U.S. Rep Tom Kean Jr., a first-term congressman and son of the former governor of the same name, held onto his House seat in New Jersey on Tuesday, despite a formidable challenge from Democrat Sue Altman.
The race was among a handful of contests across the country, several in the New York City suburbs, that could determine the balance of power in Congress.
Kean won close to 53% of the vote, with nearly all ballots counted, according to the Associated Press, which made the call at midnight several hours after polls closed.
New Jersey’s Congressional District 7, one of the wealthiest in the country, stretches from the New York City suburbs of Rahway and Summit to the state’s border with Pennsylvania. It was widely seen as the only competitive congressional race in New Jersey this year.
For months, national Democrats failed to bankroll Altman’s challenge, while Kean benefited from digital ads and TV commercials from political action committees, including a PAC founded by Elon Musk, the New York Times reported. But recent, better-than-expected polls prompted left-leaning leaders to launch a last-minute effort to flip the seat.
Altman, a former teacher and public education advocate, until last year served as executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a progressive political organization.
In a statement after his primary win, Kean seized on Altman’s professional background, calling her a “radical activist” with a “far-left agenda” out of step with the district.
Altman, meanwhile, hit back in a recent TV ad that Kean, a supporter of Donald Trump, “has chosen to stand with the most extreme elements of his party.” The candidates also sparred on the issues of immigration and abortion.
Kean, the former top GOP state senator in New Jersey, narrowly won the seat in 2022. His father, Tom Kean, Sr., served as the governor of New Jersey in the 1980s, and his grandfather, Robert Kean, represented a congressional district in the state from 1939-1959.
