Democrat Sue Altman raised a mammoth $1.65 million in the second quarter of 2024 and now has more than $2.2 million cash-on-hand for her bid to unseat freshman Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district.
Altman has raised over $3 million since joining the race in May 2023 without accepting corporate PAC money. She has over 15,000 unique contributors, her campaign told the New Jersey Globe.
The 7th district race is considered among the most competitive House races in the nation and viewed by both parties as pivotal in determining control next year.
“The strength of this campaign lies in the thousands of people who recognize the road to taking back the House runs right through NJ-07. People are fed up with Tom Kean, Jr. – an absentee Congressman who would rather dodge reporters, hide from his constituents, and serve as a lapdog for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda than have the courage to stand up for what’s right,” Altman said. “He is so beyond out of step with the values of this district.”
The former professional basketball player-turned-teacher who became a force in Democratic politics over the last few years, raised over $100,000 in her first week as a candidate. She was the driving force behind a lawsuit to abolish county organization lines in New Jersey, but after vanquishing three primary rivals before the first week in February, Altman became the presumptive Democratic nominee and secured organization endorsements in all six counties in the 7th district.
As a point of comparison, Tom Malinowski had raised $2.3 million through the second quarter of 2018 and had over $1.6 million banked for his run against five-term Republican Leonard Lance. Kean ousted Malinowski two years ago.
Kean has reported raising $3.6 million through May 15, with more than $2.5 million banked. He has not yet reported his full second-quarter fundraising haul.
Cook Political Report lists the contest between Kean and Altman as one of 22 toss-up races across the United States.
“I am honored, and deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us so far – because of this movement we have the resources we need to engage voters in every corner of the district,” said Altman. “We are building the coalition that will win this seat in November.”
In the 2022 contest between Kean and Malinowski, the two candidates spent $13.5 million combined – and that’s not counting the $8.5 million that was spent by independent expenditure groups, which often play an outsized role in competitive districts like the 7th.