Attorney Tom Kean is facing a re-election battle amid a long health absence
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Rebecca Bennett of the Democratic Alliance will face Rep. Tom Kean Jr., RN.J., the embattled lawmaker sidelined for months by an undisclosed health issue in the November general election.
Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won the Democratic nomination for a crowded New Jersey House seat, according to the Associated Press.
Kean, who has not been seen in public since early March, ran unopposed for the GOP.
Bennett’s primary victory sets up what could be the toughest re-election battle. The suburban swing district is considered crucial to House Republicans’ efforts to hold on to their slim majority.
Rebecca Bennett campaigns for Congress in Mendham, NJ, on March 22, 2026. (Matt Roth)
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill, DN.J., narrowly carried the swing seat of northern New Jersey during her 2025 gubernatorial race. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the contest “a toss-up.”
The looming general election battle comes as Kean faces heightened scrutiny for a prolonged absence from Congress that has left even the House GOP leadership in the dark.
“He’s had a health problem, and he’s going to come out and reveal all of that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters in May. “I mean that’s what he told me. But I don’t know the details, and I have to respect that.”
Kean released a written statement shortly before the polls closed Tuesday saying he will be “open” about his medical issue when he resumes work, which he said he expects to do “within weeks.”
“I understand the need to be open about this issue, and I look forward to sharing my information with the public,” he continued without elaborating on his situation.
Rep. Tom Kean, RN.J., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol on June 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)
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Kean previously said in mid-May that he would return to work “in the next few weeks,” according to the New Jersey Globe.
The New Jersey Republican missed all 104 of the most recent votes, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional absences. You last voted on March 5.
His office has continued to post on social media and Kean has even introduced legislation in his absence.
President Donald Trump touted his endorsement of Kean in a social media post, saying the lawmaker will “NEVER TAKE YOU DOWN.”
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Tina Shah and Michael Roth — two former Biden aides — challenged Bennett for the Democratic nomination. Brian Varela, a businessman who works in the progressive field, also submitted a bid for the seat.
Bennett, a first-time candidate, has run a less successful campaign than other Democrats in the race. He was the only Democrat who stopped short of calling for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Kean defeated Democratic challenger Sue Altman by nearly 5 points in 2024. He is the son of former two-term New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who led the Garden State throughout the 1980s.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the campaign arm of House Republicans, immediately criticized Bennett following his primary win.
“The truth is, Bennett is a tax and spend liberal who serves the Socialist Squad and wants to make life more expensive for the people of New Jersey,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement Tuesday.
