STANHOPE – Andy Kim is now four for four.

Kim defeated Tammy Murphy 101 to 76 at Saturday’s Sussex County Democratic Convention, giving his Senate candidacy yet another victory.

Kim previously had secured the party endorsements at conventions in Monmouth, Burlington and Hunterdon counties.

Kim called his fourth consecutive win a habit that’s easy to get accustomed to.

“Thank you to all the Sussex County delegates who attended today and took on the awesome responsibility of choosing who should represent them in such an important role like U.S. Senator,” said Kim. “This morning was another example of the energy we feel across the state when people get a real choice in their democracy. We need to have more open conventions with secret ballots where people are free to vote without pressure or intimidation. I can’t thank Sussex County enough for placing their trust in me as we look towards the June 4th Primary.”

Sussex is anything but a Democratic stronghold, which somewhat dilutes the significance of Kim’s victory. There simply are not a lot of Democrats in New Jersey’s northwest corner.

First Lady Murphy, in fact, commented about seeing quite a few Trump signs on local roads and homes.

For the record, there are about 26,000 registered Dems in Sussex.

Statewide, there are almost 2.5 million of them.

At the same time, rank and file Democrats have consistently voted in favor of Kim and not Murphy, the choice of many party leaders.

The First Lady’s candidacy on Saturday got a boost from Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who was endorsed for another term. His Fifth District includes parts of Sussex County.

Gottheimer told the delegates that he considers both Murphy and Kim, a congressional colleague of his, good friends.

But he endorsed Murphy.

Gottheimer said the First Lady has worked hard across the state promoting programs that help people, and that in short, she gets things done.

Sunday is the party convention in Warren County, another region where Dems tend to be scarce.

On the horizon for Monday, however, is the convention in Bergen County.

With what’s happened so far, this certainly looks like a convention Murphy needs to win.

Kim said today that reaching out to Bergen delegates has been challenging, citing “obstacles” put in his way.

Earlier this week, Kim filed a federal suit against how “county lines,” and by extension, county endorsements, are awarded in New Jersey. A hearing is set for later this month.

First elected to Congress in 2018 at the age of 36, three-term Congressman Andy Kim is one of the younger members to serve in Congress and is the first Asian American elected to federal office from New Jersey. If elected to the Senate, he would be the fourth youngest Senator, the first senator from South Jersey in recent memory, and the first Asian American elected to the Senate from the entire east coast of America. In 2018 and 2020, Kim defeated two self-funding millionaires in a district carried by former President Trump, and in 2022 Kim defeated his third self-funding millionaire opponent by 12 points.

In his three terms in Congress, Kim said he has worked hard to lower costs for New Jersey families and help support small businesses through challenging times.