Democrats bullish on flipping missing New Jersey Republican's House seat |
Democrats bullish on flipping missing New Jersey Republican’s House seat
Democrats are feeling bullish about their chances of flipping a critical New Jersey battleground district amid a Republican congressman’s prolonged absence from Washington.
Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-N.J.) formally clinched the GOP nomination for another term Tuesday, teeing up an uphill battle for the toss-up seat representing the west-central part of the Garden State. He’s also about to reach the three-month mark since he last took a vote in Congress, as he deals with an undisclosed health issue.
Kean said in an Election Day statement that he plans to return to Capitol Hill in a “matter of weeks” and maintained he will not drop out of the race, but Democrats say they’re feeling increasingly optimistic given the national political environment and the scrutiny facing the missing House member.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a slam dunk [for Democrats], but I think the incumbent has a significant amount of work to do to even bring this to 50-50,” said New Jersey Democratic strategist Laura Matos.
Kean, who is seeking a third House term, is a member of a storied New Jersey political family. He is the son of former two-term Republican Gov. Thomas Kean and descendant of other former politicians in the state’s history. The younger Kean served as the leader of the GOP in the state Senate for nearly 15 years before he was elected to Congress in 2022 and flipped the seat.
Democrats were eager to defeat Kean two years ago in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a swing district. But Kean comfortably won reelection to a second term by more than 5 points that year as President Trump narrowly carried the district.
The incumbent will face moderate Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot who easily won her Democratic primary Tuesday and was seen as the party’s strongest candidate.
Democrats were already feeling optimistic about their chances in the New Jersey race, citing an increasingly favorable political environment given Trump’s declining approval ratings. But Kean’s absence has added a new dimension to the race.
“First and foremost, we want to make sure folks have their health, but I do think it’s going to be a big issue, because again until the day he is back in Washington, D.C., that’s time that he’s not doing his job, and that’s unanswered for,” Matos, who hosted a fundraiser for Bennett, added. “And again, I think the people of that district deserve to know that.”
Kean, his campaign and his congressional office have given intermittent updates on his status since he last voted in Congress on March 5 but have not offered any specific details about the lawmaker’s condition or when he will return to Washington.
The congressman said in a statement Tuesday that he plans to transition from virtual to in-person work in the coming weeks and will be “completely transparent” about his condition at that time.
“I understand the need for transparency on this matter and I look forward to sharing my experience with the public,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that he spoke to Kean recently, adding........