Altman raises over $100k in first week as NJ-7 candidate

Since announcing her candidacy for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district last week, Sue Altman raised $102,083 in her first seven days, an enormous sum that cements her contention that she’s the right candidate to take on freshman Rep.  Thomas Kean, Jr. next year, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

Altman’s launched her candidacy on  May 31 with a press release, some media interviews, emails, text messages, and a website to help donors contribute online, allowing her to generate some instant excitement for her campaign.

The $102,083 figure dwarfed the $75,081 raised by New Jersey’s Human Fundraising Machine,  Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), during his first seven days as a candidate for Congress in 2015.

After Kean filed his campaign committee in July 2021, he raised $48,642 during the first seven days after he launched his rematch with Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) with now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at his side.

Entering the race two-thirds of the way into the second quarter, Altman has a limited window to show national and state Democrats that she can raise money before her first report is filed with the Federal Election Commission next month.   She needed to wait for Malinowski to decide if he wanted to face Kean for a third term; he announced on March 23 that he would not.

A former teacher and non-profit executive, the 41-year-old Altman was the state director of New Jersey Working Families until taking a leave of absence to run against Kean.

The 7th district is one of the top targets for Democrats in 2024, and Altman, a strident critic of party bosses, is now seeking to win their support.  Demonstrating fundraising skills will help her do that.

Altman is the first candidate to enter the race.  The only other Democrat exploring a House bid against Kean is Raymond Lesniak, 77, a former state senator and Democratic State Chairman.

Drawn by Democrats to tilt Republican to bolster the seats of three other vulnerable Democratic incumbents, the newly-drawn 7th went from a district Joe Biden carried in 2020 by ten points to one he prevailed in by four points.

Kean, 54, the son of popular former Gov. Thomas H. Kean and a former State Senate minority leader, challenged Malinowski in 2020 and came within one percentage point of defeating him.  In the new district, he beat Malinowski by three points.