SOMERVILLE, N.J. — Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won the New Jersey Democratic primary in the battleground 7th Congressional District Tuesday to take on Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who has been absent from Congress with an unspecified illness for months.
Bennett’s victory over three other Democrats in the closely-watched district sets up the state’s premier contest in November, when Democrats hope they can flip the onetime GOP stronghold that has proven competitive in recent years.
The district includes bedroom communities and farm towns as well as President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club.
Kean’s absence – his last vote was in early March – has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided House and Republicans recognize as important to defend. Voters in the district have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.
Addressing supporters at an Election Night party in Somerville, Bennett called the Republican incumbent a “coward.”
“You are failing us, and you do not deserve to represent us in Washington,” Bennett said.
Democrats like Bennett are focusing on rising costs caused by Iran war
The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump’s sweeping tariffs. They’re casting blame at Republicans and Kean in particular, who they say is a bad fit for the district, pointing to his support for the president’s signature tax cut legislation.
Bennett built her campaign around her experience as a Navy helicopter pilot as well as around affordability, noting that she drives a no-frills sedan and emphasizing her relatability as a working mom.
Araz Shahinian, a 49-year-old systems developer, said he voted for Bennett, noting he’s worried about the state of politics and rising prices. “She had the more centrist views,” he said.
Bennett’s victory comes as Kean, who received Trump’s endorsement, issued a statement on Tuesday saying “I will continue putting our constituents first” and “I am optimistic about the road ahead.”
“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals. I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said.
Bennett, 39, cast Kean’s voting record as a failure for the district. Kean, before his absence, hailed Trump’s signature domestic legislation, a package of spending and tax cuts, that expanded the state and local tax deduction. New Jersey has among the highest property taxes in the nation.
The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it’s gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.
New Jersey has other contested primaries
Also being watched Tuesday is a Republican Senate primary. The party has been adrift in New Jersey since last year, when its Trump-backed candidate for governor lost by double digits. Voters faced a four-way race between attorney Justin Murphy, surgeon Robert Lebovics, Army veteran Richard Tabor and former TV reporter Alex Zdan.
The winner will face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is running for a full third term.
More House seats could have noteworthy campaigns in the fall.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump’s first term. Zack Mullock, the mayor of Cape May, New Jersey, won the district’s Democratic primary Tuesday.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, won a crowded primary in the heavily Democratic 12th District in central New Jersey, where Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman is retiring.
Hamawy shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.
Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheikh’s trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheikh during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.
Republicans were picking their nominee in northern New Jersey’s 9th District, choosing between attorney Tiffany Burress and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Pou’s margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.
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Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.
