Susan Altman
Susan Altman (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on June 2, 2026.[source]
Biography
Susan Altman was born in Clinton, New Jersey. She earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and two graduate degrees from Oxford University. Her career experience includes working as a nonprofit executive director..[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the June 2 Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Thirteen candidates are running in the Democratic primary for New Jersey's 12th Congressional District on June 2, 2026. Susan Altman (D), Brad Cohen (D), Adam Hamawy (D), Adrian Mapp (D), Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), Shanel Robinson (D), and Jay Vaingankar (D) lead in endorsements and media attention.
Incumbent Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) is not running for re-election. As of May 12, 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rated the general election as Solid Democratic. Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it as Safe Democratic.
Rider University's Micah Rasmussen said that Watson Colemon's retirement and the historical precedent that the incumbent president's party typically loses seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in midterm elections have led to a large number of candidates running in the Democratic primary.[2]
According to the New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox, the seven noteworhty candidates mentioned above all have viable paths to winning the nomination. Fox also wrote that Cohen, Mapp, Reynolds-Jackson, and Robinson have support in the areas that they represented in their elected positions heading into the Democratic primary.[3] The Democratic Committees in the four counties the district covers have endorsed different candidates. According to the New Jersey Globe's Zach Blackburn, the split in committee endorsements means that "[n]o candidate has dominant establishment support."[4]
Below is a background on each candidate. To read more about how Ballotpedia defines noteworthy candidates, click here.
- Altman ran unsuccessfully for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District in 2024. She previously worked as the executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Party and as state director for U.S. Sen. Andrew Kim (D-N.J.).[5] The College Democrats of New Jersey endorsed Altman.[6]
- Cohen is a physician and surgeon who was first elected mayor of East Brunswick in 2016. He previously served on the East Brunswick Board of Education from 2010 to 2016.[7] The Middlesex County Democratic Committee endorsed Cohen.[8]
- Hamawy is a surgeon and business owner who served in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2011.[9] U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) endorsed Hamawy. In 2004, Hamawy operated on Duckworth following an attack on her helicopter in Iraq.[10]
- Mapp is an accountant who was first elected mayor of Plainfield in 2013. He previously served on the Union County Board of Freeholders from 2005 to 2007, and on the Plainfield City Council from 1999 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2013.[11][12] The Union County Democratic Committee endorsed Mapp.[13]
- Reynolds-Jackson was appointed to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2018. She previously served on the Trenton City Council from 2010 to 2018 and worked as a social worker.[14] The Mercer County Democratic Committee endorsed Reynolds-Jackson.[15]
- Robinson was first elected to the Somerset County Board of Commissioners in 2018. She previously served on the Franklin City Council from 2015 to 2018 and worked as a borough administrator. Robinson also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1989 to 1998.[16] The Somerset County Democratic Committee endorsed Robinson.[17]
- Vaingankar is a community organizer who worked as a special advisor in the Secretary’s Office of Policy for the U.S. Department of Energy under President Joe Biden (D).[18] Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (D) endorsed Vaingankar.[19]
Matt Adams (D), Elijah Dixon (D), Kyle Little (D), Squire Servance (D), Sujit Singh (D), and Samuel Wang (D) are also running in the primary.
Watson Coleman said she would not endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary.
Matt Adams (D), Adam Hamawy (D), Kyle Little (D), Adrian Mapp (D), and Samuel Wang (D) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.
This is one of 57 open races for the U.S. House of Representatives this year in which an incumbent is not running for re-election. Across the country, 21 Democrats and 36 Republicans are not running for re-election. In 2024, 45 incumbents — 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans — did not seek re-election.
