October 4th, 2024

Tom Kean, Jr.’s Silent Elevator Ride Becomes Sue Altman’s Next Ad

SOMERVILLE, NJ — Today, Sue Altman released a new digital ad in the hypercompetitive Cook Political Report Toss-Up race for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

The ad will likely look familiar to anyone who’s contributed to the 1.1 million X view count on a video of NJ Spotlight reporter Ben Hulac’s persistent, yet fruitless attempts to get freshman Republican Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. to answer a single question in the Capitol.

Unlike Kean, Jr., the tape speaks for itself.

In the spot, Kean, Jr. refuses to make eye contact with (or acknowledge the existence of) Hulac, even as the reporter offers to let him talk about a topic of his choice.

“You pick the topic. Would love to talk to you about literally anything.”

As Kean, Jr. stares blankly at the wall, headlines detailing his notorious efforts to dodge the press, decline debates, and hide from his own constituents scroll across the screen.

The freshman congressman has made it his brand to dodge reporters and avoid questions, which has been noted on countless occasions. He shields himself from direct engagement with his constituents – many of whom are curious about his endorsement of Donald Trump on the same day the former President was indicted by a jury on 34 felony charges and his refusal to support a bipartisan bill to protect IVF access from extremist state legislatures.

Sue Altman, on the other hand, has made it clear that being available to the residents of NJ-07 is an absolute priority – hosting a district-wide town hall tour to meet with voters of all backgrounds and beliefs across the district to discuss the issues that matter most and field unscripted questions.

The ad ends with a question to NJ-07’s voters:

“Tom Kean, Jr. won’t speak to us….so who does he speak for?”

“If an unedited video of your daily conduct serves as an ad for your opponent, you may need to reconsider your line of work. Tom Kean, Jr.'s bizarre indifference to the basic obligations of his job is completely unacceptable.

There are countless things Kean, Jr. doesn’t want to discuss – his support for Donald Trump “no matter what”, his refusal to denounce Project 2025, his vote to punish women who seek abortions and the doctors who perform them, or his failure to follow through on his campaign promise to put his asset in a blind trust after 2 years, just to name a few.

Kean, Jr. simply is not cut out for this job.”

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