Rep. Andy Kim speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 21. AP-Yonhap

Andy Kim, a third-term congressman, won a Senate seat for New Jersey in the U.S. general election Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, making history as the first Korean American elected to the upper chamber of Congress.

Kim, 42, bested his Republican rival Curtis Bashaw to secure the seat for the Garden State, raising expectations that he could play a greater role in Congress for the Korean American community, the Seoul-Washington alliance and joint efforts to address North Korea's nuclear quandary.

Kim's victory was highly anticipated as New Jersey has not elected a Republican as its senator since 1972. The New Jersey seat was up for grabs as former Sen. Bob Menendez resigned in August following his conviction on bribery charges.

Unlike a House representative, a senator would have a greater voice in America's foreign and security policy as he or she has a vote on every single ambassador position and confirms Cabinet posts and general and flag officers of the Armed Forces among various Senate roles.

Kim boasts a prominent foreign policy career, having served at the White House National Security Council, the Pentagon, the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and as a civilian adviser to Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen in Afghanistan.

"I hope I can be someone that can be a bridge between the U.S. and South Korea, someone that can try to show how beneficial that relationship is to both countries," Kim said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency during a public event in Washington in September. "It's really a win-win."

Rep. Andy Kim speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., Aug. 21. AFP-Yonhap

As a key politician of Korean descent, Kim has mentioned his sense of responsibility to "lift up the voice, hopes and concerns" of the Korean-American community. He was born in Boston in 1982 to a family of South Korean immigrant parents — his father being a medical researcher and his mother a nurse.

"The Koreans have been in America now for a little over 120 years, and I think that there is this growing sense of belief that we deserve a seat at the table," he said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in May.

"You see strength of Korean Americans in the entertainment, arts, business, technology, medicine and law fields. And it feels like now, we are starting to get there when it comes to politics."

Kim has described his life as not just a Korean-American-only story, but that of an American story, a land of opportunities. On the campaign trail, he has also vowed to serve Americans with integrity and a sense of public service.

His commitment to "serve" the nation was on full display when a media photo showed him picking up trash that was strewn across Capitol Hill when the center of America's democracy came under attack by rioters in January 2021.

In 2004, Kim earned a political science degree from the University of Chicago. He was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which led him to earn a master's degree and a doctorate in international relations from the University of Oxford. (Yonhap)