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Can Sue Altman stoke MAGA fears and replace Tom Kean in New Jersey?

Posted on by Kennedy
Can Sue Altman stoke MAGA fears and replace Tom Kean in New Jersey?

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MOUNT OLIVE — Democrat Susan Altman cited a surprising source of inspiration for her town hall tour of the 7th Congressional District: Chris Christie, the Republican governor who was once the target of Altman's attacks on the political syndicate that effectively runs Trenton.

Last Saturday, during a campaign forum at the local senior center, Altman told a story about how she once called out Christie at a civic event after he harassed the audience with a lie. An annoyed Christie replied: “If you're that smart, you'll tell everyone.”

Then, Altman said, “the former governor threw the microphone at me point blank.”

Calling on her reflexes, the former college basketball player got the hang of it and set out to dispute Christie's claims. After the event was abandoned, she crossed paths with the governor, who told her, “Boy, I bet you're just going to be a pain in the ass from now on,” and I think he mentioned it as a compliment: to the governor to be fair.”

It was the moment, she told the crowd, that opened her life in politics. Altman has become an activist and thorn in the side of the political establishment, whose campaign against Democratic Party power broker George Norcross III resulted in her memorably being walked out of a Statehouse committee hearing on tax breaks for Norcross' allies Camden was dragged. The “Norcross company” that attacked them is now the basis for a state racketeering charge. Norcross filed papers Tuesday asking that the case be dismissed.

Now the 41-year-old former teacher from Clinton is a candidate for Congress and has said she is holding candidate forums to create a dialogue with 7th District voters. While she praised Christie for the idea of ​​the City Hall tour, she also drew a contrast: Altman answers unverified questions directly from the crowd, not on cards reviewed by her staff.

“Chris Christie didn’t do it that way,” said Altman, who played basketball at Columbia University before earning a degree at Oxford University.

Altman draws contrasts with Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., her opponent

Altman's town hall tour is about more than just answering a series of questions about the strain on teacher pensions, property tax fears, Social Security and climate change. The tour gave Altman a stage to create a sharp contrast with her opponent, incumbent Republican Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr., who largely avoids the press, minimizes his informal interactions with voters and relies on the power of social media Media sets the aura of the enduring name Kean – his father, former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, a pillar of moderate Republican politics, remains one of the most popular figures in New Jersey despite leaving office more than three decades ago.

Her point: she will be accountable to voters and concerned about the fate of democracy. She argues that Kean is accountable to the Republican House leadership, led by ultra-conservative House Rep. Mike Johnson, and is being fooled by former President Donald Trump and his MAGA army. Sending Kean back to Washington for a second term will only strengthen a Republican Party that is moving toward a draconian vision of governance and distancing itself from the nation's democratic moorings, Altman contends.

It's the central issue of this closely watched swing district race that could shift the parties' balance of power in the House over the next two years.

“The next six weeks in this country … I truly believe they will determine the direction of this country for the next five, 10, 20, maybe 30 years,” Altman told the audience in Mount Olive. “I'm deeply concerned that there will be a push. If there is a push, (Kean) will be voting with the extremist majority in Washington and not with his heart in this district.”

But Kean's campaign has sought to position him as a member of Congress committed to his district's core interests and steer clear of the extremism that has gripped his party. And she has aggressively sought to cast doubt that Altman's heart beats in concert with voters in her moderate Republican district, which includes all of Warren and Hunterdon counties and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties.

The Kean campaign accuses Altman, the former state director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, of making a quick, moderate shakeup and has revived old tweets from her time as an activist during the emotionally draining aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, an African American Man, under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. During her event last Saturday, she addressed a specific tweet in which she included the hashtag #DefundThePolice.

She now says that the anger and discomfort she sought to express by reusing the controversial hashtag have since been replaced by a more mature, comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing law enforcement — and why that hashtag “Defund” back then was so explosive.

“The police are expected to do too much in our communities,” said the 41-year-old. “I heard from law enforcement officials that this slogan made people feel like they were under attack, like people who chose a career.” Keep your communities safe and look out for neighbors under siege, and I took that to heart. That’s why I regret tweeting it.”

But the Kean campaign said there were other tweets and dismissed her statement as a “weak attempt” to “backtrack” and showed she was “dangerously vulnerable to the whims of her party's radical fringe.”

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Will voters care?

Altman tells the audience that she believes the 7th District is “extremely changeable,” a vote of confidence somewhat belied by the district's recent history. Kean, who narrowly lost to then-incumbent Tom Malinowski in 2020, won the seat in 2022. After redistricting, Kean now has an 18,000 Republican registered voter advantage over Democrats.

Which begs the question: Will her barnstorming at City Hall — she plans to hold one in every district before the Nov. 5 race — make much of a difference? And do voters really care if Kean turns away from voters? The strategy worked for him two years ago.

Altman is convinced that voters do care.

“People care because they care about democracy, and not just democracy as an esoteric concept, but democracy in terms of how it works in this district,” she told reporters after the event ended. “These are people who expect a high degree.” These are people who believe that government should function properly and who believe in institutions being capitalized. So when they send someone to Washington, they expect that person in the district to talk to them about their votes, and that's what they want someone with political courage and character.”

Ultimately, however, Altman may need help from macropolitical forces, such as increasing antipathy toward Donald Trump among moderate Republican voters and a wave of female voters still seething over a Trump-filled Supreme Court that has shredded Roe v. Wade and now Fear One even more sweeping crackdowns on reproductive rights in a second Trump term.

And if the close contact with voters in town halls isn't enough to decide the election, Altman's allies have other means – such as spreading their message over the air.

“Kean & Trump: Perfect Together, Bad for New Jersey” was the slogan of an airplane banner that flew over Westfield last weekend, sponsored by a coalition of public employee unions and social activist groups.

Charlie Stile is a veteran political columnist based in New Jersey. For full access to his unique insights into New Jersey's political power structure and his impactful surveillance work, subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: [email protected]

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