Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., arrives on the Senate subway in the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"We need leaders who represent the people, not powerful interests; and we need a grassroots army to build an anti-corruption movement," Kim said Wednesday.
MAMDANI DISCOURAGES HAKEEM JEFFRIES PRIMARY CHALLENGER, TELLS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO 'FOCUS' ON NYC
While acknowledging that Beach is a part of Kim's own party, the Democrat said he was compelled to speak out following a recent state senate committee hearing.
"He said something there that just — I've never heard before in politics," Kim said. "A constituent from the crowd spoke out, and the state senator, the chairman, looked at him and said, 'I don't care about you.' And I just thought that that was so reflective of the broken politics that we have in New Jersey, frankly, around this country."
Beach did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Beach told The New Jersey Globe Wednesday that he plans to seek re-election in 2027.
"I have never believed that holding elected office was somehow a right that could not or should not be challenged, and I welcome any and all opponents to file to run against me in my re-election bid so that we can fully review our records and agenda for the future. I’m very proud of my record," Beach told The Globe, while accusing Kim of trying to become a "party boss."
Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg delivered remarks to Michigan State University students while protesting gun violence in Lansing, Michigan, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Reuters/Emily Elconin)
Hogg resigned from his vice chair position earlier this year after DNC Chair Ken Martin gave him an ultimatum to either forego his involvement with Leaders We Deserve or resign from his vice chair role. Amid a procedural challenge to his election, Hogg resigned, arguing party politics were at play in pushing him out — an accusation the DNC has rejected.
The 25-year-old's plan to primary challenge Democrats in safe, blue districts triggered a debate about the party's future as Democrats spent much of 2025 without a clear message or leader following losses up and down the ballot last year.
On the heels of Mamdani's success in New York City — a race that took national politics by storm as a socialist millennial was elected to lead the largest city in the U.S. — more progressive, anti-establishment candidates have been jumping into races across the U.S.
In San Francisco, two high-profile Democratic challengers announced campaigns for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat before she had even announced her plan to step down from the seat she has held since 1987.
Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and state senator Scott Wiener, are running to Pelosi’s left, part of a broader coast-to-coast battle for the Democratic Party’s progressive base.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and then-candidate Zohran Mamdani carry a banner across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, ahead of Election Day. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Just this week, Mamdani-endorsed Brad Lander launched a primary challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who refused to endorse Mamdani's mayoral campaign. Lander is considered the more progressive candidate for his outright condemnation of the war in Gaza, while Goldman told CBS New York's Marcia Kramer that he feared Mamdani wouldn't do enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers.
As Kim takes a stance on the ideological divide driving the future of the Democratic Party, the New Jersey senator encouraged his constituents to get involved in the political process.
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"Senator Beach is part of my own political party, but I have to stand up against corruption, stand up against the broken politics, no matter who is violating it. Sometimes that means standing up against my own party," Kim said.
The New Jersey senator's announcement also came on the heels of Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill's success in November, as national Democrats claim to be "on the offense" heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Kim did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nj-senator-declares-war-dem-machine-pledges-primary-battles-against-old-guard-power-brokers