GOP Rep. Tom Kean loses House seat after monthslong absence from Congress

Democrat Rebecca Bennett has won the election to represent New Jersey's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Thomas H. Kean Jr. on Tuesday, according to AP News.Bennett, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, successfully flipped the Republican-held seat by focusing on widespread voter discontent over rising prices, urging an immediate end to the Iran war, and calling on Congress to rein in President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.The district, which includes President Donald Trump's Bedminster golf club, has proven politically volatile, changing party hands in each of the last two midterm elections. Kean, identified as the most vulnerable Republican in New Jersey's congressional delegation, had previously flipped the Democratic-held seat in 2022.President Donald Trump won the district by 1.2 percentage points in 2024.As Tuesday night’s midterm election results rolled in and Republicans suffered a string of bruising defeats, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., arrives for a vote at the Capitol, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Washington. ((AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.))Kean's electoral defeat follows a period this year when he disappeared from the public for months and missed more than 100 congressional votes, before disclosing this summer his struggle with depression.The 57-year-old lawmaker's prolonged disappearance from public view had fueled significant speculation regarding his health.“It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be," Kean said on the House floor after his return.