32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a major property services union, has endorsed former New Jersey Working Families Party director Sue Altman in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 7th congressional district.
“We are proud to endorse Sue Altman, the strongest candidate to defeat Tom Kean Jr. next November,” 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President and New Jersey State Director Kevin Brown said in a statement. “Sue has worked alongside us for years and is someone that workers can trust to look out for them in Congress. Sue will fight for working people in Washington with the same tenacity and integrity that she fought alongside us in Trenton.”
Brown himself individually endorsed Altman in June, so his union’s endorsement is not unexpected. Still, it could bring serious institutional heft to support Altman in her Democratic primary against former U.S. State Department official Jason Blazakis and Summit Council President Greg Vartan.
32BJ SEIU is the second big union to back Altman; the Communications Workers of America, another progressive heavyweight in New Jersey, endorsed her earlier this fall.
Altman is also the 7th district Democratic primary’s fundraising leader thus far, but the state of play in the district will likely remain somewhat murky until county parties begin doling out endorsements in February. The winner of the Democratic nomination will go on to face Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in what’s set to be New Jersey’s most competitive general election in 2024.