New Jersey’s Seventh Congressional District was redrawn last year specifically to boost Republicans’ chances. It worked.
Now the Democrats are trying to win back the seat. But instead of turning to a centrist who reflects the region’s conservative ethos, the party appears to be uniting around a candidate who has been the face of the New Jersey progressive left for four years: Sue Altman.
Ms. Altman, who leads the state’s liberal Working Families Alliance and is an ally of Governor Philip D. Murphy, is expected to announce her candidacy Wednesday morning.
“We’ve been training hard in New Jersey to fight corruption,” Ms. Altman, 41, said in an interview. “And I’m ready to turn those skills into a bigger, much more urgent fight.”
Last year, the redistricting boosted the incumbent’s chances of victory in 11 of New Jersey’s 12 congressional districts. The only incumbent to lose was Tom Malinowski, a two-term Democrat who won the Seventh Congressional Districtstretching from one side of northern New Jersey to the other and encompassing mostly suburban and rural communities.
Tom Kean Jr., a former Republican state legislator and namesake of a beloved governor, defeated Malinowski in November by 8,691 votes, or about three percentage points, to join the troublesome, majority of nine members in Washington.
The chair is identified as a key target of Democrats hoping to regain control of the house. Over Memorial Day weekend, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee placed an ad on a highway billboard that bothered mr. Kean to former President Donald J. Trump, offering a glimpse into what will likely be nationwide strategy next year in races that coincide with the presidential contest.
With a year and a half before the election, it is likely that more Democratic challengers will emerge for Mr. Kean. But Ms. Altman’s early entry and name recognition gives her a clear advantage in a race that even Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy J. Jones Jr. recognizes will be an uphill battle.
“Sue Altman is a formidable candidate – and the only candidate so far,” Jones said. “Without hearing from anyone else, Sue is in a position to make her case to eventually become the Democratic nominee.”
It’s a counterintuitive choice in some ways. The candidate will run from the left in a district where registered Republicans now outnumber Democrats 16,000 voters.
Harrison Neely, a top political adviser to Mr Kean, said Ms Altman represented the “most divisive and extreme aspects of her party’s fringe”.
Mr. Neely said that Mr. Kean’s focus on lowering the cost of living in New Jersey and his efforts to work across the aisle as a member of the bipartisan Troubleshooters Caucus illustrated his “common sense solutions to our national challenges.” He said he was confident Mr Kean would be re-elected.
Ms. Altman said she too planned to focus on making New Jersey more affordable while emphasizing the importance of abortion rights, the environment and gun safety.
“Mothers and fathers should not be afraid to drop children off at school, fearing a mass shooting,” she said. “We definitely need to do something to stop it.”
Mrs. Altman grew up in Clinton, NJ, and now lives in Lambertville, both in Hunterdon County, an affluent region known for its horse ranches.
A star high school and college basketball player, Ms. Altman also played at Oxford University while completing her MBA
Her organizing tactics have earned her a reputation as a stake ready to pack punches.
She has led protesters outside the offices of Representative Josh Gottheimer, a fellow Democrat, over his blunder during negotiations on key pillars of President Biden’s infrastructure and social security agenda. She handed out counterfeit million-dollar bills to mock George Norcross III, a longtime political power broker and frequent nemesis, and sparred with former Republican governor Chris Christie over school funding at a town hall in 2016.
“Pity the policy officer whose job it is to explain things to Sue Altman,” said Jennifer Holdsworth, a Washington Democratic strategist with 20 years of campaigning experience in New Jersey.
“Even her detractors, her detractors, would say she’s incredibly smart on the issues.”
Robert Torricelli, a Democrat who lives in the Seventh Congressional District and represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, said he expected the race to be one of the most important contests nationwide as Democrats try to win the majority. of the Republican House.
“I actually think she’s just the right contrast to Tom Kean,” said Mr. Torricelli, who was influential in selecting candidates for Congress when he led the Democratic Senate campaign committee between 1999 and 2001. “Sue brings tremendous energy.”
Mr Torricelli said Ms Altman’s anti-establishment resume and her ability to address women directly was likely to gain popularity in a district full of independent voters.
“This is the kind of district where people think they are Republicans,” he added. “But they’re also pro-environmental, pro-choice and culturally progressive.”