Altman Picks up Tempo in CD-7 Against Reliably Invisible Kean

Sue Altman has been out and about all week – holding a rally in Rahway, a town hall in Clinton and speaking at a forum at FDU.

Not so much her opponent, incumbent Rep. Tom H. Kean Jr.

Yes, he has a “day job,” but that in itself does not explain Kean’s continuing refusal to engage with the press, or for that matter, just about anyone other than loyal Republicans.

Kean used this strategy in winning his CD-7 seat two years ago, so one can’t blame him for doing it again in a district that leans Republican by about 19,000 on the registration rolls.

At the same time, it makes for an interesting dynamic in what is the only competitive House race in the state.

The Fairleigh Dickinson University forum is an ongoing series of discussions with New Jersey candidates. These bipartisan events generally draw academics, some students and members of public interest groups.

Andy Kim was there last week. Curtis Bashaw is scheduled to attend next week.

Altman’s turn was Wednesday. Before things got going, moderator Peter Woolley, a political science professor, explained that Kean had declined an invite to attend a future session.

I asked his campaign via email for a comment, but there was no response.

Altman reviewed her work in fighting corruption in Camden County. As Woolley noted, she was removed from a 2019 legislative hearing in Trenton that was exploring tax incentives granted to businesses connected to George Norcross. Now that Norcross is under indictment on corruption charges, Altman figures the video of her being thrown out has aged pretty well.

Kean’s initial TV ad of the campaign was – and is – about corruption.

Among other things, he talks of voting to evict George Santos from Congress.

Altman said that shows the congressman is playing defense, meaning that he’s trying to co-opt her main issue.

Fighting corruption, she said, is my “claim to fame.”

Of course, that is precisely why Team Kean chose to highlight “corruption” in their first ad.

An issue that just popped up is SALT, or the state and local tax deduction. The 2017 tax reform act capped the deduction at $10,000, which mostly impacts homeowners in high-tax states like New Jersey.

House Democrats have tried – unsuccessfully for years – to get rid of the cap. Most recently, doing away with the cap was endorsed by Donald Trump, who created it in the first place.

Kean says he wants the cap removed, and at Wednesday’s forum, Altman said the same.

Tom Bracken, the president of the state’s Chamber of Commerce, asked Altman her views on the overall tax bill, which reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, increased the standard deduction and slightly lowered individual rates. The bill’s provisions expire next year, so the future is uncertain.

Altman said she would need to review the bill before commenting on it; which is something Bracken urged her to do.

Looking ahead, Altman has another town hall scheduled for Saturday in Mount Olive. She says the plan is to have town halls in all six counties in the district – Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.

As for Kean, he plans to spend Saturday morning canvassing in Long Valley to be followed by a luncheon featuring Rep. Darrell Issa of California. The lunch is closed to the press.

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7 responses to “Altman Picks up Tempo in CD-7 Against Reliably Invisible Kean”

  1. Altman is part of the Democrat-Marxist lunatic fringe. She is anti-American, pro-ILLEGALS, and pro-tax everyone to death!!!!! Don’t believe Altman on anything she says. She’s a Democrat. They lie, prevaricate, project and gaslight the public. That’s all you need to know.

  2. TJ,

    And you and your MAGA puppet Tom Kean will do worse. Funny thing is that on lying (prevaricating is identical to lying btw) and gaslighting, MAGA Republicans lead the league in those departments.

    Kean avoids the press as well as any public appearance where he might be required to answer non-screened questions from his constituents. What does he have to hide???

  3. Thomas Jefferson obviously drank the MAGA Kool-Aid, labeling all Democrats as anti-American Marxists. When TJ instructs everyone to object to everything Altman says, TJ effectively shuts down any dialogue, furthering the divide that is destroying America for today and tomorrow. Sad. Given the authentic Thomas Jefferson was a collaborator and team-builder, I’m guessing this current TJ knows very little American history. Too bad.

  4. Time to vote for New Jersey Democrats. One thing about Sue, she is not a bully. One thing about quite a few male pols, huge egos… let’s get more wom to represent us! Vote Altman!

  5. Alexander Hamilton, it is quite ironic you accuse me of shutting down dialogue on everything Sue Altman says. You say that Thomas Jefferson was a collaborator and team-builder. Please explain why Hamilton was shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr because they couldn’t come to a consensus and team-building.

    Burr and Thomas Jefferson ran on the fledgling Democratic-Republican party ticket. Hamilton was a Federalist. Both Hamilton and Burr (and Jefferson) hated each other.

    Thomas Jefferson, who was tied in the 1800 presidential election with Aaron Burr, was elected by a Federalist dominated House of Representatives–after the 36th ballot in the House.

    Electoral College rules at the time gave each elector two votes for president, and the candidate who received the second most votes became vice president. Burr and Jefferson were tied on 35 ballots before the Federalists succumbed and gave Jefferson the presidency.

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