Morris County Democrats officially selected Sue Altman as their organization candidate for Congress in the 7th congressional district today, completing Altman’s uncontested sweep of county conventions.
Altman, a former state director of the Working Families Party, was initially set to face a contested primary for the right to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s most competitive district. But all of her primary opponents dropped out of the race, leaving her unopposed at each of the 7th district’s six county conventions.
In Morris County’s other congressional district, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) won the line for a fourth term in Congress.
Also receiving the Morris line today were three candidates for county commissioner, all of whom currently serve in elected office across the county: Rockaway Township Councilman Jonathan Sackett, Morris Township Committeeman Bud Ravitz, and Chatham Borough Councilman Justin Strickland. The county surrogate’s office is up this year as well, but Democrats do not yet have a candidate for it.
Morris Democrats have not won a county-level office in decades, but the county has grown bluer in recent cycles, and there’s a real chance that this year could be when they break through at last. Sackett also ran for a commissioner seat last year, losing by a modest 53%-47% margin.
As for the race for U.S. Senate – the contest that people are paying by far the most attention to this year – voting is still underway. Morris Democrats hold their endorsement votes online, with the voting period closing tomorrow at midnight and results being announced on Monday.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) is the clear favorite to win, and in fact received a standing ovation at today’s convention; First Lady Tammy Murphy and labor activist Patricia Campos-Medina are also competing for the line.