A major House Democrats’ PAC announced it will be spending $4 million in the closing days of this election cycle in hopes of ousting a Republican incumbent in an otherwise deep-blue state.
House Majority PAC’s funds are the first major partisan investment in support of former New Jersey Working Families Party leader Sue Altman, according to the Huffington Post. Altman is facing off against Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., R-N.J., a Trump supporter known as a moderate Republican during his preceding state Senate tenure.
Kean, buoyed by the district’s history of being slightly redder than other parts of the Garden State and having the name recognition as the son of former Gov. Tom Kean, is hoping to win his first reelection since unseating former Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., last cycle.
The western end of the district, along the Delaware River in Warren County, is often geopolitically linked to the reliably “swing” Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. From there, Kean’s district branches northward to the Delaware Water Gap and eastward along US-22 through rural areas to the bluer Newark suburbs, notably encompassing former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club.
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It is also one of a handful of districts won in 2020 by both President Joe Biden and a Republican congressional candidate.
The PAC’s first ad takes aim at Kean’s pro-life record during his time in Trenton, claiming he had supported “extremist” abortion policies.
Elon Musk’s America PAC has conversely invested millions in advertising favoring Kean, according to the New York Times.
A Monmouth Poll last week found Kean leading Altman by two points, within the margin of error. Kean’s advantages were on the subjects of the economy, jobs, crime and immigration, while Altman won respondents over on corruption and abortion, according to the survey.
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A Kean campaign spokesman told NJ.com that “no amount of national Democrat money is going to spare Sue Altman from the consequences of her radical record.” The spokesman characterized Kean as a “moderate problem solver” and Altman as a “professional activist.”
Meanwhile, Altman campaign manager Rob West previously told NJ Spotlight News that polling has shown the race to be a “jump-ball.”
The Times and other outlets reported the race has become such a close concern, New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy urged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to help Altman via House Majority PAC.
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Kean’s seat remains one of few in the Garden State friendlier to Republicans than naught. Before it was slightly redrawn to include additional suburbs of New York City, Democrat Josh Gottheimer’s Skylands-area seat was held for many years by conservative Republican Scott Garrett.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., a former Democrat, represents the other corner of the state in Cape May, and was preceded for 25 years by Republican Frank LoBiondo.
Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., has represented the upper portion of the Jersey Shore in Congress since 1981. He remains the longest-tenured congressman in state history.
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