Democrat and former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett wins key N.J. race against incumbent Tom Kean Jr.

Democratic newcomer Rebecca Bennett defeated incumbent and political scion Tom Kean Jr. to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, delivering a victory for her party in a race seen as key to wresting control of the U.S. House from Republicans.

National pundits and polls predicted the 7th District — spread across Hunterdon and Warren Counties and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union — was the most likely to turn Democratic. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill won big across the state last year, including in Kean’s backyard of Westfield.

Bennett, 39 is a health technology executive and a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who changed her political affiliation from Republican to Democrat after President Donald Trump won the 2016 primary election. She has never held elected office.

She campaigned against Kean by often reminding the public of Trump’s agenda. But as party leaders directed more money and attention her way, she presented herself as a moderate focused on helping reduce the cost of living. Her candidacy resembles that of Sherrill, who is also a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and handily beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli by focusing on Trump’s unpopularity in the state.

“We never let the cynicism of President Trump and his enablers snuff out our belief in a better America for ourselves and for our kids,” Bennett said in her victory speech at the Bridgewater Manor just before 10 p.m. “And now, after 10 long years, something remarkable is happening in New Jersey and across the country. And this is the moment we begin to turn the page on the Trump era.”

Bennett said when she spoke to Kean by telephone, “He congratulated me on our victory and he expressed his commitment to the peaceful transfer of power — a tradition that is deeply American.”

”And here’s something else that is deeply American," Bennett added. “Tonight is about something bigger than any one of us. It’s about us coming together ... This is about my daughters, Rosie and Millie, and for every other little girl watching tonight. I want you to know that I’m going to make sure you can do whatever you want when you grow up.”

Sherrill took the stage just as The Associated Press declared Bennett the winner.

“You wanted a leader. You wanted a leader who was gonna find a way or make one. You wanted a badass,” Sherrill said. “She made it look easy but she worked her butt off.”

Kean spent two decades in the state legislature before defeating Democrat Rep. Tom Malinowski in 2022 in a newly designed district that contained slightly more Republicans voters. He is the son of former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, who remains New Jersey’s most revered politician.

But Kean faced tough odds. Trump’s plummeting approval rating appeared to drag down loyalists like Kean, who defended the president’s war in Iran. Kean stood apart from the president on some issues, including opposing a new ICE detention facility in Roxbury and defending the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project that will open a new rail connection between New Jersey and New York. Trump has tried to cancel the project.

Kean also took a nearly four-month medical leave of absence for depression that he did not explain until he returned in June.

Sue Altman, who lost to Kean in the 7th District race two years ago, said she was out on the trail for Bennett over the weekend and was impressed with the “positive energy.”

“I have no doubt we are going to win tonight,” Altman said at 8:30 p.m., before the race was called.

When asked if she wished she was running this year, Altman said that she was “totally happy with her life choices” and that “Rebecca will be great. I have no regrets.”

“The district overall deserves this win,” she added. “People have been struggling from Sussex to Hunterdon County to Union County. And I think it’s incumbent on Democrats to make the most of this moment. Moments like this don’t come around all the time.”

Mahen Gunaratna, a Democratic operative who lives in the 7th District, said enthusiasm is high, “certainly in New Jersey but also across the country, including the Midwest and the South. It’s certainly a Democratic wave, and this is the hottest race for sure.”

The momentum behind Democrats has “depressed Republican turnout across the country,” Gunaratna said as he awaited results at 9 p.m.

The Kean-Bennett battle is also on track to be the most expensive race in the nation, driven largely by the pricey New York City media market. Bennett overall raised $8.2 million, including outside support from congressional Democrats and left-leaning political action committees, according to the Federal Election Commission. Kean raised $5.8 million during this election cycle, with $4.2 million coming from the Congressional Leadership Fund. Its support ended about a month before the election as House Republicans looked to shore up states Trump won two years ago, such as Pennsylvania and Texas.

For some voters in the 7th District, the state of the economy was a key factor in how they voted.

Nance Sherlock and Kristin Bartel are good friends — such good friends that Bartel trusted Sherlock to mind her dog, Spike, while she cast her ballot at a polling place in Bedminster, Somerset County. And it doesn’t matter to them that they don’t share political viewpoints.

“I want people to get along better. I am a Trump fan. I do go to his golf course. I like him,” said Sherlock, a Republican. “But everyone has their thing. I will still be friends with my friend over here because I love her.”

She added: “I really want the gas prices to go down.”

Bartel said she doesn’t consider herself a political person, but tends to vote Democratic, including this year.

“I’m just about everyone being rational. Just make good decisions,” Bartel said.

Also in Bedminster, Peter Abbate said he never misses a chance to vote. The most pressing issue for him this year is the economy, particularly the cost of gas and groceries. He voted for Kean Jr. because he believes he will do better on economic issues.

“I hope so, based on what he said,” Abbate said. “I liked him better than the opposition.”

Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.