An independent expenditure group affiliated with the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) has reported spending $639,000 and counting promoting candidates for federal office this year – although the campaign literature the group is using seems to have another election in mind.
As previously observed by several New Jerseyans who received mailers themselves, campaign materials from the NJEA-aligned group, Working New Jersey, encourage voters to make a plan to vote for Democrats this year like Kamala Harris for president and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) for Senate. Then the materials shift to their main focus: NJEA President Sean Spiller, who is running in next year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
“In 2024, these candidates are fighting for us: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz – President and Vice President; Andy Kim – U.S. Senate; Sue Altman – U.S. Congress. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5,” one Working New Jersey doorhanger placed on doors in the 7th congressional district reads. “And in 2025, vote for Sean Spiller – Governor 2025.”
In some of the group’s mailers, federal candidates are only mentioned in passing, and the vast majority of the mailer is devoted to expounding on Spiller’s life story and his plans for leading New Jersey.
Eddie Vale, a spokesperson for Working New Jersey, said that while his group remains committed to supporting Spiller first and foremost, it also recognizes the critical importance of what’s on the ballot this year.
“With so much at stake this November, including the future of democracy, the races for President, Senate, and Congress are too important to not talk about, which is why we’re advocating so actively for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Andy Kim, and Sue Altman, in addition to getting out the word early and strong for Sean Spiller for Governor in 2025,” Vale said.
So far, the group has reported spending $275,000 on campaign materials and canvassing in support of Harris, $275,000 on Kim, $41,000 on Altman in the 7th congressional district, and $46,000 on Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Delran), the Democratic nominee in the 3rd district. Given the pace of spending so far, it’s possible total expenditures could top $1 million by Election Day.
Since the expenditures involve federal races, they’ve all been filed with the Federal Election Commission, which has stricter rules regarding disclosures of expenditures than its New Jersey counterpart. The numbers don’t reflect the full cost of the campaign materials, though, because only the portions of the mailers and doorhangers that apply to federal races need to be reported as federal expenditures.
The choice to spend money on Conaway is especially interesting, given that Conaway has already made an endorsement in the 2025 governor’s race for one of Spiller’s rivals, former State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford). None of the other 2024 candidates promoted by the group have made any endorsement yet in the gubernatorial campaign.
Ultimately, the money being spent to boost Harris, Kim, Conaway, and Altman alongside Spiller could be a drop in the bucket compared to what Working New Jersey may spend overall in the next few months. As reported by Politico, it said in paperwork filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission that it expected to spend $35 million on the 2025 race.