Democratic Overperformance in New Jersey Spells Disaster for Vulnerable Congressman Tom Kean Jr.

But the biggest loser of the evening wasn’t on the ballot. POLITICO reports this morning: “It’s a warning for New Jersey Republicans, even if they didn’t need one. Right next door in the 7th District, Republican Rep. Tom Kean won reelection in 2024 by about 5 points, and Trump won the district by 1.”

Kean Jr. was already facing the toughest race of his political career. Now, the headwinds facing Kean Jr. are growing even stronger.

• The Associated Press reported last month that “the Republican congressman is among his party’s most endangered members.”
• POLITICO reported that a longtime friend of Kean Jr. and veteran Republican strategist admitted the vulnerable congressman is in deep trouble because he “has not separated himself from a president who is deeply unpopular at home.”
• The New York Times reported that Kean Jr. is “in a squeeze” and that “the Trump administration has made Kean’s re-election effort in the Seventh Congressional District significantly more complicated.” 
• NJ.com reported that despite the fact Kean Jr. “promised saintly ethics” on the campaign trail, he has “backed away from” his pledge to move his millions in assets into a blind trust – because he “chose getting richer instead.” 
• NJ Spotlight News reported that Kean Jr. is “under fire” and “facing scrutiny for quietly walking back a high profile campaign pledge to place his personal assets into a blind trust.”
• The New Jersey Globe reported that Governor Mikie Sherrill carried the boundaries of NJ-07 during her victory this past November.

DCCC Spokesperson Eli Cousin:
“After more than two decades in elected office, career politician Tom Kean Jr. is going to need to start looking for a new line of work. He won’t be able to outrun his record of corruption, spiking costs, and betraying New Jersey families come November.”

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