In one of the nation’s most competitive House districts, Democrat Rebecca Bennett has raised an astronomical $4 million in the third quarter of this year, bringing her total haul this cycle to over $8 million, the New Jersey Globe has learned.
Bennett heads into the final month of her campaign to unseat two-term Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district with more than $1.6 million in cash on hand.
Her fundraising haul includes over $3.9 million from her hard-side campaign account and another $250,000 for her victory fund committee. The successful quarter comes without taking corporate PAC money.
In her largest fundraising quarter since entering the race last year, Bennett had over 44,000 individual donors, with over 90% donating $100 or less. She reported raising over $1.6 million in the second quarter from more than 25,000 donors.
A former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, Bennett brought in $425,000 in Q1, $480,000 in Q2, $477,000 in Q3, $552,000 in Q4 of 2025, and over $700,000 in Q1 of 2026.
Kean has not yet released his third-quarter fundraising numbers. He had over $3.6 million banked at the end of the second quarter, and had raised over $4.9 million as of three months ago.
New Jersey’s 7th district includes a hugely expensive media market, and total spending in Kean’s 2024 re-election bid was $26.3 million — the most costly House contest in New Jersey history.
In the Democratic primary, a shadowy super PAC with ties to Republicans spent $650,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to deny Bennett the nomination.
Kean unseated two-term Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in 2022, winning by three points.