GOP Rep. Tom Kean loses NJ House re-election bid to Rebecca Bennett after months away

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., who faced criticism this year after a mysterious months-long absence from Congress, was defeated by Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett, NBC News projects.

Bennett’s victory over Kean, the son of New Jersey’s former Republican governor of the same name, was a key victory for Democrats in their bid to secure a majority in the House. Kean, who was in his second term, had been seen as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the polls, and major super PACs reduced their spending on Kean in the final weeks of the campaign.

He was absent from the Capitol from March 5 until June 30, when he revealed he was hospitalized and diagnosed with depression. He missed by 140 votes.

“When people hear the word ‘depression,’ many think it just means feeling sad. But depression is much more than that. It’s physical. It’s emotional,” Kean said in a closely watched speech upon his return. “Until you experience it yourself, it’s difficult to fully understand how powerful this disease can be. »

His absence was one of the strangest episodes in recent memory in Washington. As reporters asked questions and speculation mounted, Kean’s office said he was dealing with a “personal medical issue” but declined to provide details or answer questions. Reporters from NBC News and other media outlets knocked on the door of Kean’s New Jersey home, but no one answered.

Adding to the confusion, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other GOP leaders said they had spoken to Kean or his family but declined to provide an explanation for why he had disappeared from the public eye.

From the start, Democrats thought they had a strong candidate in Bennett, a health care executive who, like New Jersey’s Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, is a former Navy helicopter pilot. She attacked Kean for voting for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which she said included Medicaid cuts for thousands of people in New Jersey’s 7th District, and criticized him for his votes in support of Trump’s war with Iran.

As for Kean, his name is synonymous in New Jersey politics with a family lineage that extends to the American Revolution. He criticized Bennett for his ties to health care companies that his campaign ads said were refusing to cover patients and overcharging taxpayers.

“This election is about common sense over madness; go for the one with common sense,” Johnson said while campaigning with Kean in New Jersey.

While he was away from work, Kean’s office tried to make it appear that he was staying busy. His office posted almost daily on X, Instagram and other social media sites, continued to draft legislation and submitted remarks to the Congressional Record that made it appear as if he was at the Capitol giving speeches.

“I rise today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Jewish Federation of West Central New Jersey,” read a June 2 message from Kean.