Sweeney super PAC raises $1.2 million

The super PAC backing Senate President Stephen Sweeney's likely candidacy for governor in 2017 has raised nearly $1.2 million since June, according to an email the group sent to donors Thursday.

In May, the political action committee, New Jerseyans for a Better Tomorrow, filed paperwork with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission saying it planned to support "candidates for elected office in the state of New Jersey through independent activity."

The PAC, which can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on elections, is chaired by Sean Kennedy, a former government aide to Sweeney (D., Gloucester).

"Every day brings us closer to the end of Governor Christie's administration," Kennedy wrote in an email to donors Thursday morning.

"On Tuesday, in his State of the State address, he reminded us that he's replaced forward progress for New Jersey with cheap political points for New Hampshire. Once again, he made it clear that our hard-working middle-class families, seniors, and small businesses are not his priority."

"That's why the 2017 gubernatorial election is so important," Kennedy continued. "It will give voters a chance to elect a Democrat who has spent his life in service to middle-class families and middle-class values — a leader who always has and always will put New Jersey first."

That leader, Kennedy wrote, was Sweeney.

Other Democrats likely to seek their party's gubernatorial nomination in June 2017 include Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany. Possible Republican candidates include Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R., Union) and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

"Over the coming months you'll be hearing more from us about why Senate President Sweeney is the right person, at the right time, to create a better tomorrow for all New Jerseyans," Kennedy wrote.

The PAC donated $25,000 to another super PAC last year to help expand the Democrats' majority in the state Assembly.