Democratic U.S. Rep. Andy Kim won election Tuesday to become the newest member of the U.S. Senate in New Jersey, according to a quick forecast from the Associated Press. He claimed the open seat that once belonged to the disgraced Robert Menendez – launching a dramatic election campaign that upended the power structure between the party and the state's chief executive.

Kim defeated Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw in the general election to become the first Asian American senator from New Jersey and the first U.S. senator of Korean descent from any state.

The AP called the race at 8 p.m., just as polls were closing, and only 3% of the vote was reported.

Moments later, Bashaw told the press at his election night party in Basking Ridge that he did not know the race had been called and asked if it was too early to know for sure. He said that if he had actually lost, he would give the race to Kim.

“Of course I will,” said Basahw, a moderate Republican who kept former President Donald Trump on the ropes during the race. “But New Jersey is very different with its counties and the way they report. But I'm not an expert. I don't know.”

Kim, 42, a three-term congressman, will ascend to the Senate, taking the seat that Menendez, a fellow Democrat, had held since 2006 but vacated when he resigned in August after being convicted on federal corruption charges . among other things, that he had accepted gold bars as a bribe.

Kim's victory continues the half-century winning streak of Democrats, who have not lost a U.S. Senate race in the Garden State since 1972, when Richard Nixon was still president and the Yankees won just 20 of their 27 World Series titles .

The victory comes after Kim, a former Rhodes scholar and national security analyst, stunningly overtook the state's first lady for his party's nomination and led a successful lawsuit to abolish a controversial primary system.

This all came as Democrats sought to maintain their razor-thin control of the Senate – the upper house of Congress – in a big presidential election year and in the wake of the shocking allegations against Menendez.

Both Kim and Bashaw, a wealthy hotel developer and first-time candidate, vowed to restore the seat's integrity in the wake of the scandal.

The 64-year-old Bashaw, who defeated a Trump-backed challenger in the party's primary, was an atypical Republican candidate in this day and age: a married gay man who billed himself as a pro-choice moderate. He wanted to be the first openly gay congressman in New Jersey.

Republicans viewed this race as their best chance in years to end their decade-long blue state defeat as Bashaw courted independent and unaffiliated voters who are crucial to a Republican candidate winning a statewide race here.

But Kim had created momentum in an exciting Democratic primary. Kim, a congressman representing the 3rd District of Central and South Jersey – who became famous for helping clean up the U.S. Capitol after the Jan. 6 riots – launched the day after Menendez was indicted into the race.

He remained there even after First Lady Tammy Murphy, Gov. Phil Murphy's wife, won the support of several of the state's leading Democrats.

Kim also sued to end “county lines,” a decades-old – and long-debated – system in which candidates backed by powerful county party leaders receive top spots in the primary. Murphy benefited the most from the system, prompting backlash from critics who said she was empowered by nepotism and her husband's power – allegations the Murphys denied.

Buoyed by a wave of progressive support, Kim defeated Murphy at most county conventions that used secret ballots. Murphy won the most public votes.

Murphy ultimately dropped out, saying she didn't want to mount a big fight against a fellow Democrat in a big year. Then a judge sided with Kim in his lawsuit, declaring the voting order unconstitutional and shaking up the state's political universe. Kim later easily won the party's nomination, although some of the party's leaders remained secretly upset with him.

The general election was also fascinating, as Kim and Bashaw clashed over abortion and immigration, although never with the same hatred as other races.

Specifically, Bashaw said he supported passing a federal law to allow abortion rights in all 50 states, but Kim noted that Bashaw also praised the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Bashaw had to overcome a difficult challenge: balancing Trump in the deep blue jersey. He beat Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, a Trump-backed Trump loyalist, to win the GOP nomination. But while Bashaw said he would vote for the former president and Republican presidential nominee, he also distanced himself from Trump.

When asked Tuesday night to talk about the challenge of running with Trump at the helm, Bashaw said, “I’m Curtis Bashaw. I am no one else. And I'm a businessman who has created payroll after payroll, budget after budget. I have the feeling that the acrimony in our politics is not as great as we would like. I think New Jersey is a moderate state and people just want to get things done. That’s why I’m proud to have our own lane in this race.”

Kim ultimately led the way in fundraising, holding a double-digit lead in recent public polls, even though many voters said they didn't know much about either candidate.

Menendez launched an independent attempt to retain his seat but dropped it after his conviction.

Bashaw described the campaign as “the most amazing experience speaking to all New Jerseyans about the changes needed in the state.”

“And people are motivated,” he added. “They want affordability, they want security, they want a future in which they believe their children and grandchildren can stay and thrive.”

Kim will be New Jersey's first new senator since the election of Cory Booker – now the state's senior senator – in 2013. Kim is a native of Moorestown and will also be the first U.S. Senator from South Jersey since 1955.

He doesn't have to wait until January to be sworn in. After Menendez resigned, Governor Murphy appointed his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to fill the seat on an interim basis pending the outcome of that race. He promised to name the winner after the election was certified.

That means Kim could take office this year, giving him priority over his fellow senators who won't be sworn in until January.

Four independent or third-party candidates also ran: Kenneth Kaplan, Christina Khalil, Joanne Kuniansky and Patricia Mooneyham.