SPARTA – Sue Altman had just bemoaned Donald Trump’s torpedoing of a bipartisan immigration reform bill, saying the former president would rather campaign on the issue than solve the problem.
A few minutes later, a woman in the back of the room said that was a “lie.”

Trump condemned the bill not for campaign purposes, but because it was a bad bill, she said.

There were some boos, but Altman asked for quiet. She said the bill in question, if nothing else, was a step in the right direction. She went on to say immigration reform is a problem that calls for sober discussion among reps from both parties – something not happening now.

Another question came from a Warren County Republican who wanted to know what Altman thought of Kamala Harris’ plan to raise the corporate tax from 21 to 28 percent.
It’s worth remembering that that tax was 35 percent until it was lowered in 2017 to 21 percent..

Altman said it would be useful to step back from the one-size fits all approach and consider different income tax rates for corporations of various sizes.
The back and forth is not the point.

The significance of all this for political observers in CD-7 is that it’s happening.

Altman, the Democratic candidate challenging Republican Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr., was in this Sussex County town for her fourth “town hall” meeting of the campaign. More are scheduled.

These are wide open events. None of this nonsense about writing down questions and submitting them to a moderator.

People raise their hands and if picked, ask anything they want.

In the end, even Republicans who show up seem to appreciate what Altman is doing. About 100 people attended the event at the local ambulance squad building.

The contrast is the real story.

Kean doesn’t do live town halls. Nor does the incumbent interact with the press, or hold public events. Messages to his campaign go unanswered. A fascinating video making the rounds shows the congressman resembling a statue in not acknowledging a series of questions from a D.C-based reporter.

Altman pointed out that while Kean eschews the normal trappings of a campaign, he had Speaker Mike Johnson in the district for two fundraisers.

The point is that Kean lacks the “courage” to stand up to the extremist elements in the Republican Party. As for her, Altman recounts at every town hall how she battled Democratic boss George Norcross and the party machinery he created. Norcross is now under indictment.

The overriding question remains: What does all this mean in a district with about 19,000 more Republicans than Democrats?

A woman in the audience essentially asked that question – can you win?

Altman said incumbent Tom Malinowski lost to Kean by only 3 percentage points in 2022.

But this year – in a presidential year – more people will be voting.

But doesn’t that mean more Republicans will be voting than they did two years ago?

Altman said during the town hall that Kean now has a record.

As for CD-7 voters:

“What they see now they don’t like. They don’t think he’s up to the task.”

Speaking afterwards, Altman said her analysis shows that in presidential years, the district leans more Democratic than it does in midterm elections.

And then, she talked about the top of the ticket.

“Kamala Harris’ great gift to this district is making turnout higher.”