Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ-03 ) now looks like the overwhelming favorite to be elected the next US senator from New Jersey.

After incumbent Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges last September, three-term Rep. Kim announced that he would challenge him in the June 2024 primary. Soon after, New Jersey's first lady Tammy Murphy announced that she would also run for the Menendez seat.

Despite Tammy Murphy's clout and backing from the NJ political machine, Kim has held a solid lead in the polls and was unexpectedly winning endorsements from Democratic organizations in a number of NJ counties.

This month, Menendez anounced he would not compete in the primary. And last weekend Tammy Murphy suspended her campaign. There are still a couple of minor candidates in the primary but Andy Kim is now the clear favorite.

Not only is Andy Kim the likely winner of the primary, his campaign is leading to a reform of an archaic way of listing candidates on New Jersey primary ballots.

So Andy Kim didn’t just win a primary. He might have forced the machine to relinquish its iron grip. And politics just might be viable again in the Garden State. [ ... ] New Jersey has perhaps the most connection in the modern day to the old-line machine politics of the past. Reforms have weakened the power of Tammany Hall and its antecedents virtually everywhere, except in New Jersey. Voters have generally decided that they want to be in control of who represents them, and this simple request has imploded the gilded towers of the presumed deciders in our politics. That’s not to discount the achievement here, though. The combination of a comically corrupt senator and what people clearly saw as a corrupt process to replace him proved too much for the system to bear. But without Kim stepping up, with his profile as an ethical anomaly in the state and a message to run directly against that corruption, to loudly highlight the deficiencies of the system, it probably would have lingered on a while longer. It turns out that running on an actual belief system in politics can defeat the cynicism of a machine.

As for Republicans, the last time a GOP senator was elected from New Jersey, Richard Nixon was busy engaging in the Watergate cover-up.

NJ first lady Tammy Murphy ends Senate campaign, paving way for Andy Kim

In addition to his liberal record on domestic issues, Andy Kim has a strong background in national security and foreign affairs.

Personally, he is virtually the AntiTrump. He is personally modest and ethical. He earned his degrees and was even a Rhodes Scholar. He has respect for the institutions of democracy and for the people who serve them.

The night after the January 6th pro-Trump terrorists rampaged through the US Capitol, Andy Kim helped clean up some of the debris left by MAGA criminals.

Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots

I haven't been so enthusiastic about a politician since Barack Obama. And it's entirely possible that Andy Kim could be the Barack Obama of 2028; but first we have to defeat Trump this year.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. easily defeated political activist Imani Oakley on Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for another term in the congressional seat he has held for 10 years.

There's good things to celebrate tonight, but I'm angry as hell.

22 Democrats stood with Republicans to censure Rashida Tlaib for speaking out against Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza.

I want Dems to think really hard about what it means for the only Palestinian American in Congress - a woman of color - to be stood in the well and "reprimanded" by a vile Christofascist, the malignant Mike Johnson, in front of the whole world.

While Israel commits genocide.

If you're a Progressive in any of these states and you've been thinking about running? You will have support. Here's the 22 that no longer defend the Constitution. Primary them.

Cohen-TN Costa-CA Craig-MN Davis-NC Frankel-FL Golden-ME Goldman-NY Gottheimer-NJ Landsman-OH Lee-NV Manning-NC Moskowitz-FL Nickel-NC Pappas-NH Perez-WA Ryan-NY Schneider-IL Schrier-WA Soto-FL Torres-NY Wasserman Schultz-FL Wilson-FL

while i’m not optimistic that nominating someone else is feasible, i do think voting for someone else in the primaries could be a loud way to tell the Biden administration “We don’t want you. What you’re doing is losing approval from people who vote democrat.” Cause they don’t ignore the numbers in the primaries. So please, if you’re American, show up for your presidential primary.

January 23: NH

February 3: SC

February 6: NV

February 27: MI

March 5: AL AR CA CO ME MA MN NC OK TN TX VT VA

March 12: GA MS WA

March 19: AZ FL IL KS OH

March 23: ID LA MO

April 2nd: CT DE NY RI WI

April 6: AK HI NE

April 13: WY

April 23: PA

April 28: PR

May 7: IN

May 14: MD NE WV

May 21: KY OR

May 23: ID

June 4: DC MT NJ NM SC

June 8: Guam USVI

The other republican candidates seem rather reluctant to attack Trump. I read something at 538 speculating that they are waiting for his legal issues to force him from the race. Yet, from where I stand, it seems unlikely anything short of jail time will prove a significant impediment to his campaign, something I can’t but feel is highly improbable.

