Jason Blazakis is dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district, clearing the field for Sue Altman to take on freshman Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in one of the most closely-watched House races in the nation.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to end my race for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district, my home district,” he said. “I want to thank my amazing supporters, my staff and my family for their dedication and passion during this race.”
Blazakis joined the race in August and raised $360,218 through the end of last year, including a $71,600 personal loan. He began 2024 with $228,197 cash-on-hand.
“I am so grateful for the contributions from over 2100 donors that helped our efforts to raise just under half a million to defend our democracy. If you have the capacity, I urge my donors to continue to support Democrats across the country. It is incumbent that we win the House, Senate, and White House,” Blazakis said.
A former State Department official who focused on counterterrorism finance, he says he’ll keep pushing for Kean to be a one-term congressman.
“As an extremism researcher, the threat to our democracy today is existential. Trump said he would be a dictator for ‘only on day one.’ In my experience fighting against bad actors like Vladimir Putin, there is a very good chance we’d see Trump as a dictator on day 1,000,” Blazakis said. “Tom Kean Jr. has enabled this extremism, and we must push back against the tide of Maga-extremism.”
Altman has now vanquished three men in her bid to take on Kean: Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello, Summit Councilman Greg Vartan, and Blazakis.
The former college basketball star, teacher, and progressive activist raised $779,307 during the second half of last year and finished the fourth quarter with a $531,726 warchest. With no apparent primary, Altman can bank money for the general election. Kean is sitting on $2,110,338 cash-on-hand.
She will now head into Democratic conventions in Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren and a screening committee in Union without any opponents. The filing deadline is March 25, but is unlikely that she will attract a serious opponent this late.
Blazakis has pledged to “do everything in my power to help Democrats win up and down the ticket.”
“I urge us all to support Democrats in state and local races in Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, and Union counties,” he said.
Altman praised Blazakis’ role in the 7th district race.
“I want to thank Jason for his hard work on the campaign trail these past several months. Jason and I ended up spending over an hour together at a bar in Summit a few weeks ago, and I can genuinely say he is a thoughtful, warm human being. He brought foreign affairs knowledge to the race, and his command of this issue was a benefit to us all,” said Altman. “I look forward to us working together to beat Tom Kean Jr. and the dangerous extremism he represents in Congress.”
This afternoon, Blazakis endorsed Altman.
“Though I disagree with Sue Altman on some important issues, we both agree that together, we must tackle the climate crisis and stop attacks on a woman’s right to choose,” Blazakis said. “More importantly, we must defeat Tom Kean Jr. in November for the safety of our republic. It is for this reason – the protection of our democracy – that I endorse Sue.”
Kean’s campaign sough to frame the race against Altman.
“Voters now have a clear choice between a problem-solving public servant, or an activist radical. Sue Altman has an established record of promoting policies that would seriously jeopardize the safety of our communities and drain the bank accounts of hardworking middle-class families,” said campaign manager Kean MacLelland. “Her far-left politics run way out of step with New Jersey values and frankly she is a dangerous candidate.”
Kean won the seat in 2022, ousting two-term Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) by three percentage points under a new map drawn by Democrats that reimagined NJ-7 to be one that Joe Biden carried by four points, down from a ten-point win under the old boundaries. Malinowski mulled running again – it would have been his third race against Kean – but decided against it; he recently said he won’t reconsider his decision.
Malinowski was one of seven seeking to challenge five-term Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton Township) in 2018. Four dropped out during the county convention process, and Malinowski, against two relatively minor candidates, won the primary with 67% of the vote.
Kean, who came within one point of beating Malinowski in 2020, won a seven-way Republican primary in 2022 with more than twice as many votes as the second-place finisher.
This story was updated at 3:21 PM and 6:13 PM.