Democrats will choose their U.S. House nominee on Tuesday in a New Jersey battleground district represented by Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., who’s been absent from Congress for months as he deals with an unspecified medical issue.
New Jersey’s 7th District, which includes suburban towns and rolling farmland — and one of President Donald Trump’s golf clubs — is the state’s highest-profile primary. Four Democrats are competing to take on Kean, whose aides have said he plans on seeking a third term.
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.
Democratic voters are deciding between Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose background mirrors Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s, Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official, Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor, and Brian Varela, a businessman with backing from progressive groups.
The campaign has been hotly contested, with each candidate bringing in seven figures in fundraising and walking a line between appealing to the party’s base and to more independent general election voters.
