Democratic challenger Sue Altman wasted no time before highlighting Congressman Tom Kean Jr.’s offensive voting record on LGBTQ+ issues after the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization representing gay and lesbian conservatives, announced their endorsement of the freshman representative in the upcoming 2024 election cycle.
Altman pointed out that Kean has a history of voting against measures that would support the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2004, Kean voted against allowing domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. The following year, he voted against granting health benefits to same-sex couples. In both 2010 and 2012, Kean voted against marriage equality.
“Congressman Kean Jr.’s voting record speaks for itself,” said a spokesperson for Altman. “His consistent opposition to LGBTQ+ rights is deeply troubling, and it’s disappointing to see the Log Cabin Republicans endorse someone who has actively worked against the interests of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Log Cabin Republicans, however, have expressed confidence in their endorsements, emphasizing their candidates’ commitment to conservative principles and their ability to enact change in Washington.
Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran stated, “Our candidates have the tenacity and grit to recapture majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, and they have the experience to stop President Biden’s disastrous agenda and get our country back on track.”
Moran emphasized that while each endorsed candidate has distinct qualities, they are united in their desire to expand economic opportunity, protect individual liberty, and prioritize the safety and security of all Americans.
Among the nearly 200 Republican U.S. House members running for re-election, only 26 have received endorsements from the Log Cabin Republicans. Congressman Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey’s 7th District was named in the first round of endorsements, alongside other Republican candidates from various states..
Altman also excoriated Kean in reaction to his vote to select Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.
“As if his vote for Jim Jordan weren’t shameful enough, Tom Kean Jr. just helped elect a bigot who wants to ban same-sex marriage as the Speaker of the House,” said Altman. “Once again, he’s shown his moderate rhetoric is nothing but an act, and that he is willing to throw the LGBTQ community under the bus and risk the rights they have won in order to further his political career and consolidate power in Washington D.C. Tom Kean Jr. owes it to his constituents to stop hiding and explain this indefensible vote.”
Altman, who attended Clinton public schools and the North Hunterdon Voorhees Regional High School, resides in Lambertville.
After leading her high school team to local championships, Altman played at Columbia University and with a professional women’s basketball team in Ireland’s Super League, plus she earned two graduate degrees from Oxford University in the UK, then went on to become a teacher and successful basketball coach–leading two teams to state championships.
In recent years, Altman served as executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a non-profit organization working to make New Jersey a better place to live for everyone.
The son of liberal Republican former Governor Thomas Kean, Congressman Kean represented New Jersey’s 21st legislative district in the General Assembly from 2001 to 2003, and New Jersey Senate from 2003 to 2022, serving as minority leader from 2008 to 2022.
His grandfather is Robert Kean, a former congressman from New Jersey. His great-grandfather Hamilton Fish Kean and great-great-uncle John Kean were both U.S. senators.
His grandmother’s family are descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch colonial governor of New Amsterdam (now known as New York).
He is a direct descendant of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, an authoritarian and religiously conservative slave owning Puritan known for the destruction of the Pequots tribe in 1637,
He is also a direct descendant of Thomas Dudley, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a signer of Harvard College’s charter. His second great-great-uncle was Hamilton Fish, a U.S. senator, governor of New York, and U.S. Secretary of State. He is also a relative of William Livingston, the first governor of New Jersey.
His great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Kean, served in the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War and was appointed a member of the commission to audit accounts of the Continental Army.
The Log Cabin Republicans’ decision to endorse Kean has reignited discussions about the intersection of LGBTQ+ rights and conservative politics.
As the election cycle progresses, it remains to be seen whether Kean’s voting record and the Log Cabin Republicans support will influence voter opinions at all or if gay support will help or hurt the GOP candidate among conservative voters in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District during the 2024 elections.