Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. and Rebecca Bennett sparred in the first and likely only debate between the two New Jersey candidates locked in one of the country’s most closely watched congressional races.
Kean, a Republican political scion whose father is a former Garden State governor, and Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and first-time Democratic candidate, clashed on issues that ranged from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, tariffs, how to fix healthcare costs, an ICE detention center in the district and their personal finances.
In his opening remarks, Kean said he had been an “effective legislator” during his time in Congress and the state legislature. He pledged to “challenge anyone” who got in his way of protecting New Jersey’s interests, including Trump.
Bennett opened by telling viewers “my life is the American dream.”
“ I earned an ROTC scholarship for my undergrad. I used the GI Bill for my MBA. My husband and I bought our house with a [U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs] loan,” she said.
Kean and Bennett are running in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional district, the state’s one true swing district this year, which stretches from the edge of Staten Island to the Pennsylvania border.
As a two-term incumbent, Kean has won fairly easily in the past. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district by 20,000 registered voters. But a recent Stimsight Research poll gave Bennett a five point edge. And the Cook Political Report also recently moved the race from “Toss Up” to “Lean D.”
Kean’s long absence from Congress
It was the first question of the evening. Moderator David Wildstein asked Kean if he made the “responsible” decision by not telling his constituents sooner about his mental health struggles, which kept him out of Congress for 116 days earlier this year.
Kean defended his decision not to disclose his depression diagnosis until he returned to the House of Representatives at the end of July.
“We were very clear with our constituents as well as the press that we were seeking medical treatment. And when things got updated over time, we kept everybody updated, and we were also very transparent when we spoke on the House floor about my condition of depression,” Kean said.
Bennett said she was happy Kean was getting the treatment he needed before shifting the discussion to Kean’s support for Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and its cuts to health care. State health officials have said that an estimated 350,000 New Jerseyans could lose health care due to cuts to Medicaid in the law.
She also criticized the legislation’s tax cuts for the wealthy and their impact on the country’s fiscal health. Multiple tax policy think tanks have estimated the law could add anywhere from $4 to $5 trillion to the national debt
”Congressman Tom Kean Jr., chose to saddle my daughters and the next generation with an insurmountable amount of debt to give tax breaks to the top 1% among us,” Bennett said number one is undoing the cuts that were done.
She said she would use the additional revenue to pay for programs like capping childcare costs for all families.
Kean’s defense of Trump
With Kean slumping in recent polls, and the president’s favorability rating dropping even further in the state, some New Jersey Republicans have urged Kean to distance himself from Trump. But Kean gave a robust defense of the president’s policies on Sunday night.
He called Trump’s tax and spending bill the “One big tax cut bill,” hailing it as the largest tax cut in American history and claiming the legislation “jumpstarted” the economy.
On the war in Iran, he said the president has taken a “clear and targeted approach” while lamenting past administrations’ diplomacy efforts in the Middle East.
Kean also said Trump’s use of tariffs was “justified,” despite concerns they are raising costs for average American households.
”The purpose of tariffs are to reduce the, not only to get leverage against a foreign entity, but also to make sure you lower the overall cost upfront. And that’s what the tariffs are intended to do,” Kean said, adding that it was not Congress’s place to interfere with the president’s policy.
Bennett disagreed. She called for rolling back Trump’s tariffs.
“ Everything is more expensive: childcare, eldercare, housing, energy, groceries, healthcare. I could go on and on and on. And tariffs are directly impacting our cost of living,” Bennett said.
She also criticized Trump for having “no clear exit strategy” for the war in Iran, citing her over 15 years experience in the U.S military. And she said Congress “has not come close” to checking Trump’s power.
Personal finance kerfluffle
The two candidates sparred over Kean’s investment profits while in office.
Bennett accused Kean of being one of Congress’ “most prolific stock traders.” In June, Gothamist reported that Kean profited by as much $340,000 from stock trades during his absence from Congress. Some of his trades have involved companies that play an integral role in the growth in AI data centers, which has been controversial in New Jersey and around the country,
Bennett said she and her husband have placed their investments in index funds and mutual funds.
“There are two ways to divest your personal interests from stocks. Number one is to do what I did, which is to divest all your individual stocks. Number two is to put your assets in an actual blind trust. My opponent has done neither of those things. And ultimately, his signature is on the form,” she said, referring to his signed personal financial disclosures to Congress.
Kean said he has nothing to do with the decisions around his personal trades.
“ I’ve got a blind structure in which I have no involvement and no input,” he said.
A debate moderator asked Bennett to disclose her net worth. Bennett appeared flustered by the question and did not provide an answer.
Kean estimated his net worth to be around $10 million.
Kean ends silence on Roxbury
Until now, Kean had been silent on the Trump administration plans to transform a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey into an ICE detention center. The warehouse is in Kean’s district and local Republican leaders in the township, along with many residents, have criticized him for not helping them oppose the detention facility.
Kean was asked Sunday if he could understand their frustration. He responded by saying he is against the administration’s plans, one of the few times he came out against one of Trump’s policies.
“ My focus is to make sure we don’t have an ICE facility in Roxbury,” he said.
Bennett has spoken out against the project since February when the Department of Homeland Security purchased the 470,000-square-foot warehouse for nearly $130 million.
“ This is the first time we have heard Congressman Tom Kean Jr. actually be explicit about his position on the detention facility in Roxbury. So thank you for telling us where you stand finally,” Bennett said.
The candidates found more common ground during a lightning round of yes or no questions. Both agreed that Lake Ontario should be called Lake Ontario, and not Lake America as Trump has renamed it through an executive order in August. Neither would vote for Tucker Carlson or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for president, and both think pineapple on pizza is, well, fine.
“ I mean, if it’s, like, the only pizza I’ll eat it, but I wouldn’t put it on there myself,” Bennett said.