“We cannot waste time addressing the climate crisis. Ask anyone who’s worked in the private sector—when we invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, we’re supporting the community’s businesses and homes. In Congress, I’ll secure those investments for NJ,” declared congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett.
But a closer look reveals a glaring contradiction.
Bennett, a Texas transplant now vying for Democratic votes in New Jersey, has a financial portfolio deeply entangled with the very industries accelerating climate catastrophe.
According to her latest financial disclosure, Bennett holds tens of thousands in fossil fuel giants like Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Kinder Morgan—companies notorious for lobbying against climate regulations while raking in record profits.
Her investments don’t stop there. She’s also invested funds into defense contractor Lockheed Martin, oilfield services titan Schlumberger, and pipeline operator Williams Companies—firms that thrive on environmental degradation and global instability.
“Rather than just slapping Band-Aids on climate-resilient infrastructure, we need to stop the root causes of this crisis. We can’t pretend to save the planet while bankrolling the corporations destroying it,” said progressive leader Lisa McCormick, who earned nearly two of every five votes cast in the 2018 Democratic primary.
McCormick’s critique strikes at the heart of Bennett’s credibility.
How can a candidate claim to champion climate action while personally profiting from Big Oil, industrial polluters, and military-industrial giants?
Bennett’s portfolio reads like a who’s who of corporate climate villains—Raytheon, General Dynamics, Phillips 66, and Honeywell—all while she pitches herself as a green reformer.
Even her so-called “clean energy” holdings raise eyebrows. NextEra Energy, in which Bennett is invested, has faced accusations of greenwashing, while Entergy and PPL Corp have been criticized for slow-walking renewable transitions.
And let’s not forget her stakes in JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock, two of the world’s largest financiers of fossil fuel expansion.
“The truth is clear: Rebecca Bennett is not invested in New Jersey’s future—she’s banking on the industries jeopardizing it,” said McCormick. “You can’t serve two masters. Either you stand with the people or you stand with the polluters.”
The question for voters is simple: Do they want a congresswoman who profits from the climate crisis—or one who fights to end it?
Bennett, who is running in the Democratic primary for a chance to unseat GOP Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is a Navy veteran and current member of the Air National Guard who has been labeled by local media as a “moderate” in a race the Cook Political Report ranks as “Lean Republican.”
Bennett has deleted social media posts promoting Democratic candidates and causes, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
During the civil unrest and rioting that erupted after the death of George Floyd in 2020, Bennett posted on X that she agreed in a now-deleted post with a comment from former Obama campaign strategist David Plouffe, where he said House Democrats should “hold hearings” and investigate law enforcement officials responding to the riots.
Bennett also deleted a post that appears to support the first impeachment of President Trump.
“Officially a @JasonCrowCO6 fan,” Bennett posted on January 21, 2020, as the impeachment trial was unfolding, where Congressman Jason Crow ultimately voted to impeach. “I’m a vet who also didn’t have the equipment I needed to do my job, so this is personal for me too. #ImpeachmentTrial.”
Fox News Digital originally reported that Bennett’s team scrubbed her social media posts, and noticed that her two-minute-long announcement video, does not mention that she is a Democrat.
Bennett told NJTODAY that she aspires to be like the late US Senator John McCain, a conservative Republican who represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from 1983 until his death on August 25, 2018.
Also among the growing field of Democratic candidates in New Jersey’s competitive 7th Congressional District are former Forward Party Leader Brian Varela, former Summit Council President Greg Vartan, Michael Roth, who served briefly atop the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under Joe Biden, and physician Tina Shah, who had appointed positions in both the Obama and Biden administrations.