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Sue Altman is on the ground, connecting with voters and fielding questions from press across New Jersey’s 7th Congressional district – directly contrasting vulnerable Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., according to new reporting from POLITICO.
While Kean Jr. “regularly declines press interviews” and holds few town halls that are “not widely advertised” where “the media is not invited,” Altman started her town hall tour by fielding “several unscreened questions” from press, covering topics from climate change to infrastructure.
Altman’s latest town hall also emphasized the importance of sticking up for your community when it matters most: where Altman highlighted her history of holding both parties accountable for corruption, Kean Jr. hasn’t been able to answer a single question about his endorsement of Donald Trump and his dangerous Project 2025 agenda.
POLITICO: Altman starts town hall tour needling Kean over availability
Daniel Han | September 17, 2024
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Democratic Congressional candidate Sue Altman on Monday held her first in-person town hall, trying to draw a contrast with her mild-mannered — and more low key — opponent, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.).
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Altman invited the press to attend the event in her hometown of Clinton and took several unscreened questions.
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Kean’s availability to taking questions has been a consistent theme from the Altman campaign in the race to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, which is one of the most competitive in the country. She criticized Kean for not accepting press interviews — highlighting two instances in the past week where the congressmember declined interviews with the New Jersey Globe and New Jersey Spotlight News — and said Kean was not holding a sufficient number of public events.
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While Kean has held in-person town-hall style events — he was followed at a recent one by a Democratic tracker who recorded him saying he “never read” Project 2025 — the media is not invited and they are not widely advertised. Kean also regularly declines press interviews. Kean also does telephone town halls.
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“Tom Kean Jr. is not holding up his end of the bargain for democracy,” Altman told the crowd in a assisted living home in Clinton. “If you aren’t doing town halls, if you aren’t meeting with the press, you’re turning down interviews, and you’re not making yourself available, then you are not holding up your end of the bargain as the founding fathers intended.”
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Altman criticized Kean for not being featured on a recent letter of bipartisan lawmakers that vowed to certify the presidential election results, with additional focus on it after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in 2021.
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“I’d love to see him on that letter, because I think that’s the bare minimum,” Altman said. “You do your job, you certify the election, you ensure that our democracy is strong.”
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