Democrat Rebecca Bennett topples GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Nov 03, 2026 | 9:49 pm ET
Description
Rebecca Bennett has flipped the 7th Congressional District to Democratic control four years after Rep. Tom Kean Jr. captured it for the GOP. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
Former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett (D) will oust GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr., reclaiming a seat Democrats lost four years ago, the Associated Press projected Tuesday.
The contest in the 7th Congressional District between Bennett and Kean, a former state senator and son of a popular ex-governor, was the most closely watched House race in the state.
Democrats flipped the seat from GOP control in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term, and Kean won it back for the GOP in 2022.
This year, Kean not only faced an unfavorable national environment, but his reelection bid was complicated by a prolonged absence from Congress that the congressman later said was due to depression.
Trenton, NJ