Do the other republican candidates know something I don’t?

No, it’s just basic populism.

it goes like this:

Trump still widely beloved by the GOP core voter base. he’s far and away the top candidate in the Republicans polls.

if you criticize Trump, even in his legal challenges, you will turn a large core population of the voter base against you. Even if Trump does go to jail, that legally doesn’t stop him from campaigning for President. it’s a lose-lose scenario for your candidate.

If you hold off, maybe at most point out how Trump lost you 3 major election cycles (2018, 2020, 2022 were all losses, in whole or in part, for the GOP), you don’t risk alienating them quite as much.

if Trump does get convicted, you can listen to the populace and give a fiery speech on how the evil Dem govt is COMING FOR YOU, and you’ll fight on behalf of Trump (I would not at ALL be surprised if somebody makes a campaign pledge to pardon Trump if it pans out this way. even if he is convicted in GA, and thus you cannot legally pardon him, doesn’t matter—the promise was there, and what is follow-through to an elected official?)

If you think this sounds like pure cynical populism in order to tiptoe around your voter base, it is!

there are folks who are more willing to criticize Trump now; former NJ governor Chris Christie stands out to me, and I recently worked on a TV piece where GOP folks trotting around the Iowa state fair were interested in what Mike Pence had to say about Jan 6.

it’s also not impossible to be re-elected, at least locally, if you stand up to Trump. Georgia governor Brian Kemp—who rebuffed Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election—beat both his GOP primary challenger (another election denier, hand-picked by Trump, Perdue) and Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams to win the GA gov seat again in 2022. In fact the 2022 election outcomes largely demonstrated that when it comes down to voting time, “election deniers” lost.

Im hopeful that more candidates will be willing to take on trump and his rhetoric and his conduct and his campaign.

But alas, I am world-weary of this party.

Fed judge won't stay county-line ballot decision | NJ Spotlight News

… in New Jersey for the Democratic primary stands for now. Although a clarification by the judge over the weekend means Republican primary ballots …

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Let's talk about NJ Democratic Senate primary developments....

The SWARM Does NOT Want REAL COMPETITION

It is illegal in America for the government to discriminate by race, sex, national origin.

Any such discrimination weakens all of us.

I’ve had to fight the most egregious discrimination ALL my life. So, I know what it feels like to be treated as a second, third, … fifth class citizen.

At age 4, in Bombay, I was asked to not enter the home of a racist, casteist, evil Brahmin because I was a “ Shudra” i.e. “low-caste untouchable.”

At age 13, in New Jersey, though I had gotten A’s in EVERY class, I was NOT ALLOWED to take a year-end exam to determine who was the best student.

There are many more examples from my youth. It’s never stopped: it was about fear of competing with me, and playing by the rules.

At age 39, after I had moved into Belmont,MA, Police came to my door and didn’t believe I lived in my own house. They demanded I show my ID. When I refused to bow down to such nonsense, they busted into my house. When my sister vouched for me, they were so embarrassed, they didn’t even apologize, but said they would “get me if they ever saw me on the street.” Years later, they falsely arrested me as revenge, but were forced to drop all charges as the case was OUTRIGHT dismissed.

In 2012, at age 49, even after I was honored by the Smithsonian providing unequivocal evidence that I invented email as a 14-year-old working in Newark, NJ, those facts bothered a racist “liberal” historian so much, he threw tantrums to conflate text messaging with email - the system I first created. He and others were so upset at the facts, they then went to the extent of saying upper case “EMAIL” is different than lower case “email.”

At age 54, the @massgop Republicans and @MassDems Democrats colluded to ILLEGALLY keep me OFF the debate stage though I had met EVERY requirement to be on that debate stage as the INDEPENDENT candidate for US SENATE in Massachusetts in 2018.

In 2020, after I clearly won the U.S. Republican primary for Senate in MA, in September of 2020, Republicans of the @massgop colluded with @MassDems again to steal the election from me. And the GOVT of MA illegally deleted 1.5 million+ ballot images, by their own admission.

NOW, @ElonMusk and his grifter scumbags go out of their way to keep me in a digital apartheid cage - shadowbanning and censoring my posts - to make me and my Candidacy for President invisible; however, it ain’t working. The more they do it, the more people are awakening to the real censorship & discrimination.

A few weeks ago, the GOVT of Wyoming illegally denied me the right to EVEN get paperwork to file so I could get the Petitions to collect signatures to get on the ballot.

