The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added Sue Altman to its “Red to Blue” program for top-tier House candidates, the clearest indication yet that national Democrats intend to heavily target Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) this year.
“Sue Altman is a relentless advocate for New Jerseyans’ fundamental freedoms who, for years, has been fighting on the frontlines to improve our democracy,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Washington), the chair of the DCCC, said in a statement. “While Tom Kean Jr. is busy running away from reporters and dodging his constituents, Sue is on the ground doing the hard work and building the kind of broad, grassroots coalition that will deliver us the majority in November.”
Kean was first elected to the 7th congressional district in 2022, unseating Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) 51.4%-48.6% in a Central Jersey district that had been redrawn to be more favorable to Republicans. Kean and Malinowski had previously faced off once before, in 2020, a contest which Malinowski won 50.6%-49.4% under the old district lines.
Following those close races, Democrats were always likely to make the 7th district a top priority this year, especially given how narrow the current House GOP majority is. This morning’s announcement from the DCCC officially puts Altman on national donors’ radars and places her at the forefront of the Democratic effort to retake the House.
Altman, a former state director of the progressive Working Families Party, was originally going to face a competitive Democratic primary for the right to take on Kean. But after establishing herself as an increasingly formidable frontrunner, her various primary opponents dropped out of the race, and she was the only Democrat to file to run by Monday’s deadline.
That means she and Kean can devote the next seven-and-a-half months to demolishing one another – and probably spending boatloads of money doing so. As of the end of 2023, Kean had $2.1 million on-hand to Altman’s $532,000, numbers that will undoubtedly grow as their general election campaigns shift into gear.
Outside groups, too, are likely to play a big role in the race. Per OpenSecrets, the 2022 race between Kean and Malinowski attracted nearly $8.5 million in spending from outside groups, most of it spent attacking Malinowsi; this year could see similarly colossal outside expenditures descend upon the voters of Phillipsburg and Bernardsville.
And it’s looking like the Kean-versus-Altman showdown may be the only New Jersey contest that warrants that kind of investment. Thanks to a redrawn House map approved in 2021 that shored up most of both parties’ seats, neither party has any obvious targets outside of the 7th district; Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis)’s 2nd district, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff)’s 5th district, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair)’s 11th district, and the open 3rd district are all expected to host sleepy races despite being hotly contested just a few years ago.