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\u2019s most closely watched congressional races.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s war in Iran, tariffs, how to fix healthcare costs, an ICE detention center in the district and their personal finances.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks, Kean said he had been an \u201ceffective legislator\u201d during his time in Congress and the state legislature. He pledged to \u201cchallenge anyone\u201d who got in his way of protecting New Jersey\u2019s interests, including Trump.<\/p>\n
Bennett opened by telling viewers \u201cmy life is the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Kean and Bennett are running in New Jersey\u2019s 7th Congressional district, the state\u2019s one true swing district this year, which stretches from the edge of Staten Island to the Pennsylvania border.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> also recently moved the race from \u201cToss Up\u201d to \u201cLean D.\u201d<\/p>\n Kean\u2019s long absence from Congress<\/p>\n It was the first question of the evening. Moderator David Wildstein asked Kean if he made the \u201cresponsible\u201d decision by not telling his constituents sooner about his mental health struggles, which kept him out of Congress for 116 days earlier this year.<\/p>\n Kean defended his decision not to disclose his depression diagnosis until he returned to the House of Representatives at the end of July.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d Kean said.<\/p>\n Bennett said she was happy Kean was getting the treatment he needed before shifting the discussion to Kean\u2019s support for Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d and its cuts to health care. State health officials have said<\/a> that an estimated 350,000 New Jerseyans could lose health care due to cuts to Medicaid in the law.<\/p>\n She also criticized the legislation\u2019s tax cuts for the wealthy and their impact on the country\u2019s fiscal health. Multiple tax policy think tanks have estimated the law could add anywhere from $4 to $5 trillion to the national debt<\/p>\n \u201dCongressman 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,\u201d Bennett said number one is undoing the cuts that were done.<\/p>\n She said she would use the additional revenue to pay for programs like capping childcare costs for all families.<\/p>\n Kean\u2019s defense of Trump<\/p>\n With Kean slumping in recent polls, and the president\u2019s favorability rating dropping even further in the state, some New Jersey Republicans have urged Kean to distance himself from Trump<\/a>. But Kean gave a robust defense of the president\u2019s policies on Sunday night.<\/p>\n He called Trump\u2019s tax and spending bill the \u201cOne big tax cut bill,\u201d hailing it as the largest tax cut in American history and claiming the legislation \u201cjumpstarted\u201d the economy.<\/p>\n On the war in Iran, he said the president has taken a \u201cclear and targeted approach\u201d while lamenting past administrations\u2019 diplomacy efforts in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Kean also said Trump\u2019s use of tariffs was \u201cjustified,\u201d despite concerns they are raising costs for average American households.<\/p>\n \u201dThe 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,\u201d Kean said, adding that it was not Congress\u2019s place to interfere with the president\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n Bennett disagreed. She called for rolling back Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aEverything 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,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n She also criticized Trump for having \u201cno clear exit strategy\u201d for the war in Iran, citing her over 15 years experience in the U.S military. And she said Congress \u201chas not come close\u201d to checking Trump\u2019s power.<\/p>\n Personal finance kerfluffle<\/p>\n The two candidates sparred over Kean\u2019s investment profits while in office.<\/p>\n Bennett accused Kean of being one of Congress\u2019 \u201cmost \u200aprolific stock traders.\u201d In June, Gothamist reported<\/a> 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<\/a>, which has been controversial in New Jersey and around the country,<\/p>\n Bennett said she and her husband have placed their investments in index funds and mutual funds.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d she said, referring to his signed personal financial disclosures to Congress.<\/p>\n Kean said he has nothing to do with the decisions around his personal trades.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI’ve got a blind structure in which I have no involvement and no input,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A debate moderator asked Bennett to disclose her net worth. Bennett appeared flustered by the question and did not provide an answer.<\/p>\n Kean estimated his net worth to be around $10 million.<\/p>\n Kean ends silence on Roxbury<\/p>\n 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\u2019s district and local Republican leaders in the township, along with many residents, have criticized him for not helping them oppose the detention facility.<\/p>\n Kean was asked Sunday if he could understand their frustration. He responded by saying he is against the administration\u2019s plans, one of the few times he came out against one of Trump\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aMy focus is to make sure we don’t have an ICE facility in Roxbury,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThis 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,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI mean, if it’s, like, the only pizza I’ll eat it, but I wouldn’t put it on there myself,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rep. 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