The bottom line is this: the SWARM fears REAL COMPETITION. They do NOT want the BEST rising to the top. They are a bunch of in-bred weaklings like the old decaying and decadent “royalty”

They want to make ALL of us second-class citizens, because they FEAR us. Their only weapon is to brainwash YOU into thinking they are better.

I’m OFF their plantation. The volunteers of Shiva4President.com are OFF their plantation. The Warrior-Scholars of the TruthFreedomHealth.com MOVEMENT are OFF their plantation.

Join us! Not ONE inch to their exploitation and abuse.

Be the Light, -Dr.SHIVA

Joe Biden Backs Norcross in NJ Senate Race: Boosting Democrats' Chances for Control! #JoeBidenendorsement #NewJerseySenateprimaryelection

[ad_1] Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., announced Saturday he would challenge Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., in the state’s Democratic primary ahead of the 2024 election. Kim is among a growing chorus of Democrats calling for Menendez to resign following a federal indictment for alleged corruption."After calls to resign, Senator Menendez said ‘I am not going anywhere.’ As a result, I feel compelled to run against him," Kim wrote from his campaign account on X, formerly Twitter. "Not something I expected to do, but NJ deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our integrity."The account’s bio was also updated to read, "Running to represent New Jersey in the United States Senate. Dad to two troublemakers. Whether you vote for me or not, I work for you." Menendez was charged through an unsealed indictment Friday in the Southern District of New York with allegedly agreeing to use his official position to benefit New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes and Egypt’s government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes. The indictment also charges Menendez’s wife, Nadine, and the three businessmen in the years-long bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors said the bribes included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible. MENENDEZ DEFIANT AS GROWING CHORUS OF DEMOCRATS CALL FOR HIS RESIGNATION Sen. Bob Menendez, facing a federal corruption indictment, is being challenged in the 2024 Democratic primary by Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J. (Getty Images )So far, Menendez has refused to resign his seat and insisted he will run for re-election in 2024 but stepped down from his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Friday, as Senate Democratic Caucus rules require any members charged with a felony to abandon committee chair roles.Besides Kim, other members of New Jersey’s House delegation have called for Menendez to step down. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., issued a statement commending Menendez for being a "critical voice and a tough fighter for Jersey, with a strong record that includes gun safety, protecting our environment and a woman’s right to chooser and fighting racism and antisemitism." "That said, given the gravity of the allegations, I believe it will be difficult for the Senator to carry out his responsibilities," Gottheimer added. "For the good of the state, he should step aside as he focuses on his defense." New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who would be able to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Menendez’s term if the senator resigns, also called for him to step down. The governor condemned the allegations against Menendez as "serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system."  Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a press conference after announcing that U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted on corruption charges on Sept. 22, 2023, in New York City.  (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)NEW JERSEY GOV. PHIL MURPHY CALLS ON SEN. MENENDEZ TO RESIGN FOILLOWING INDICTMENTSen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., subject to his own controversy over the Senate’s lax dress code, appeared to be the first Democratic senator to call for Menendez’s resignation Saturday. "Senator Menendez should resign," Fetterman wrote on X. "He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence, but he cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations. I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial."  Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife, Nadine Menendez, are charged through a federal indictment with bribery.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Menendez faced a federal corruption indictment in 2015, but those charges ended in a mistrial in 2017. In 2018, the Senate Ethics Committee said he broke federal law and rules of the upper chamber in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally. He still won reelection later that year. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPKim, who’s served in Congress since 2019, previously served as an adviser for the Obama administration, had advocated against anti-Asian hate following the pandemic and went viral online following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol after a photo surfaced of him cleaning up debris strewn across the Rotunda afterward.Menendez so far has one other challenger in the 2024 Democratic primary. Kyle Jasey, a real estate lender and the son of Democratic New Jersey Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, filed to run for a 2024 U.S. Senate campaign in August.  Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.  [ad_2]

Three years ago a mob of terrorists incited by sore loser Donald Trump rampaged through the US Capitol. They were attempting to disrupt the counting of electoral votes in a free and fair election that Trump clearly lost.

These un-American Trumpsters engaged in what Matthew Graves, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, called, "likely the largest single day mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation's history".

We need to thank the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police for their service that day. Things would have been far worse without their bravery and determination. Some people on our side of the spectrum overlook the fact that democracy depends on men and women putting themselves at great risk to preserve our way of life. We see that daily in Ukraine; Putin's invasion got stalled because Ukrainians put freedom ahead of their personal safety — not because Russia got a lot of down arrows on social media.

