Vartan raises $101k to start out NJ-7 campaign

Former Summit Councilman Greg Vartan, one of three Democrats currently competing to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in the competitive 7th congressional district, raised $101,269 for his campaign during the first quarter of 2025.

Vartan entered the 7th district race on February 10, so the total represents around seven weeks’ worth of fundraising; he also started out with around $28,000 left over from his prior congressional run in 2024, when he dropped out before the Democratic primary after raising around $87,000 in total.

“I’m really encouraged by the strong start to our campaign – we’ve already outraised our 2024 effort and brought in three times as many individual supporters from across the district and beyond,” Vartan said of his Q1 haul. “Fundraising is important, but I think what voters want right now is a candidate who knows this community, shows up, and has been in the fight with them all along.”

The list of who donated to Vartan, the chairman of the Summit Democrats, shows particular support within his hometown; among his donors are former Summit Mayor Nora Radest and Councilwomen Michelle Kalmanson and Claire Toth, the only two Democrats currently holding local office in the city.

While it’s still early in the campaign – the primary isn’t for another 14 months – Vartan is starting out at a financial disadvantage against some of his Democratic NJ-7 opponents. Former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett raised $426,718 in a similar timeframe as Vartan; another candidate, Brian Varela, said that he raised $153,000 on his first day in the race, though he launched his campaign after the Q1 filing deadline and thus won’t have detailed reports available until July.

Several other Democrats are also looking at entering the race, potentially making for a crowded and bruising primary. And Kean himself has not yet announced his own first-quarter fundraising reports, though the battle-tested two-term congressman is a consistently strong fundraiser.