My Central Jersey Editorial Board Endorses Rebecca Bennett: “Tom Kean Jr. doesn’t deserve a third term in Congress”

“[Bennett] would be a pragmatic and articulate advocate for the issues that affect the everyday lives of residents of the 7th Congressional District”

SOMERVILLE, NJ — Today, the My Central Jersey Editorial Board released its endorsement of Rebecca Bennett to represent New Jersey’s seventh district. The board argues that Rebecca will give residents of the 7th district a fresh voice in Congress, and that her background as a veteran and her work in healthcare, rather than politics, makes her a uniquely qualified fit to serve. The editorial board also criticizes Kean for being in lock step with Donald Trump, refusing to interact with his constituents, and failing to deliver for the district.

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My Central Jersey Editorial Board: Tom Kean Jr. doesn’t deserve a third term in Congress October 19, 2026

Tom Kean Jr. has failed to be accessible and independent. NJ’s 7th District deserves a change.

• There are several reasons why Tom Kean Jr. doesn’t deserve to be elected to a third term in the House of Representatives. He has consistently avoided interacting with ordinary voters in the 7th Congressional District. He has not held in-person town hall meetings, and he doesn’t give advance notice of his rare public appearances.
  
• There is one simple and overriding reason why Kean should not be reelected: He’s a sycophant Republican who has been in lockstep with President Donald Trump and the GOP legislative leadership.
  
• As a loyal backbencher in the do-nothing House of Representatives, Kean has been a dutiful GOP spear carrier. He has maintained a Sphinx-like silence about the outrageous, disturbing, bellicose and embarrassing rhetoric of the president. His silence implies consent.
  
• Kean’s main campaign message is not about the issues most important to Americans but about bringing millions of dollars in federal money to the district. The credit should not go to Kean, who may have been absent during the appropriations process, but to the GOP leadership in the House, desperate to hold on to its slim majority and galloping to the rescue of one of the most understandably vulnerable members of its caucus so its own power can be preserved.
  
• It was also probably a reward for Kean’s casting one of the deciding votes on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which gave tax breaks to billionaires and cut Medicaid benefits.

• Bennett would give residents of the 7th Congressional District a fresh voice in the House of Representatives. Her background includes an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and 15 years as a helicopter pilot in the Navy and Air National Guard. Unlike Kean, she has held a traditional full-time job in the private sector as a health care executive.
  
• Best of all, Bennett is not a career politician. Though she may not have legislative experience or be a policy wonk, she would be a pragmatic and articulate advocate for the issues that affect the everyday lives of residents of the 7th Congressional District.

• The 7th District needs a representative who will be an activist, unafraid to adopt unpopular causes and fight the good fight. The district needs a representative with a wide-ranging background in both the private sector and government service, particularly the military. The district needs someone who will interact with constituents, talk to them and listen to them throughout the year, not just when campaign season rolls around. The district wants a representative who will carry the message to Capitol Hill that the public, worried about affordability, is fed up with snake oil and partisan gibberish that seldom delivers what it promises.
  
• That’s why Rebecca Bennett should be elected to the House of Representatives.
  

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