In addition to law enforcement, one person who stood out at the Capitol on 06 January 2021 was Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ-03). Rep. Kim did not wait for others to clean up the debris and wreckage left by the Trump terrorists, he joined in so he could get the building cleaned up as quickly as possible so Congress could get back to the business of certifying the lawful victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

In the wake of the indictment of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, Andy Kim announced that he would challenge the incumbent in the 2024 NJ primary. Andy is the direct opposite of Trump. He supports democratic institutions and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in defense of those institutions.

It's not necessary to live in New Jersey to support Andy Kim's Senate campaign. If he wins, it's not just a victory for him but for 21st century American values.

Andy Kim for New Jersey - Restoring Integrity to the US Senate

Mondaire Jones, one of the first Black & gay members of Congress, loses primary

U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) lost Tuesday’s crowded Democratic primary election to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District. One of the country’s first openly gay Black members of congress was defeated in the 12-person contest by Levi Strauss heir and former Trump impeachment lawyer Daniel Goldman. BREAKING: Daniel Goldman wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in New York's 10th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 12:39 a.m. EDT. https://t.co/2nlgpjiEZK — AP Politics (@AP_Politics) August 24, 2022 Jones, who was endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), came in third in the crowded primary race. He currently represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, where he was challenged by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Maloney drew criticism for running against a sitting Democrat, as well as for being a white politician trying to unseat one of the two Black and gay members of congress. Rather than running against Maloney, Jones opted to run for New York’s newly drawn 10th district. Goldman is expected to win the solidly Democratic seat in November. Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Jones told The Grio that “to lose me in the House would be a blow to our democracy and the fight to protect fundamental rights,” adding, “I have been a leading progressive member of Congress, who has brought the rest of the Democratic caucus with him on issues like Supreme Court expansion, and voting rights and democracy reforms.” Jones was elected in 2020 and was selected to be the Freshman Representative to Leadership, the “most influential role available to a freshman member of Congress.” When they took office in January 2021, he and Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY) become the nation’s first out gay Black members of Congress. As a member of Congress, Jones was an advocate for LGBTQ rights. “I didn’t have images growing up of queer people and sort of respected in public life, whether on television or in politics,” he said in June. “And I certainly didn’t see queer people of color in those roles.” “I think I am uniquely situated to galvanize communities that have historically been shut out of the political process,” Jones told LGBTQ Nation in 2019, “and leverage that to apply pressure on Republicans in Congress who are not speaking to the views of most Americans, who are being allowed to get by because so many people are disillusioned with our politics that they’re not paying attention to what’s going on and they’re not holding their representatives accountable.” “The result in Mondaire’s race is deeply sad for the LGBTQ community,” LGBTQ Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker said. “We’ve lost a fierce advocate and LGBTQ pioneer in Congress who used every ounce of his political power to fight for a more equitable and fair America.” Back in New York’s 17th Congressional District, Maloney easily won his primary battle against progressive challenger, Rep. Alessandra Biaggi (D-NY). He got 67% of the vote and she got 33%. In New York’s 15th Congressional District, Torres advanced to the general election unopposed. http://dlvr.it/SX9FkM

Recap of California, Iowa, NJ races

Recap of California, Iowa, NJ races

High-profile races in California — a San Francisco district attorney recall and a mayor’s race in Los Angeles headed to a runoff — could signal trouble for Democrats in the November general elections. Voters hit the polls for primary elections and other races not just in California, but also in Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota on Tuesday. Unlike previous…

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Democrat Tom Malinowski, Republican Thomas Kean Jr. to Battle in New Jersey's Seventh District in November

Democrat Tom Malinowski, Republican Thomas Kean Jr. to Battle in New Jersey’s Seventh District in November

Embattled Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and New Jersey state Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) have won their respective primaries and will battle in November for New Jersey’s Seventh Congressional District, a pivotal congressional district for control of the House. FILE – Thomas Kean Jr (R-Westfield, NJ) speaks after being sworn in as the Republican leader of the New Jersey Senate, Tuesday, January 9,…

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NJ County Clerks' appeal will not stop ballot redesign for Democratic primary

… South Jersey businessman Curtis Bashaw and Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner. The deadline for candidates to join New Jersey's June 4 …

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Today's primaries will send a message to Democrats

Today's primaries will send a message to Democrats

Full results from key races: CA | IA | MT | NJ | NM | SD Source link

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