can't wait to wake up my kids up tomorrow morning," adding, "And be able to tell my five and seven-year-olds that their daddy did it. That we won this district."

His district is classified as a Republican stronghold with a predominantly white population and few ethnic Asians. Former President Donald Trump won this district in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Rep. Kim appealed to voters by highlighting his achievements as a legislator such as support measures for COVID-19 and reduction of prescription drug prices. His opponent Healey, an ex-punk rock vocalist-turned-yacht entrepreneur, ran a campaign of blaming the Democratic Party for high inflation.

Born in Boston in 1982, Rep. Kim, a second-generation immigrant, grew up and attended school in New Jersey. Graduating from the University of Chicago and earning a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Oxford's Magdalen College in the U.K., he won his first term in Congress in 2018 by beating the incumbent Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur and earned reelection in 2020 by a sizable margin.

In addition, another candidate with Korean ancestry, Marilyn Strickland (Democrat-Washington), also known by her Korean name Sun-ja, won the 10th congressional district of her state by more than 10 percentage points over her Republican competitor Keith Swank.

State Rep. Sylvia Chang Luke (Democrat-Hawaii) was also elected her state's first Korean American deputy governor, or second only to the governor. She is now the highest-ranking Korean American official in Hawaiian history.

As the first Korean American to earn a third term in 26 years, Rep. Andy Kim (Democrat-New Jersey) on Nov. 9 hugs one of his campaign supporters. (Screen capture from Rep. Kim's Twitter account)

By Kim Hayeon

hayeounk8@korea.kr