Michael Roth, one of an increasingly large number of well-funded Democrats hoping to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), raised $302,880 during his first quarter in the race for the 7th congressional district.
Roth, who served briefly as a top Small Business Administration official during the Biden administration but who has never run for elected office before, had raised around $175,000 of that total during his first 24 hours in the race.
“From day one, this campaign has been about building a coalition that believes in doing things differently and doing them better,” Roth said in a statement. “We’re not powered by PACs or party insiders. We’re powered by people who want a government that delivers, an economy that includes everyone, and leadership that shows up and listens while charting a path to a New American Dream in New Jersey’s 7th.”
Roth’s second quarter reports are further evidence that the 7th district’s Democratic primary is going to be competitive – and, if the candidates choose to dip into their campaign warchests early, potentially expensive.
Two of Roth’s opponents reported even bigger Q2 hauls: businessman Brian Varela raised $700,000 during his first quarter in the race (around half of which was self-funded), while former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett raised $480,000 in the second quarter and has raised more than $900,000 overall.
Another candidate, former Summit Councilman Greg Vartan, has not yet filed his Q2 report. And physician Tina Shah, who like Roth held a role in the Biden administration, entered the race after the Q2 filing deadline but said that she raised $260,000 during her first 24 hours in the race earlier this month.
The man they’re all seeking to unseat hasn’t been a fundraising slouch, either. Kean raised $931,676 during the second quarter and ended June with a $1.5 million warchest.
The 7th district, which covers six suburban and exurban counties in North and Central Jersey, is expected to host one of New Jersey’s most competitive congressional races next year. Kean first got to office by unseating Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in 2022, and won re-election by a larger margin against Sue Altman last year as Donald Trump was narrowly carrying his district.
Democrats have already targeted Kean for defeat, putting him on their initial 2026 list of districts to watch and attacking him repeatedly for supporting the “Big Beautiful Bill” that Trump signed into law on July 4. They may not know until next June, however, which of the many Democratic candidates in the race will be the one to take on Kean.
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