NJ election results 2018: MacArthur concedes, Andy Kim wins 3rd District race

Asbury Park Press

Eight days after the vote, political newcomer Andy Kim was declared the winner of the tight race for a seat representing New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District, defeating two-term term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur, according to the Associated Press.

MacArthur called to congratulate Kim on his victory Wednesday evening, according to a statement put out by his office. Kim declared victory Nov. 7, but MacArthur didn't initally concede, saying there were still at least 7,000 votes left to count.

The Associated Press has declared Democrat Andy Kim the winner of the 3rd District congressional seat.

"Tonight, I called Congressman-Elect Andy Kim to congratulate him on his victory. Enough provisional ballots have been counted to make the outcome clear," MacArthur said in a prepared statement. "My staff and I will work with him to ensure a smooth transition in every way. It has been an honor to represent the people of Ocean and Burlington counties over the last four years, and I am proud to have done so with honesty and integrity."

Bordentown resident Kim, 36, a Rhodes Scholar who served as a national security adviser in the Obama Administration, becomes the fourth Democrat to flip a Republican-controlled seat in New Jersey in the Nov. 6 election. This was his first try for elective office.

The 3rd District includes most of Burlington County and 17 Ocean County towns, including Toms River, Berkeley and Brick.

(Left to right) Commissioner Rabbi Israel Schenkolewski, Chairman George Gilmore and Commissioner Matthew R. Sage talk with Ocean County Board of Elections officials Wednesday in Toms River as they met to review provisional ballots from last week's election.

New Jersey's congressional delegation will have gone from a 6-6 Democrat-Republican split in 2016 to an 11-1 Democratic tilt next year. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, who represents the 4th District - which includes towns in Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties - will be the state's only remaining Republican in Congress.

The last time an election resulted in just one Republican going to Washington to represent New Jersey in the House was in 1912, but that year the GOP lost only two seats, not four, Eric Ostermeier wrote on his SmartPolitics blog.

Congressman Tom MacArthur and Andy Kim, both candidates for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, sit down for an editorial board meeting with members of the Asbury Park Press and Gannett NJ. MacArthur speaks during the meeting.
Neptune, NJ
Thursday, October, 11, 2018

MacArthur has been the New Jersey delegation's staunchest supporter of President Donald Trump's legislative priorities: He was the only New Jersey congressman to vote in favor of the sweeping tax reform bill approved last year, and joined retiring U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., as the only members of the state's delegation to support the Obamacare repeal bill that passed the House last year.

A report on FiveThirtyEight.com shows MacArthur voted in line with Trump's positions on issues more than 94 percent of the time, compared with 79 percent for Chris Smith

Ocean County election results:NJ midterm elections 2018: Here are the Ocean County municipal, school board results

Trump showed his support for MacArthur when he headlined a fundraiser for the congressman in June 2017 at his New Jersey golf club. The event raised $800,000 for MacArthur's re-election campaign.

MacArthur authored an amendment that revived the Obamacare repeal bill in the House; the bill eventually failed in the Senate. MacArthur claimed that his amendment would have protected people with pre-existing conditions, and noted that it set aside $165 billion to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions could afford coverage.

But health care advocates noted the congressman's amendment would have permitted states to seek waivers to allow insurance plans to charge higher premiums to older and sicker people.

Kim made health care a centerpiece of his campaign. In late October, a Monmouth University poll showed health care was the top issue for voters in the district, at 31 percent.

Forty-four percent trusted Kim to keep health care affordable, compared with 28 percent for MacArthur.

Health Care Voter, a health care advocacy group, celebrated MacArthur's defeat.

"Today, Representative Tom MacArthur and the GOP’s health care repeal agenda lost and health care voters won," said Laura Packard, co-chair of Health Care Voter, in a prepared statement. "During his time in office, Rep. MacArthur chose to attack New Jerseyans' access to affordable health care in favor of corporate tax breaks at every opportunity — and voters were watching."

Registered Democrats slightly outnumber registered Republicans in the 3rd District, but only one Democrat has held the seat in the past 100 years: John Adler, who won by a small margin in 2008.

Voters in the 3rd District supported Obama in 2008 and 2012, but in 2016, the district went to Trump.

Trump's approval ratings are underwater in New Jersey, with ratings of 41 percent to 42 percent in recent polls, and voter disapproval with the president at more than 50 percent. But in Ocean County, a Republican stronghold, Trump remains popular.

MacArthur took nearly 60 percent of the total vote in 2016, easily defeating Democrat Frederick LaVergne. He won both Ocean and Burlington counties.

Ocean County delivered for MacArthur again on Election Day, giving the incumbent a margin of more than 30,000 votes. More than 55 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Ocean County, up from 38 percent in the last mid-term election in 2014, according to Ocean County Clerk Scott M. Colabella.

But in more Democratic-leaning Burlington, Kim ran up the score: unofficial results without provisional ballots showed him garnering almost 34,000 votes than his rival.

Ocean County's Board of Elections met Wednesday, accepting 1,637 provisional ballots from the 3rd District that had been flagged as "questionable." Those ballots were being counted Wednesday, with a final, unofficial tally expected by 9 p.m.

More election:NJ election results 2018: Andy Kim takes lead over MacArthur in 3rd District

MacArthur, 58, a former insurance executive, received about 61 percent of the vote in Ocean County, while Kim received about 59 percent in Burlington. With a margin of more than 3,000 votes and more uncounted provisional ballots in Burlington than Ocean County, Kim appeared to have an insurmountable lead.

Kim led MacArthur by more than 3,400 votes as of Wednesday morning, according to unofficial tallies on the Ocean and Burlington counties' election websites. Burlington County is still counting an estimated 4,000 provisional ballots.

Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly said he was not surprised by the Associated Press' call, particularly given how significant Democratic victories were statewide and nationwide.

Kelly said he has not spoken to MacArthur since the 3rd District race appeared to tilt in Kim's favor last week.

"The thinking always was that if Ocean County delivered a 60 percent plus margin of victory in that race, it would have been enough," Kelly said. About 61 percent of Ocean County voters cast ballots for MacArthur on Nov. 6, but it wasn't enough to overcome the margin Kim achieved in Burlington County.

In the statement he released Wednesday evening, MacArthur noted that he and his wife, Debbie "have been truly blessed in life, and our commitment to helping others has never been defined by politics or elected office.

"I am also a firm believer that good can come out of life’s disappointments and I look forward to what the future holds for us," he said. "Thank you to all of those who supported me and even those who did not. We must all work together to ensure that America remains the shining city on a hill that President Reagan described so many years ago."

Staff writer Herb Jackson contributed to this report. Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com