Elections
2026
See also: New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Matt Adams  | |
 | Susan Altman | |
 | Brad Cohen | |
 | Elijah Dixon | |
 | Adam Hamawy | |
 | Kyle Little | |
 | Adrian Mapp | |
 | Verlina Reynolds-Jackson | |
 | Shanel Robinson | |
 | Squire Servance | |
 | Sujit Singh | |
 | Jay Vaingankar | |
 | Samuel Wang | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bonnie Watson Coleman (D)
- Michael Anderson (D)
- Raymond Heck (D)
- Tennille R. McCoy (D)
- Rick Morales (D)
- Iziah Thompson (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12
Gregg Mele (R) is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Gregg Mele | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Darius Mayfield (R)
- Andrew Zaborney (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Campaign spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Adams | Democratic Party | $85,764 | $65,942 | $19,822 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Susan Altman | Democratic Party | $490,068 | $289,698 | $200,369 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Brad Cohen | Democratic Party | $700,545 | $517,992 | $182,553 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Elijah Dixon | Democratic Party | $8,805 | $7,890 | $915 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Adam Hamawy | Democratic Party | $1,028,937 | $718,239 | $310,697 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Kyle Little | Democratic Party | $30,556 | $35,090 | $2,580 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Adrian Mapp | Democratic Party | $430,668 | $362,656 | $68,013 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Verlina Reynolds-Jackson | Democratic Party | $282,598 | $220,829 | $61,769 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Shanel Robinson | Democratic Party | $140,250 | $96,344 | $43,907 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Squire Servance | Democratic Party | $390,651 | $333,046 | $57,606 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Sujit Singh | Democratic Party | $126,525 | $43,171 | $83,354 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Jay Vaingankar | Democratic Party | $285,300 | $249,170 | $36,130 | As of May 13, 2026 |
| Samuel Wang | Democratic Party | $465,174 | $294,285 | $170,889 | As of May 13, 2026 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[20][21][22]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Endorsements
Altman received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- California Working Families Party's Voting Group (Sway voting group by California Working Families Party)
- College Democrats of New Jersey
2024
See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024
New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)
New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Incumbent Thomas Kean Jr. defeated Susan Altman, Andrew Black, and Lana Leguia in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Thomas Kean Jr. (R) | 51.8 | 223,331 |
| Susan Altman (D) | 46.4 | 200,025 | |
 | Andrew Black (G) | 1.0 | 4,258 | |
 | Lana Leguia (L) | 0.9 | 3,784 | |
| Total votes: 431,398 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Susan Altman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Susan Altman | 100.0 | 38,030 |
| Total votes: 38,030 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jason Blazakis (D)
- Joseph Signorello (D)
- Gregory Vartan (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Incumbent Thomas Kean Jr. defeated Roger Bacon in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Kean Jr. | 78.2 | 37,623 |
 | Roger Bacon | 21.8 | 10,460 | |
| Total votes: 48,083 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[23] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[24] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Kean Jr. | Republican Party | $6,023,133 | $6,068,925 | $48,287 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| Susan Altman | Democratic Party | $6,252,517 | $6,241,501 | $11,016 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| Roger Bacon | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Andrew Black | Green Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Lana Leguia | Libertarian Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[20][21][25]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[26]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[27][28][29]
| Race ratings: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 5, 2024 | October 29, 2024 | October 22, 2024 | October 15, 2024 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Tilt Republican | Tilt Republican | Tilt Republican | Tilt Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Endorsements
Altman received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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Campaign advertisements
Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Susan Altman while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.
2024
Susan Altman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign ads
| July 8, 2024 |
View more ads here:
Campaign website
Altman’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Anti-Corruption Sue has dedicated her career to rooting out political corruption in New Jersey in order to protect New Jersey’s taxpayers and our democracy – and she’s ready to take that work to Washington. Sue has pledged to never accept any donations from corporate PACs.
With conservative extremists decimating reproductive rights, Sue will work to protect access to contraception, reproductive choice, and women’s health. As an advocate, Sue worked with grassroots groups to protect this right here in NJ.
Everything is too expensive! From groceries to housing to insurance and fuel, families are seeing more and more of their hard earned paycheck drain away each month. Sue has a long record of working hard for everyday people and will fight in Congress to spur competition in our economy, restore the SALT deduction so New Jerseyans are not double-taxed, fight for a livable wage for all workers, and ensure that homes are bought by humans, not corporations. Our district and our state must be a place where families can thrive, young people can find homes, and seniors can retire.
