Nearly six years ago, Sue Altman was serving on the leadership board of South Jersey Women for Progressive Change, a grassroots group formed after Donald Trump won the presidency. From that perch, she worked hard to help Andy Kim, a former Obama White House staffer and first-time candidate, oust a two-term Republican congressman in a South Jersey district Trump had carried by six points.
Now Kim, the likely Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, is returning the favor and endorsing Altman’s bid to unseat Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district, one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation.
“Her principles, her values, are so honed and so sharp, and she always just wants to be able to help people that are having a tough time, to be able to give them a fair chance, and I’ve seen it in her work. She is someone that’s always trying to step up and do what’s right,” Kim said in a video announcement of her endorsement. “We need somebody that shows that level of integrity, that purpose-mindedness at this incredibly dangerous and difficult time — and I’m going to do everything I can to help get her elected.”
As state director of New Jersey Working Families, Altman was the original mover and shaker to file a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of county organization lines in New Jersey.
Kim wound up moving the ball when he filed his own lawsuit, and U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi decided to hear the case on an emergent basis. Last week, Quraishi approved a preliminary injunction barring lines in the 2024 Democratic primary while he considers the original case Altman launched.
“Sue has taken on special interests, she’s taken on unfair and undemocratic systems in our own politics, and she’s taken on the issues that people across our state deal with every day,” stated Kim. “I look forward to working closely with Sue to fire up the vote across Morris, Hunterdon, Warren, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties, and doing everything I can to make sure she’s the next member of Congress from New Jersey’s 7th congressional district.”
Altman ended up winning all six organization lines in her district, but she now gets to compete under an office block ballot system she advocated for. That doesn’t matter since the activist and former college basketball star is unopposed in the Democratic primary after vanquishing three rivals who entered the race to take on Kean and later dropped out.
“For too long, our political institutions have protected self-serving politicians and corrupt political bosses at the expense of New Jerseyans, while Andy exemplifies the best of public service,” said Altman. “Andy and I got into this fight to put people first, and right now that work includes strengthening our democracy, lowering costs for working people, protecting our reproductive rights, and bringing the fight against corruption from Trenton to Washington.”
Last week, five Democratic House members from New Jersey endorsed Altman. U.S. Senator Cory Booker announced his support of Altman on Wednesday.