NYT: Sue Altman and the “Tightening Race” for NJ-07

Sue Altman has made a name for herself by taking on political heavy hitters in New Jersey.

First was Chris Christie, the famously pugnacious Republican governor, who, during a 2016 town hall, was so exasperated by her questions about education funding that he tossed his microphone to her.

Three years later, she tangled with George Norcross III, then among the state's most influential Democratic power brokers, as she led a drumbeat of criticism against corporate tax breaks awarded to companies with close ties to him.

Now Ms. Altman is seeking to unseat Thomas Kean Jr., a first-term Republican congressman who is the scion and namesake of a former governor, in one of a handful of races nationwide that will determine whether Republicans retain control of the House.

Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan University's Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship, said he saw the election mainly as a referendum on the hold that Mr. Trump has on the moderate wing of the Republican Party.

"If Democrats are able to win in NJ-7," Professor Dworkin said, "then it will really show the negative impact that Donald Trump had on Republican candidates down ballot."

The campaign arm of House Democrats committed to spending about $4 million just last week - its first financial commitment in the race - after surveys showed that the contest was narrowing. Democratic Party luminaries like Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a leader of the congressional progressive PAC, and Bill Bradley, a former U.S. senator and New York Knicks star, have joined Ms. Altman, 42, on the campaign trail.

At a candidate forum last week, the race's high stakes and the potency of abortion rights as a political issue were on display.

Mr. Kean described Ms. Altman's support for abortion access as "abortion on demand," the same terminology he used two years ago in his successful campaign against Mr. Malinowski.

Ms. Altman supports abortion access and a New Jersey law that codified the right to the procedure throughout a pregnancy.

Mr. Kean, who has endorsed Mr. Trump, describes himself as "pro-choice" and said he would oppose a national ban on abortion. But he has also said that abortion policy was "best handled at the state level" when asked about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which ended a constitutional right to abortion.

During the forum, Mr. Kean, who opposed funding for Planned Parenthood while in the State Legislature, twice referred to doctors who "commit abortion."

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in New Jersey by 917,000 voters.

A Monmouth University poll that put Mr. Kean ahead by two percentage points also found that more voters trusted him to handle issues related to the economy and crime. That edge was dwarfed, however, by Ms. Altman's advantage when voters were asked about abortion and reproductive health policy.

Ms. Altman has worked to appeal to centrist voters, or, as she describes them, "moderate people who are witnessing their beloved Republican Party dwindling down to this extremist morass."

She grew up in the district, regularly mentions that her parents are Republicans, and in stump speeches stresses her background as an "anti-corruption advocate" with a record of opposing Democratic as well as Republican leaders.

Mr. Kean is an awkward public speaker, holds few events open broadly to the public and avoids most media requests for interviews.

Ms. Altman's energy and candor are among the first things people note after listening to her speak.

"To me, she's like a breath of fresh air," Melissa Lipman, 78, a Democrat, said after an event last week.