Environmental change is an existential threat to our communities and wildlife. From farmers grappling with changing weather patterns to our towns experiencing costly and life-threatening flooding, it’s clear that we need bold action. Sue will address our environmental crises at multiple levels, as well as work with our communities to ensure they have the resources they need to address immediate threats to our towns. Sue also knows that our district includes some of the last remaining beautiful open space in New Jersey, and she’ll work in Congress to protect our rural communities and natural environment from short-sighted, environmentally unsustainable overdevelopment and warehouse sprawl.
Over the last 50 years, the pay and benefits for workers has decreased. This was caused in part by systematic de-unionization and de-industrialization and the loss of buying power for everyday people while corporate and CEO pay soared. Sue supports the right of workers to organize and the PRO Act. She also recognizes the exportation of good paying jobs to low wage countries harms working families here, and benefits almost no one other than multinational corporations. Sue understands that if we are going to support working families, we need to bring manufacturing, unions, fair wages, and job security back to New Jersey.
Sue has long advocated for the taxpayer in New Jersey - often against her own party. Whether it was fighting against New Jersey's "corruption tax", pushing accountability for a bipartisan corporate tax giveaway program in Camden that fleeced hard working New Jerseyans out of a billion dollars, or her commitment to repealing the unfair and punitive Trump-era SALT deduction cap, Sue will always fight for fair taxes and smart, efficient use of our taxpayer money.
As our Congresswoman, Sue will fight for common-sense gun reforms to keep our schools, places of worship, and communities safe. She’ll work to give law enforcement the tools they need to get weapons of war out of our communities. She will work to ensure those responsible for crimes of hate are held accountable, investments are made into upstream causes of crime, our local police are fully funded to keep our communities safe, and white collar and political corruption crimes are investigated by law enforcement, and that those professionals have the funds they need to hold the powerful accountable by the law.
Extremists are attacking our democracy every day, from their support of the insurrection on January 6th to attempts to undermine voting rights across the country. As she did for years in Trenton, Sue will advocate for legislation at the federal level to make voting accessible to all who are eligible.
Right now, House Republicans are attempting to gut Medicare and Social Security. As our Congresswoman, Sue will always protect these critical programs and fight any attempts to make seniors foot the bill for tax cuts for megacorporations and the ultra-wealthy.
As a former educator, the fight for our schools is personal for Sue – and that’s why she’s committed to fighting against book banning and for investing in our public schools and working to ensure that every child in America gets the kind of high-quality education that they deserve.
Our kids are struggling – and Congress needs to help this generation of young people. From fighting for funding for services to decreasing the stigma around mental health issues, Sue will prioritize this crisis as your Congresswoman. [30] |
” |
| —Sue Altman’s campaign website (2024)[31] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House New Jersey District 12 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Sue Altman for Congress, "Meet Sue," accessed June 3, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Monitor, "58 line up to run in congressional primaries as Democrats eye gains," March 25, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "The Final List Of Who’s Running For Congress In New Jersey In 2026," April 2, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "NJ-12 Democrats try to find their groove," April 14, 2026
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Sue Altman," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "N.J. College Democrats Endorse Bennett, Altman," March 2, 2026
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Brad Cohen," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Cohen Easily Wins Middlesex Dem Endorsement For NJ-12," March 11, 2026
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Adam Hamawy," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "NJ-12’s newest entrant: The former Army combat surgeon who saved Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s life," January 15, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Plainfield Mayor Will Run For NJ-12," November 26, 2025
- ↑ Union County Democratic Committee, "Mayor Adrian Mapp," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Union County Democrats Back Mapp For Watson Coleman’s House Seat," February 8, 2026
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Verlina Reynolds-Jackson," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Reynolds-Jackson Clears Field To Win Mercer Endorsement On First Ballot," February 26, 2026
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Shanel Robinson," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Robinson Wins Somerset Democratic Endorsement In NJ-12 Primary," March 18, 2026
- ↑ Jay Vaingankar," accessed April 12, 2026
- ↑ National Today, "Former Energy Secretary Endorses Jay Vaingankar for Congress," April 3, 2026
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sue Altman’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed June 3, 2024
