Johnson Calls New Jersey's 7th a Top-3 House Race as Kean Defends 2-point Trump District
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 24
Johnson Calls New Jersey's 7th a Top-3 House Race as Kean Defends 2-point Trump District
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 24
Summary
Mike Johnson used a New Jersey stop to frame Rep. Tom Kean Jr.'s re-election bid as one of Republicans' three most important House races, arguing the seat could help decide control of Congress.
The urgency reflects a razor-thin district: Trump carried New Jersey's 7th by 2 points in 2024, but Democrat Mikie Sherrill won it by the same margin in 2025, giving Democrats hope of flipping it with candidate Rebecca Bennett.
Tom Kean Jr., seeking a third term, pitched himself as a bipartisan lawmaker who has delivered for the district under both Biden and Trump, even as his campaign branding at the event downplayed party labels.
Bennett countered that message by accusing Kean of failing to show up for constituents and trading more than $3 million in stocks while absent from Congress this spring, when he later said he was being treated for depression.
With only a small number of neutral House seats left, the race has become a test of whether Republicans can protect Trump's governing agenda or whether Democrats can use a difficult midterm map to stall it.