Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive, has won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, NBC News projects, setting up a general election campaign against Republican Rep.Tom Kean Jr.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Bennett defeated physician Tina Shah, former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth, and business owner Brian Varela for the Democratic nomination.
Now, she will take on Kean in a district that President Donald Trump carried by just 1 percentage point in 2024, making it one of the most tightly divided districts in the country.Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic primary in New Jersey's battleground 7th District.Adam Gray / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesKean, who was first elected in 2022 and was unopposed in the Republican primary, won re-election by more than 5 points in 2024, running ahead of Trump.Kean has not voted in the Capitol or been seen in public since March 5 due to what his office describes as a “personal medical issue.” On Tuesday, he released a statement saying he’ll return to the Capitol “within a matter of weeks,” at which time he said he’ll be “completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition.”In a May interview, Bennett told NBC News she wished Kean a “speedy recovery,” but she accused him of being “nowhere to be found” even before his medical problem on key issues affecting the district.“I do think looking at his record, he has absolutely failed this district,” Bennett told NBC News in an interview in May.
“I mean, he was the deciding vote on the one big beautiful bill, which is the reason why tens of thousands of people in our district are losing access to their health insurance.” Asked during a primary debate last month why she was best positioned to defeat Kean, Bennett said her military experience and healthcare background “uniquely positioned me...