As Rebecca Bennett, a pharmaceutical executive and U.S. Navy aviator, launches her Democratic congressional campaign, voters are beginning to ask: What exactly is she campaigning for?
In 2019, Bennett left active military service, moved to New Jersey, and began working at pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, before moving into an executive spot at a startup companies.
A Texas native, Bennett resides with her husband and their two daughters in Montgomery Township, which is outside the 7th district, currently represented by liberal Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Bennett’s resume boasts an impressive array of high-powered roles at Fortune 50 companies, multi-million dollar start-ups, and within the military-industrial complex.
But a closer look reveals a career marked by controversies, ethical gray areas, and a trail of human suffering that raises serious questions about her fitness for public office.
From War Zones to Boardrooms: A Career Built on Exploitation
Bennett’s career spans over a decade in the U.S. Navy, where she served as a naval aviator and test pilot, including deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
While her military service is commendable, it’s impossible to ignore the broader context of her work: a war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and destabilized an entire region.
No major scandals or high-profile civilian casualties linked to H-60 aviators aboard the USS Nimitz have been widely documented in the public domain for the period from June 2011 to June 2022.
Bennett’s role in providing “logistic and combat air support” during this conflict ties her to a legacy of endless war—a legacy that has left countless families shattered and fueled global anti-American sentiment.
After her military service, Bennett transitioned seamlessly into the corporate world, where she quickly climbed the ranks at Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical giant notorious for its role in the opioid crisis.
During her tenure, Bennett led marketing strategies for Carvykti, a cell therapy drug, and played a key role in securing commercial coverage for the product.
The FDA added a warning to the Carvykti label after reports of neurologic toxicities and findings that some secondary blood cancers occurred after treatment.
On April 19, 2023, the stock closed at $165.00, up from $160.00 on April 18, 2023, marking a 3.13% rise after favorable results from a Phase 3 study were leaked online.
While Bennett’s LinkedIn profile touts her success in achieving “20% higher coverage than competitors,” she fails to mention the human cost of Johnson & Johnson’s profit-driven practices.
During Bennett’s tenure with the drug company, Johnson & Johnson prioritized shareholder returns over patient safety. The company has faced thousands of lawsuits related to its role in the opioid epidemic, which has claimed over 500,000 lives in the U.S. alone.
Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary paid $5 billion to resolve opioid-related claims and litigation by states, cities, counties, and other subdivisions in the United States.
While Bennett was not directly implicated in those lawsuits, her work in market access and commercialization raises questions about her complicity in a system that values profits over people.
A Pattern of Profit-Driven Decision-Making
A self-described ‘moderate’ Democrat, Bennett’s campaign has not taken positions on most key issues, but her career trajectory reveals a consistent pattern: wherever she goes, profits follow—but so do scandals.
After leaving Johnson & Johnson, Bennett took on leadership roles at several health-tech start-ups, including Noom and Midi Health. While these companies claim to revolutionize healthcare, critics argue they prioritize growth and investor returns over equitable access to care.
At Noom, Bennett served as Senior Director of Health System Strategy, a role that involved forging partnerships with healthcare providers. However, Noom has faced criticism for its exploitative business model, which relies on aggressive marketing tactics and questionable data practices. Similarly, at Midi Health, Bennett led the launch of several health system partnerships, but the company has been accused of prioritizing affluent patients over those in underserved communities.
Oshi Health, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Oak HC/FT with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Flare Capital Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures, CVS Health Ventures, and Takeda Digital Ventures.
The company raised $30 million in Series B funding from such investors as Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), owned by the son of Charles Koch, the co-owner, CEO, and chairman of Koch Industries, Bessemer Venture Partners, Flare Capital Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures, CVS Health Ventures, and Takeda Digital Ventures.
A Campaign Fueled by Corporate Cash
Bennett’s congressional campaign has reportedly attracted significant commitments from corporate PACs and pharmaceutical executives.
Critics argue that her campaign is little more than a vehicle for corporate interests, designed to ensure that the status quo remains unchallenged.
Bennett’s platform, which includes vague promises of “healthcare innovation” and “strategic partnerships,” does little to reassure voters that she will prioritize their needs over those of her corporate backers.
The Human Cost of Bennett’s Career
While Bennett’s resume is filled with accolades and achievements, it’s worth asking: At what cost? The companies and institutions she has worked for have been implicated in some of the most devastating crises of our time, from the opioid epidemic to endless wars. The human toll of these crises is incalculable, yet Bennett has consistently chosen to align herself with the very entities responsible for them.
In a campaign video, Bennett emphasizes her commitment to bridging divides and addressing the needs of everyday families, but as she calls for a shift in political tone her platform and rhetoric seem more about appealing to the current political climate than offering substantive solutions.
“Service is a big part of my life,” she says in the ad, expressing appreciation for the diverse communities within her district, assertzing her belief that “we’re all on the same team.”
But the Texas native has no political footprint in New Jersey. Her statement of candidacy filed with the Federal Election Commission lists her address as 122 C Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20001.
“From what I’ve seen to date so far, he hasn’t been terribly available,” Bennett said of the moderate Republican she hopes to replace. “Groceries are really expensive. Sixty percent of Americans can’t afford a $1,000 emergency payment. People are really feeling this economic stress and anxiety, and he’s a multimillionaire and doesn’t necessarily live in that world and can’t necessarily appreciate what people are feeling.”
She proposed no concrete alternatives to the policies Kean supports.
Of transitioning from the military to private life, she said, “I had a lot of advantages. You know, I had an MBA, I was an officer, and so there are certain things that just inherently made it easier for me to make that transition—and it was still really hard.”
Critics question whether anyone “a lot of advantages” is at all suited to fight against the oligarchy taking shape in the nation’s capitol.
“I think people should be authentic to who they are and to lean into how they feel is authentic to them, Bennett told Tim Crino, a Senior Editor at Inc., but her website has nothing authentic to say about issues confronting New Jersey, the nation, or the world.
It is devoid of substantive information about her and her candidacy, although anyone inclined to donate money has a clear idea of what she is looking for.
As voters consider whether to support Bennett’s campaign, they must ask themselves: Can someone with such deep ties to corporate and military interests truly represent the needs of everyday Americans? Or is Rebecca Bennett just another politician in the pocket of Big Pharma and the military-industrial complex?
One thing is clear: Bennett’s campaign is not about change—it’s about maintaining a system that has already failed too many. Voters deserve better.