Rep. Andy Kim wins Democratic race, Curtis Bashaw wins GOP primary for U.S. Senate

While the primary results won’t be certified until later this month, Democratic voters made their support for Rep. Andy Kim clear.

The Associated Press called the race for Kim just 14 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday but Kim has been the presumptive nominee for the party for months after his most notable opponent — New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy — dropped her bid back in March. Labor activist Patricia Campos-Medina and former Newark board of education member Larry Hamm stayed in the race through the end but the odds had been in Kim’s favor.

The congressman said in a statement that the win is a "stunning victory for a people-powered movement that mobilized against corruption and stood up to the machine politics of New Jersey."

"I took the chance to run for Senate eight months ago on the belief that people are fed up with our broken politics and are ready for a new generation of leadership fighting for change," Kim said. "What I found is that there is a deep hunger across the political spectrum for a different kind of politics grounded in integrity and public service that aims to rebuild trust."

He went on to say, "New Jersey has a choice: the chaos and corruption of Bob Menendez and Donald Trump, or a politics that works for families struggling to get by."

The three-term Congressman from Burlington County announced his candidacy in September, a day after Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges.

He said at the time this is "not something I expected to do, but I believe New Jersey deserves better."

"We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our country’s integrity," Kim said. "I believe it’s time we restore faith in our democracy, and that’s why I am stepping up and running for Senate.”

Bashaw called winner in NJ GOP contest for U.S. Senate

Though Kim was declared the winner just 14 minutes after the polls closed, Cape May businessman Curtis Bashaw had to wait more than an hour for the Associated Press to call the Republican primary in his favor Tuesday night.

While the race was called for Bashaw, state Sen. Mike Testa, Bashaw's campaign chairman, said that the campaign was not declaring victory until all of the results were in and Christine Serrano Glassner had conceded. About 57% of the votes had been tallied by 10 p.m.

Bashaw took the stage in Cape May nearly two hours after the race had been called. He thanked his supporters and sought to bring Republicans together.

“Instead of tearing people down, we are building something bigger,” he said. “We are building a bigger, better Republican Party together. A party of people who believe in greater freedom and more opportunities.”

He called himself a “political outsider who can deliver results” and took a swipe at both of his opponents this fall saying the state can “continue down the same old road, with the same entrenched D.C. politicians like Andy Kim and Bob Menendez” or “go down a different path.”

Through a lawsuit from Kim led to a change in ballot design for the Democrats, Republican voters for this primary cycle still used the county line ballot design — a system which gives preferential ballot positioning to candidates supported by the county party organization.

Bashaw had the line in 11 counties, compared to just six for Serrano Glassner. There are four counties that did not use the county line style, Salem and Sussex traditionally don’t but Atlantic and Burlington swapped for the office block style this year.

NJ Primary Election 2024 results: President, Senate, Congress

Bob Menendez will run as an indepedent

While the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, vote-by-mail ballots that were postmarked Tuesday can be received until June 10.

And though Kim has seemingly secured the Democratic nomination, Menendez filed Monday to run as an independent this fall.

He is currently on trial alongside two New Jersey businessmen in federal court in New York for allegedly receiving, among other things, cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for his using his political influence. His wife and co-defendant had her trial postponed due to a cancer diagnosis but is expected in court this summer, though as recently as May 20 she was helping the senator collect the needed signatures for his independent run.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ primary 2024: Andy Kim wins, Curtis Bashaw wins U.S. Senate vote