National Dem group launches digital ad hitting Kean on Social Security, Medicare

House Majority Forward, a Democratic group affiliated with the House Majority PAC, launched a new digital ad today targeting Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and 15 other House Republicans on proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Script: (Narrator): “The new majority in Congress is holding the economy hostage in order to destroy Social Security and Medicare. And Tom Kean Jr. is helping them do it. They’d let America default on our debts for the first time in history. Veterans’ benefits will stop; the stock market will crash; and your retirement savings: gone. All so they can force extreme cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Tell Tom Kean Jr.: Don’t destroy Social Security and Medicare. Americans don’t negotiate with hostage-takers.”

Kean himself is not a proponent of slashing Medicare or Social Security, nor are the other vulnerable House Republicans targeted by the ad. Just last week, Kean tweeted that Congress “has a duty to protect Social Security for retirees, seniors, and those in need of today and tomorrow.”

But some congressional Republicans, most prominently Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida), have laid out proposals that would cut or end the two programs. Given the programs’ popularity, Democrats – among them President Joe Biden in his 2023 State of the Union address – have gleefully used Scott’s plans to pillory the entire Republican caucus.

House Majority Forward’s ad is another sign that Kean’s 7th congressional district will once again host New Jersey’s most expensive and competitive House race. That was certainly true in 2022, when Kean unseated Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) 51%-49% in an election that cost upwards of $20 million in total.

Two top elections forecasters, the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, list the 7th district as Toss Up and Leans Republican, respectively; neither considers any other New Jersey race to be competitive so far.

This story was updated at 7:17 p.m. with a correction: the ad was released by House Majority Forward, not by House Majority PAC.