Democrat Rebecca Bennett will face New Jersey Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr. this fall in a closely watched battleground race that could help determine which party wins control of the House.
Bennett won the Democratic primary for the 7th District on Tuesday, securing 47.8 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race at 8:57 p.m. Eastern time, nearly an hour after polls closed. She led physician Tina Shah, who had 20.4 percent; businessman Brian Varela, who had 16.6 percent; and Michael Roth, who was the interim leader of the Small Business Administration during the Biden administration, who had 15.2 percent.
The 7th District was already considered a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats before Kean’s extended absence from Capitol Hill this spring. The two-term Republican last voted in early March and has not been seen in public in recent months as he receives treatment for an undisclosed medical issue.
In a statement Tuesday, Kean said he would “transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks.”
“At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition,” he said. “I understand the need for transparency on this matter and I look forward to sharing my experience with the public.”
Kean told the New Jersey Globe last month that his “doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery” and that he anticipated a return to the House and the campaign trail “in the next couple of weeks.”
Still, he won President Donald Trump’s endorsement this week, with the president saying on social media that Kean is “working tirelessly” to support the GOP agenda.
Now, both parties are preparing for a general election fight that is expected to be critical to winning House control this fall. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race as a Toss-up.
Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and businesswoman who has drawn comparisons to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, has worked in the health care industry since leaving military service. She has emphasized her military service and her openness to fight Trump.
“The difference between the two of us could not be clearer: I spent 15 years serving our country in uniform as a Navy helicopter pilot where I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution, while Tom Kean, Jr. has sworn an oath to Donald Trump and his D.C. party bosses who are jacking up costs and ripping away access to health care,” Bennett said in a statement Tuesday after securing the nomination.
She emerged from the primary despite facing $655,000 in opposition spending by Real Change PAC, a super PAC that formed last month and has not yet had to disclose its donors but reportedly has ties to Republicans. VoteVets also spent more than $1 million to support her, while Article One PAC spent $254,000 boosting her campaign.
But Kean, who flipped the 7th District seat in 2022 after redistricting made it slightly more favorable to Republicans, comes from a family deeply rooted in New Jersey politics. Before he was elected to the House, he served in the state legislature for nearly two decades. His grandfather served in the House for two decades, while his father is a popular former governor.
“This campaign will offer a clear choice,” Kean said in the Tuesday statement. “While Washington Democrats continue pushing an agenda that is too extreme, and out of step with New Jersey, I will continue putting our constituents first and working with anyone to get things done.”
Kean, who didn’t face any Republican opposition on Tuesday, starts off with a significant cash advantage. He had raised $4.5 million for the cycle and had $3.4 million on hand as of May 13, while Bennett had raised $2.9 million and had $764,000 banked.
12th District
In the Trenton-based 12th District, the retirement of Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman opened up a deep-blue seat that drew a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls.
Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and Army veteran, won the nomination with 69 percent of the vote when the AP called the race at 9:36 p.m. East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen was in second with 18.3 percent.
Sue Altman, who challenged Kean in the 7th District in 2024, ended up in fifth place with 8.4 percent of the vote at the time the race was called.
Hamawy will be the overwhelming favorite in the November general election.
Hamawy was endorsed by several progressive members of Congress, as well as Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, whose life he helped save while serving as a combat trauma surgeon in Iraq. After leaving the Army, Hamawy built a practice in Princeton while traveling to war and disaster zones to treat patients, including traveling to Gaza in recent years.
Several progressive groups spent thousands to support his campaign, including the newly formed American Priorities super PAC, a pro-Palestinian group formed to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. American Priorities spent more than $1.5 million to boost Hamawy’s candidacy.
