New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District gets what may be its only look at the two major-party candidates Sunday night, when Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. and Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett meet for a Rider University-sponsored debate — but NJTODAY has uncovered a 674-page Democratic research report painting Kean as an out-of-touch multimillionaire career politician who has voted against working-class interests and staked out extreme conservative positions on social issues.
The 7 p.m. debate is expected to be the sole face-to-face meeting between the candidates this election cycle — and one of the few times voters will know Kean’s whereabouts in advance.
The incumbent Republican congressman has maintained an unusually private schedule, a practice that has drawn criticism from local editorial boards and at least once resulted in police being called on a New York Times reporter who tried to cover his campaign event that featured House Speaker Mike Johnson.
A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee research report prepared between October 2021 and January 2022, before Kean was first elected to Congress, compiled a lengthy record that contradicts the moderate image Kean has sought to project.
The DCCC research book portrays Kean Jr. as an out-of-touch, multimillionaire career politician who has consistently voted against the interests of working-class New Jerseyans, opposed health care expansion and reproductive rights, taken extreme conservative positions on social issues, and closely aligned himself with Chris Christie while using his office to benefit his own financial holdings.
A career backed by inherited wealth
The 674-page DCCC research book described Kean as a multimillionaire beneficiary of family trusts who lived “largely” on unearned income. It estimated his net worth at between $10.5 million and $30.5 million as of November 2021. His annual unearned income ranged from $148,640 to $474,300, while his state Senate salary was $29,151.
Kean was the beneficiary of three family trusts with a combined value of between $3.76 million and $8.5 million. The Star-Ledger reported in 2004 that Kean “supports his wife and two children largely on money from a family trust fund.”
The DCCC report sought to contrast Kean’s personal wealth with his legislative record.
According to the report, Kean voted against property tax relief measures for middle-class New Jersey residents at least 16 times, against raising the minimum wage five times and twice against legislation providing paid sick leave to workers.
It also said he supported privatizing Social Security and voted against a property tax cut for seniors.
The report highlighted a 2004 vote against a plan to fund property tax relief by increasing income taxes on individuals earning more than $500,000. The proposal was expected to generate between $800 million and $850 million.
“Taking checks from some people, to give them to someone else, is wrong,” Kean said at the time.
Health care votes and insurance investments
The research book said Kean repeatedly voted against measures to implement the Affordable Care Act in New Jersey, including Medicaid expansion measures in 2012 and 2013 and legislation establishing a state health insurance exchange.
In 2018, Kean voted against legislation intended to protect consumers from surprise out-of-network medical bills. The measure sought to resolve billing disputes between health care providers and insurers without leaving patients responsible for unexpected balance bills.
At the time, Kean held an investment in UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, and had received as much as $10,000 annually in dividends from the company, according to the DCCC research.
The report also said Kean held investments in tobacco companies Altria and Philip Morris while voting three times against cigarette tax increases, against raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 in 2014 and against taxing liquid nicotine sales in 2018.
According to the report, Kean’s state legislative campaigns received $21,700 from tobacco interests and associated political action committees beginning in 2003.
Record on social issues
Kean has sought to cultivate a moderate image, but the DCCC report highlighted a series of conservative positions he took during his years in the state Legislature.
Kean voted against the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act in January 2022, legislation intended to codify abortion rights in New Jersey following mounting challenges to Roe v. Wade. He also sponsored stillbirth certificate legislation that drew opposition from the National Organization for Women and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
On LGBTQ rights, Kean voted against measures extending certain legal protections, pension benefits and health benefits to same-sex couples. In 2006, he said marriage should be between one man and one woman and supported efforts to overturn a court decision recognizing marriage rights for same-sex couples in New Jersey.
He later voted against legislation legalizing same-sex marriage and urged fellow Republicans to sustain then-Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of the measure.
Kean has since repudiated that position.
“I was wrong,” he said of his vote.
The DCCC research also highlighted Kean’s votes against several measures intended to expand voting access, including legislation concerning ballot drop boxes during the COVID-19 pandemic, automatic voter registration and the Democracy Act.
Alliance with Christie
The DCCC research documented Kean’s close political alliance with Christie, including his role as Senate Republican leader in helping sustain the governor’s vetoes.
During Kean’s tenure leading the Senate Republican caucus, Democrats successfully overrode a Christie veto only once.
Kean declined to support veto overrides involving measures on Port Authority reform, a Hurricane Sandy Bill of Rights, funding for family planning clinics and Medicaid coverage of certain prescription drug expenses, according to the report.
In 2016, Kean opposed efforts to impeach Christie over the Bridgegate scandal, accusing Democrats considering the move of “playing political games.”
A closely guarded campaign schedule
Kean’s limited availability to voters and reporters has emerged as an issue in the campaign.
A MyCentralJersey editorial board called Kean’s approach “an insult to the intelligence of 7th District voters” after a New York Times reporter was denied entry to a campaign event and police were called to report the journalist as a trespasser.
“When the intern attempted to ask Kean a question, he was quickly shunned by aides as if he were wearing a scarlet ‘P’ for press on his shirt,” the editorial board wrote.
Kean’s campaign declined to comment on his schedule for this story.
Bennett has challenged Kean to six debates — one in each county in the district — but Sunday’s debate is the only one the candidates have agreed to.
“Congressman Tom Kean Jr. has failed to show up throughout his time in Congress, choosing fundraisers in Washington over listening to us,” Bennett said in a statement.
Race draws national attention
Recent polling has shown Bennett leading Kean by 5 percentage points, with 39% of voters viewing Kean “very unfavorably.”
Republican officials have also publicly acknowledged that Kean faces a competitive reelection campaign.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick said he was worried about Kean’s reelection chances.
“No doubt about that,” Bramnick said.
“It’s a tough race, there’s no denying that,” state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon said, noting that Bennett’s background as a Navy helicopter pilot has similarities to that of Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
The Cook Political Report rates the race a Toss-Up, while Inside Elections recently shifted its rating from Toss-Up to Tilt Democratic.
Bennett has raised more than $4 million, including $1.6 million in the most recent quarter, while Kean has raised just under $5 million.
The debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday and is expected to be streamed on C-SPAN and social media platforms.
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