Advocates and allies gathered on a misty grey day in Lambertville to protest Congressman Tom Kean Jr’s vote for Mike Johnson to be Speaker of the House. Mr. Johnson, who spent his career tossing LGBTQs under the bus, is now second-in-line to succeed the President.

Today’s rally was organized by Sue Altman’s campaign for Congress. Ms. Altman is running for the Democratic Party’s nomination to face Tom Kean Jr. in November of 2024. This is New Jersey’s only swing district and will surely command tons of attention.

If Mr. Kean represents a moderate swing district, today’s crowd is keen to ensure Kean pays a heavy price for his support of a right winger like Mike Johnson.

Today’s rally was also a reminder that we’ve watched Tom Kean Jr play lapdog for the Chris Christie agenda. We already know how this will play out with the GOP’s newly-minted Speaker.

The most scathing critiques came from younger advocates. Apparently the seditious right wing coup to keep Donald Trump in office (something Speaker Johnson supported enthusiastically) didn’t impress the next generation of LGBTQ activist who are eager to make their mark.

Elliot Franklin is a spokesperson for the Flemington QTs, an LGBTQ advocacy and mutual aid group serving Hunterdon County and the region.

“We are here today to condemn Tom Kean Jr. and his support of Mike Johnson,” Mr. Franklin told the crowd of 30ish. “This man (Mr. Johnson) led the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. If you haven’t been keeping up with the court case, our former president and 18 additional people have been charged with fraud for their attempts to overturn the election in Georgia. Many of them have already pleaded guilty. I ask again, what kind of leader looks at these facts, does the pro/con list and comes out thinking Mike Jordan is a good choice for anyone but Mike Jordan and his close personal friends?”

Lambertvillle Mayor Andrew Nowick was also on hand.

“I came out 40 years ago during the Reagan Administration as a 20 year old and this was a time when AIDS research was underfunded,” Mayor Nowick said. “I have friends who died of AIDS. As a gay man I’ve been fortunate enough to live exactly how I want to live. And some of that is my own personality and part of it is there have been incredible strides made, both at the federal level and the state level. My husband and I were married in Massachusetts in 2004 two months after it became legal there. We’ve adopted three children and had successful careers. I think that for me, living openly the best life I could, I hope it’s always been my form of repudiation against narrowness and bigotry.”

The crowd liked that last line a lot.

Antoinette Miles leads the NJ Working Families Party. She took a break from canvassing to remind the crowd what’s at stake. It’s not hyperbolic to say control of Congress might come down to this very race.

“Mike Johnson’s anti-LGBTQ activism goes back years. ” Ms Miles said. “And for Tom Kean to stand by and vote for him for Speaker is shameful. Speaker Johnson actually defended the marriage equality ban in (his home state of) Louisiana, not once by twice, in 2004 and 2014. We are going to hold both Speaker Johnson and Tom Kean accountable. It is going to be a tough, tough fight to oust Tom Kean Jr from his seat. So we need to channel this energy into organizing and knocking on doors.”

Not a door knocker? Cindi Sternfeld of INDIVISIBLE Lambertville/New Hope has a message for you.

“How many of you are terrified of knocking on a door and talking to a stranger about politics,” Ms. Sternfeld asked. “I want you to imagine something different: imagine November 2024 when the Republicans suffer a devastating, party-crushing loss. Imagine you helped make that happen.”