As gas prices hover around $4 a gallon across New Jersey, a national advocacy group launched a five-figure ad campaign this week, pressuring Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. to oppose legislation that would grant oil and gas companies immunity from climate-related lawsuits.
The ads from Fossil Free Media, a nonprofit that helps lead the Make Polluters Pay coalition, come as Democrats in New Jersey’s competitive 7th Congressional District prepare for a primary that has exposed sharp divisions over fossil fuel investments — including those held by the race’s frontrunner.
Kean’s family historically owned and operated Elizabethtown Gas for over a century, but they no longer own it today.
In acquiring AGL Resources, the owner of Elizabethtown Gas, in an October 2015, $12 billion cash-and-debt deal, the Southern Company became the second-largest utility in the United States, adding 4.5 million utility-gas customers to its revenue base.
Ads Link Gas Prices to Corporate Immunity
The two new ads, titled “We’re Already Paying” and “Keep Us Safe,” accuse Big Oil of lobbying Congress for a “get out of jail free card” while families struggle with rising costs.
“While you’re paying more and more at the pump, Big Oil CEOs are raking in billions,” says a voiceover in the first ad. “Now Washington insiders are lobbying to give them corporate immunity so you pay the costs of their pollution.”
The second ad draws parallels to other industries. “Pesticides. Toxics. Big Oil,” a young woman says. “All these corporations are lobbying Congress to give them immunity. So they never have to pay for poisoning our kids, jacking up prices, or destroying our environment.”
The ads will run on social media and websites visited by constituents in Kean’s district over the next month.
“Rep. Kean Jr. is going to be a key voice on whether or not Congress grants Big Oil blanket immunity for all the harms caused by their pollution,” said Cassidy DiPaola, communications director for Fossil Free Media. “New Jerseyans are already paying hand over fist at the pump. Big Oil doesn’t need another handout that will end up making us pick up the costs of their pollution.”
According to a poll last year by Data for Progress and Fossil Free Media, 71% of voters agree that oil and gas companies should pay their fair share of climate costs and 65% (including a majority of Republicans) oppose efforts to grant the industry immunity.
Democratic Primary Heats Up
Meanwhile, four Democrats are vying for the chance to challenge Kean in November.
But the race has taken an unexpected turn as frontrunner Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, faces scrutiny over her personal investments in the very fossil fuel companies she would be expected to hold accountable.
Bennett, who flew MH-60 Seahawk helicopters for 15 years, including missions in the Persian Gulf, is the prohibitive favorite in the June primary. She has raised over $1.3 million — the most in the crowded field — and has received endorsements from the Hunterdon County Democratic Committee, the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, and the College Democrats of New Jersey.
But financial disclosure forms reveal Bennett holds stock in ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Phillips 66 — four of the largest fossil fuel companies on the planet.
Critics argue that for a party that views climate change as an existential threat, such investments should be disqualifying.
Bennett, a Texas native and Wharton MBA graduate, has not released a detailed climate action plan. Her campaign website offers broad language about “incentivizing the use of renewable and green energy,” but she does not mention her fossil fuel holdings or specify how she would address the crisis.
She did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Other Candidates Stake Positions
Bennett’s primary opponents include Brian Varela, a first-generation American and entrepreneur whose Colombian immigrant parents worked as a waitress and truck driver; Dr. Tina Shah, a physician running on a platform to fix the healthcare system; and Michael Roth, who has secured endorsements from two prominent climate leaders.
Maggie Thomas, Special Assistant to the President for Climate in the Biden White House, and Thomas Dackow, a board member of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, have both endorsed Roth.
Shah’s website promises “to protect the decades-old environmental policies that safeguard our clean air, water, and land” and notes that the Trump administration is “systematically dismantling” those protections. Her site, however, scarcely mentions oil and gas.
Varela, who was born and raised in New Jersey, emphasizes his working-class roots and community leadership, but he has also not made climate a central campaign issue. Varela’s website says he will, “Expand domestic clean energy production to reduce our dependency on foreign oil and tackle climate change.”
Big Oil’s Push for Immunity
The ads targeting Kean come as the fossil fuel industry ramps up its efforts to block climate accountability measures. New York and Vermont passed “climate superfund” bills in 2024 that would raise billions from oil and gas companies to help cover climate damages. Cities and states across the country are filing similar lawsuits.
But the industry is pushing back. The American Petroleum Institute has identified stopping climate accountability efforts as a top political priority, according to reporting by The New York Times. The industry is currently lobbying Congress for a liability waiver similar to one previously granted to the gun industry.
Kean, a Republican who has occasionally broken with his party on controversial measures, is seen as a potential swing vote. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Defining Question for Democrats
Political observers say Bennett’s candidacy raises uncomfortable questions for a party struggling to balance electability with principle.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned in a January speech that Democrats face a choice between “offending big donors” and “delivering for working people.” A party that chooses the donors, she said, “is a party that is doomed to fail.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has similarly warned about “climate hushers” — Democrats who stop talking about the crisis in pursuit of electoral victory.
For now, Bennett remains the frontrunner. But with the primary still months away and voters increasingly focused on climate and corporate accountability, the race may turn on whether Democratic voters in the 7th District view fossil fuel investments as a dealbreaker.
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