Navy Pilot Rebecca Bennett Closes In on Flipping a Key House Seat in New Jersey

BRANCHBURG, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 16: (L-R) U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), New Jersey Democratic Congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett and Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gather at the end of a rally at Raritan Valley Community College on October 16, 2026 in Branchburg, New Jersey. Bennett will run against incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) for a seat in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. (Credit: Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

The Briefing

• Three top nonpartisan forecasters — Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections — have moved New Jersey's 7th Congressional District in Democrats' favor in recent weeks, designating the race as leaning or tilting Democratic; this week, the Congressional Leadership Fund and a Trump-aligned super PAC pulled their advertising from Tom Kean Jr.'s campaign.
• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it will spend $13 million on ads in 39 targeted races, including NJ-07; Bennett raised $4 million since July without accepting corporate PAC money, while Kean had raised $4.89 million through June 30 — and has refused to disclose updated totals.
• Kean missed every House vote from March 5 through June 30 — more than 100 roll calls — before returning to reveal a depression diagnosis; Trump's approval in New Jersey sits at just 24% in an October 1 Rutgers-Eagleton poll, and ACA marketplace premiums in the state are set to rise nearly 20% next year.