WASHINGTON – When Andy Kim won the New Jersey Senate seat this year, he became the first South Jersey resident to serve in the chamber since World War II.
It is also the closest neighborhood to Philadelphia.
Because Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (D-Pa.) live in western Pennsylvania, Kim’s home in Moorestown – about 25 miles from the city – puts him much more directly in the spotlight of the Philadelphia experience.
“I mean, look, I basically grew up there, you know, as a die-hard Phillies and Eagles fan, and now I take my kids to Sixers games,” Kim said in an interview last week in Washington.
Kim grew up in South Jersey – Marlton, then Cherry Hill. At one point, he lived a few doors down from the former Eagles coach and remembers players like Randall Cunningham visiting and playing catch with neighborhood kids. Now it carries Amtrak back and forth from 30th Street to Washington. His children are CHOP patients. His wife, Kammy Lai, a lawyer, works at Vanguard in the city.
“He struggles on the Schuylkill Highway to get to work like everyone else,” Kim said.
Taking a break from voting and packing up the House office for the move to the Senate side of the Capitol, Kim spoke about the interconnectedness of the Philadelphia region and what he thinks voters in both states expect from widespread Democratic defeats this year. He was talking on a bench in the Capitol rotunda, the same place where he was approached by the virus in connection with the cleanup after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
» READ MORE: Is New Jersey becoming a swing state?
The last Pennsylvania senator to live in Philadelphia was Arlen Specter, who left office in 2011. Senator Bob Casey had close ties to the city and stayed here often, but he lived two hours away in Scranton.
When Kim ran for former Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat against New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, he received very little support from Democrats in his home state. But across the river, support poured in from Fetterman and six of his House Democratic colleagues. Kim said he is eager to work with the Pennsylvania delegation on issues affecting the region, such as water quality in Delaware and transit.
“The stronger Philadelphia is as an economy, as a community, as a transportation hub, the stronger South Jersey and, frankly, all of New Jersey,” Kim said. “We have a mutually beneficial life there and I will take care of that.”
Kim called the induction of modern Senate members earlier this month a humbling move, especially since the son of Korean immigrants is entering a chamber where only 2,000 others have served. In January, Kim will become the first Korean-American in the U.S. Senate and the first Asian-American senator in New Jersey.
» READ MORE: Rep. Andy Kim wins a Senate seat in New Jersey, becoming the first Korean-American to serve in the U.S. Senate
While he did not say how he would vote on President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations, other than to say he did not support former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general – who has since withdrawn from consideration – he said some names were given a pause.
Kim worked on the National Security Council, where he observed cabinet members interacting with the president in the situation room. “It’s hard for me to imagine how our country will be well-served in the face of some of the people whose names are being mentioned,” he said.
In the last two elections, Kim twice won districts that Trump also won. This year, he overtook Harris in New Jersey by more than three points, and in 2020, he overtook Biden in his congressional district in South Jersey. His political history – running for a senator found guilty of taking bribes against the Democratic political establishment – allowed him to run as an independent Democrat in an election cycle when voters wanted politicians outside the status quo.
Kim hopes his political resume will facilitate him work on bipartisan policies in Congress, such as bills to support mental health, address the opioid crisis or support economic innovation to boost manufacturing.
In his opinion, the Democratic Party must find a way to regain voters’ trust and show that they are not one tribal monolith, but people responding to the needs of their voters.
“I think we should never underestimate how disgusted people are with politics,” Kim said. “…When you think the status quo has been broken, you gravitate towards people who show that it can be done differently. Now we need to show, as I hope to show, that there is another way to deal with the current status quo.
