In one of the nation’s most competitive House districts, Democratic voters have nominated Rebecca Bennett to challenge Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), the New Jersey Globe projects.
Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot touted by many Democrats as a top recruit, led in both polls and fundraising heading into today’s primary. But in the race’s final weeks, she had to overcome an influx of negative ads from a mysterious super PAC with ties to Republicans, in what was apparently a GOP effort to prevent her from reaching the general election.
As of 10:52 p.m. and with the vast majority of ballots counted, Bennett has 46% of the vote – close to a majority in a four-way race. ICU doctor Tina Shah has 20%, businessman Brian Varela has 19%, and former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth has 16%.
The 7th district, which stretches from the wealthy suburbs of Union County in the east to the sparsely populated Skylands in the west, has hosted virtually non-stop competitive elections starting in 2018, when Democrat Tom Malinowski unseated GOP Rep. Leonard Lance. The two parties have spent tens of millions of dollars tussling over the district since then; in 2022, after Democratic mapmakers made the district redder to shore up neighboring seats, Malinowski narrowly lost to Kean, formerly the top Republican in the New Jersey State Senate.
The 2024 cycle was a disappointment for 7th district Democrats, who rallied behind Sue Altman but were defeated 52% to 46%. The party quickly rallied, though, recognizing that a district carried by Donald Trump by just one percentage point would still be vulnerable.
Bennett, a first-time candidate and political unknown, was the first to get in the race in February of last year. No fewer than eight other Democrats joined her in the months that followed, including some notable names like Sara Sooy, a county commissioner in Somerset County; Greg Vartan, a former councilman in Summit; and Megan O’Rourke, a former top climate scientist at the USDA.
By the time the filing day arrived, though, the field had been whittled down to just four, with Bennett in the pole position. She had raised the most money of anyone in the field – Shah, Varela, and Roth all had to engage in substantial self-funding just to keep up – and had won four of the district’s six county party endorsements, essentially consolidating the Democratic establishment behind her campaign.
Throughout the spring, Bennett pressed her advantage with the help of VoteVets, a liberal veterans’ group with ties to national Democrats that spent more than $1 million on pro-Bennett ads. A few polls were released in the final weeks of the campaign, all pointing towards a healthy Bennett lead; even one released by Shah’s campaign still found Bennett narrowly ahead.
A murky group called Real Change PAC, though, did its best to change that. The PAC – seemingly part of a wider network of GOP-linked groups targeting Democrats in swing districts – spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads and mailers that tied Bennett to ICE and Trump, two toxic associations in a Democratic primary. Bennett’s campaign quickly pushed back on the PAC, saying it was evidence that Republicans were afraid to face her in November.
Shah, too, spent the closing weeks of the campaign airing ads portraying Bennett as a closet Republican. And while Varela never went negative in the same way, his pitch was always focused on casting himself as the one true progressive candidate in a race dominated by weaker-kneed moderates.
But Bennett’s advantages – in money, endorsements, and campaign messaging – proved too strong to overcome. New Jersey Democrats have found great success with former Navy helicopter pilots named Rebecca in the past, and she made a compelling case that they should trust one again.
Her general election matchup against Kean would have been closely watched regardless, given how important it may be for House control, but it’s taken on an added layer of significance thanks to Kean’s extended absence.
Kean last cast a vote in early March, missing all official and campaign business since then due to an unspecified health issue. The congressman insists that he’s running for re-election, but members of both parties have publicly expressed doubts about whether that will in fact come to pass – and whether Kean will be too politically damaged by the time he does return to the campaign trail.
Last night, Trump re-upped his endorsement of Kean, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, saying that the congressman is “working tirelessly” to advance his agenda.
National Democrats, meanwhile, were quick to congratulate Bennett on her victory and said she’d be a strong nominee against Kean in November.
“While extremist Tom Kean Jr. is either voting to make life more expensive or missing votes altogether, Rebecca will show up for New Jersey in order to protect healthcare, lower costs, and create good-paying jobs,” DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement. “The DNC is ready to help her flip this seat, take back the House, and make life more affordable.”