| Congressman Tom Kean Jr. was already locked in a “toss-up” race in a district won by Governor Sherrill.
But now Kean Jr. has dug himself into an even deeper hole by refusing to stand up to Trump – on Gateway, on cost-spiking tariffs, on health care cuts, and on protecting his own community.
New Jersey writers declare that it’s “a big problem for the two-term incumbent,” “causing more reelection stress,” and “increasing the hopes and odds of the Democrats eager to recapture the 7th District.”
See for yourself the latest round of brutal press coverage on Kean Jr.’s failure to stand up for New Jersey:
NorthJersey.com: The Roxbury ICE facility’s biggest loser? Rep. Tom Kean Jr. | Opinion
- Trump has done everything in his power to imperil the political future of its cautious, say-little Republican Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr.
- It seems almost on a weekly basis, Trump is increasing the hopes and odds of the Democrats eager to recapture the 7th District after losing it in 2022 to Kean. It would be a plum pickup in the Democrats goal of retaking control of the House fueled by an anti-Trump backlash.
- First, there is Trump’s petulant and ridiculous attempt to block funding for the long-awaited Gateway tunnel that will bring stability and confidence to thousands of commuters who live in Kean’s district while providing some 1,000 construction jobs.
- Trump’s behavior throughout the ordeal was political gold for Democrats and poison for Kean, who not so long ago cast himself as a champion of “Trump’s agenda.”
POLITICO New Jersey: A fight at the Roxbury
- President Donald Trump’s administration is causing more reelection stress for Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.).
- First, the president froze funding for the Gateway project, using several shifting justifications and forcing New Jersey and New York to take it to court to get the money flowing. And despite it being a unilateral Trump administration decision, Kean in his public comments treaded lightly […]
- Now ICE, which has become deeply unpopular for its actions on the streets, has become a NIMBY target in a Republican town in Kean’s district. The entirely Republican-led township government, whose township attorney happens to be Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco, actually criticized Kean in a public statement, saying he “did not engage to the level we had hoped to provide the advocacy our residents deserved.”
- This is a big problem for the two-term incumbent Kean.
- Right now, it looks like voters are clamoring for politicians who will confront Trump head-on. And considering the president’s shifting arguments for holding Gateway funding, you can see why Kean’s constituents could be skeptical that Trump negotiates in good faith.
Morristown Daily Record: Under fire in Roxbury, Kean Jr. touts bill to cut ICE warehouse costs
- The all-Republican Roxbury Council […] singled out Kean in the shocking public statement.
- Menendez also targeted Kean on social media, saying he “ignored the pleas of his own constituents and even GOP councilmembers in his own district.”
- “Tom has been silent when Americans were shot in broad daylight,” Menendez wrote. “Tom has been silent when ICE moved to purchase a warehouse to detain our neighbors. Tom will never find his voice to stand up to Trump and stand up for our communities.”
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