A new super PAC has arrived in New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, beginning a last-minute spending spree to support Sue Altman and potentially shake up the district’s hectic Democratic primary.
The PAC, called Project 218, reported $393,740 in expenditures today on digital and TV advertising supporting Altman, one of 12 Democrats running for the open seat. (The New Jersey Globe has not yet reviewed the content of the ads themselves.)
The spending gives Altman a much-needed boost in the waning days of the 12th district campaign, where the airwaves have been dominated until now by a rival Democratic candidate, Adam Hamawy, and a well-funded super PAC supporting him. Just five days remain until primary day, when voters in the staunchly Democratic Central Jersey district will decide who Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing)’s successor will be.
Not a huge amount is known about Project 218, which was founded two years ago and which lists its mission as “investing in the most critical congressional races” and flipping the House to Democrats. Most of the PAC’s money comes from small and mid-sized donations from loyal Democratic donors around the country; the PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Project 218’s other expenditures, though, give some indication of its intentions. Not including the new pro-Altman expenditures, the group has spent around $4.5 million this year boosting Democratic House candidates from California to Iowa; most of those Democrats are in swing districts, and most are moderates facing more progressive primary foes, indicating that the PAC may be tied to the national Democratic campaign apparatus.
As a progressive running for a solidly blue seat, Altman doesn’t exactly fit that model, but she does have connections in D.C. – she was the Democratic nominee for a neighboring swing seat in 2024, with national Democrats spending millions on her behalf – and her top foe this year, Hamawy, is running a more resolutely left-wing campaign than her.
(Despite their confusingly similar names, Project 218 is not related to The 218 Project, a different PAC formed last year to support Tom Malinowski’s special election campaign for the 11th congressional district.)
Up until now, the only super PAC making a serious dent in the 12th district race was American Priorities, a pro-Palestine super PAC that’s spent more than $1.5 million in support of Hamawy. That spending, combined with Hamawy’s own strong fundraising and a wide array of progressive endorsements, have given him a critical leg up; Hamawy’s internal poll from earlier this month showed him with a modest lead over the field.
A far more mysterious outside group, the Florence Avenue Initiative, has dropped another $261,000 on anti-Altman mailers and ads. The group has a confusing history and hasn’t yet reported who its donors are, though some parts of its anti-Altman messaging imply that it may be tied to the South Jersey Democratic organization, a longtime Altman antagonist.
Three other candidates – Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson, East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson – have also benefited from smaller amounts of outside spending.
When the race for the 12th district began, there was widespread speculation about whether the American Israel Public Affairs Committee would get involved, especially after the powerful pro-Israel group directly and indirectly spent nearly $4 million on the special election for New Jersey’s 11th district in February. Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industry groups, too, seemed like they might have some interest in the contest.
That never wound up happening, though, allowing the 12th district to escape some of the national attention that other fraught Democratic primaries have gotten. (AIPAC has been known to use front organizations to mask its spending, but there’s no indication that Project 218 is such a group.)