Altman is fighting her own party bosses. Kean obeys them. | Moraan

Sue Altman’s new TV ad is just 15 seconds long and makes one simple point: her work fighting corruption within her own party shows that she is not a partisan hack, but a woman of integrity willing to take on the bosses, even if they are fellow Democrats. .

Tom Kean Jr. is exactly the opposite. He has been silent during every Republican outrage in the MAGA years. While his father, the former governor, has condemned Trump, the son has supported him.

The contrast here is all about character. Altman made a name for himself by leading a campaign against George Norcross, the most powerful Democratic boss in the state. She led the effort to show that he manipulated a state program to encourage investment in Camden to benefit himself and his friends, for which Norcross is now charged. She was one of the first to call for the resignation of Senator Bob Menendez, another pillar of the Democratic Party. She has guts.

He said nothing about Trump’s plans to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters who injured more than 140 officers, and has expressed no protest against Trump’s plan to pardon them. He said nothing when Trump dismissed American soldiers who died in the war as “losers.” Or when Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed Jewish space lasers in California for the wildfires. Or when juries found Trump had committed sexual assault and corporate fraud. This list is endless, and despite everything, Kean hasn’t even glanced.

Altman has the momentum in this race and is only 2 points behind in the latest Monmouth poll. While Kean hides from the press and public, she holds town halls and public events and challenges Kean to more debates. And this week, national Democrats finally sent $4 million to Altman to counter the dark money going to Kean, including a big boost from Elon Musk, the hard-charging billionaire.

Ask yourself: Who can you trust to act out of conviction? This ad points out the core difference in their characters. And it’s not a close call.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran can be reached at [email protected] or (973) 986-6951. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

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