7th congressional district candidate Sue Altman won Sussex County’s Democratic convention uncontested this morning, putting Altman one step closer to becoming the Democratic nominee against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in his highly competitive district.
Altman had initially faced a multi-candidate primary for Kean’s seat, but her last remaining primary foe dropped out of the race in February. That allowed her to win both today’s convention and last week’s in Hunterdon County with no opposition.
Unlike most other counties, Sussex Democrats don’t have a county organizational line, so Altman’s win will mean only that she gets to use the official party slogan on primary ballots.
Also winning today’s Sussex convention uncontested was Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), who represents the northern half of the county while Kean represents the southern half. Sussex Democratic Chairwoman Zoe Heath, who took the helm of the county party last year, supported Gottheimer’s primary opponent in his 2020 race, but no Democrats have shown any interest in taking on the moderate congressman this year.
President Joe Biden won the county line unopposed for re-election, marking yet another drama-free win for the president, whose scattered Democratic primary opponents haven’t bothered filing in any New Jersey county conventions so far.