With a new Monmouth University poll showing a very close race for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district, freshman Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) is heading into the final weeks of the 2024 campaign with a 2-1 cash advantage over Democrat Sue Altman.
Kean had $2,812,640 banked as of September 30, while Altman’s warchest was at $1,413,855. Last week, the Altman campaign had declined to release their cash-on-hand.
Altman, a first-time candidate, has emerged as a prodigious fundraiser. She raised over $2.1 million in the third quarter and over $5.1 million entering the race last year. Kean raised more than $1.1 million in July, August, and September, bringing in nearly $5.4 million this cycle.
Republicans have spent heavily to protect Kean’s seat: the GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund and a PAC led by billionaire Elon Musk have both spent invested in the race, and the CLF hit the airwaves this last week with a new ad slamming Altman as a “radical liberal.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the House Majority PAC have still not spent money in this race.
In a debate on Sunday evening, Altman was asked if she thought Democrats had done everything possible to help her flip the seat. She responded with a thumbs-down.
The 7th district, which became better terrain for Republicans in the last round of redistricting, remains one of eighteen GOP-held House seats nationally in a district that backed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The Monmouth poll shows Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a statistical dead heat among registered voters in the 7th district.
The Cook Political Report moved the 7th district race from toss-up to leans Republican last week.
The two independent candidates in the race, Andrew Black of the Green Party and Lana Leguia of the Libertarian Party, didn’t file reports with the Federal Election Commission, which indicates that they haven’t raised any.