Campaign season in New Jersey’s most competitive congressional district is truly here.
Sue Altman, the Democratic nominee for the 7th district against freshman Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), is up on the air with her first TV ad of the cycle, a spot starring two self-described Republican voters named Anthony and Sue who say they’re turned off by Kean’s views.
Altman’s campaign is putting up $500,000 to air a one-week blitz of the ad, titled “Turn the Page”: $400,000 on broadcast TV and another $100,000 on cable. That’s a major investment for Altman, who had $2.2 million on-hand as of the end of June (though she’s certainly raised more in the two months since then).
“Tom Kean, Jr. clearly believes NJ-07 voters haven’t noticed he doesn’t represent their interests in Congress,” Altman’s campaign manager, Rob West, said in a statement. “Instead of fighting for solutions to the overtaxing of New Jersey families, skyrocketing prices of everyday goods like groceries and gas, or threats to their reproductive rights and fundamental freedoms, Tom Kean, Jr. hides from his constituents and sells them out to Donald Trump and extremists like Mike Johnson. On November 5th, he’ll find out voters have indeed noticed.”
Kean, for his part, kicked off his campaign’s TV messaging last week with a spot that detailed the congressman’s fights against corruption over the years; his campaign declined to say how much money it was putting behind the ad.
Kean first got to Congress in 2022, unseating Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) by three percentage points in a district that had been carried by Joe Biden two years earlier. The race was an extraordinarily expensive one, with around $22 million in spending coming from outside groups and the candidates themselves.
In order for this year’s race to reach that level of spending, outside groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee will need to get involved. They haven’t yet, but there’s still time for them to direct their New York media market reservations towards the 7th district – especially if ad blitzes like the one Altman is beginning today convince them that she’s worth investing in.
Script:
Anthony N.: “I’m really done with Tom Kean Jr.”
Sue N.: “Kean is your typical say-anything, do-nothing politician.”
Anthony N.: “I gave the guy a chance.”
Sue N.: “Junior is nothing like his dad. He has a secret anti-abortion agenda, and I don’t like that.”
Anthony N.: “I like what I see in Sue Altman.”
Sue N.: “Sue has taken on corruption in both parties, saving us taxpayers money.”
Anthony N.: “And I trust that she will make New Jersey a safer and more affordable place to live.”
Sue N.: “This year, I’m voting Sue Altman for Congress.”