New jersey gym owner who defied murphy's covid crackdown announces he's running for congress against progressive socialist andy kim

New Jersey gym owner who defied Murphy’s COVID crackdown announces he’s running for Congress against progressive socialist Andy Kim

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1 min read
February 3, 2022

BELLMAWR, NJ – During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Congressman Andy Kim was one of Governor Phil Murphy’s biggest lockdown cheerleaders. Kim praised the governor for his actions during the pandemic including mask mandates for children in public schools, business shut downs, vaccine mandates and has even pushed for vaccine passports.

Kim, a radical socialist liberal who once led an underground organization called “Rise Stronger” preached and planned a radical socialist takeover of the U.S. Government. He ran for Congress and won, twice.

Now, with Kim out of the heavily Republican Ocean County after Democratic gerrymandering, he thought he would cruise to a third relection, but this week, he received a wake up call.

His exact opposite is running against him. Ian Smith, owner of Atilis Gym in Belmawr was not a cheerleader for Phil Murphy. In fact, Smith and his partner Frank Trumbetti were perhaps the governor’s biggest antagonists during the two-year-long Phil Murphy COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

They were defiant, vocal and resisted all efforts by the Murphy administration to shut their business down. They were arrested and charged tens of thousands of dollars for their defiance.

Now, Smith is running for Congress.

“This Thursday 2/3 I’ll be formally announcing my campaign for Congress in NJ CD-3 against @AndyKimNJ,” Smith tweeted this week. “I am truly excited to have the possibility to serve the people of NJ with a platform focused on liberty, small government, and America First policies.”

While Kim has a warchest of over $3,000,000, gained mostly from his D.C. connections with radical Democrats such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and “The Squad”, Kim is well funded to battle Smith, but not too long ago, a once powerful south Jersey Democrat, like Kim, Steve Sweeney was defeated by a truck driver named Ed Durr.

Now, Smith is hoping the revolution against the insanity of the left will continue blowing in the direction that could put him in a position to beat the Kim backed Democratic power machine.

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

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