U.S. Rep Tom Kean holds House seat in New Jersey in nail-biter against Democrat Sue Altman

U.S. Rep Tom Kean Jr., a first-term congressman and lad of the erstwhile politician of the aforesaid name, held onto his House spot successful New Jersey connected Tuesday, contempt a formidable situation from Democrat Sue Altman.

The contention was among a fistful of contests crossed the country, several successful the New York City suburbs, that could find the equilibrium of powerfulness successful Congress.

Kean won adjacent to 53% of the vote, with astir each ballots counted, according to the Associated Press, which made the telephone astatine midnight respective hours aft polls closed.

New Jersey’s Congressional District 7, 1 of the wealthiest successful the country, stretches from the New York City suburbs of Rahway and Summit to the state’s borderline with Pennsylvania. It was wide seen arsenic the lone competitory legislature contention successful New Jersey this year.

For months, nationalist Democrats failed to bankroll Altman’s challenge, portion Kean benefited from integer ads and TV commercials from governmental enactment committees, including a PAC founded by Elon Musk, the New York Times reported. But recent, better-than-expected polls prompted left-leaning leaders to motorboat a last-minute effort to flip the seat.

Altman, a erstwhile teacher and nationalist acquisition advocate, until past twelvemonth served arsenic enforcement manager of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a progressive governmental organization.

In a connection aft his superior win, Kean seized connected Altman’s nonrecreational background, calling her a “radical activist” with a “far-left agenda” retired of measurement with the district.

Altman, meanwhile, deed backmost successful a caller TV advertisement that Kean, a protagonist of Donald Trump, “has chosen to basal with the astir utmost elements of his party.” The candidates besides sparred connected the issues of migration and abortion.

Kean, the erstwhile apical GOP authorities legislator successful New Jersey, narrowly won the spot successful 2022. His father, Tom Kean, Sr., served arsenic the politician of New Jersey successful the 1980s, and his grandfather, Robert Kean, represented a legislature territory successful the authorities from 1939-1959.