Tom Kean Jr. Trump Missing After Bennett Wins New Jersey Primary

Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's battleground House race as trump missing Tom Kean Jr. has missed all 104 of the most recent roll call votes and has not appeared in public since early March. She will face Kean in November, giving voters a general-election matchup shaped by his months-long absence from Congress.

New Jersey House Seat

Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won a crowded primary for the seat. The race sits in a district the Cook Political Report rates as a toss-up, and House Republicans are trying to hold their slim majority there.

Kean last voted on March 5. Since then, his office has kept posting on social media, and he has introduced legislation during his absence.

Kean's Medical Issue

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in May that Kean had a medical issue and would be fully transparent about it. Johnson told reporters, "He’s had a medical issue, and he’s gonna be fully transparent and disclose all that," and added, "I mean, that’s what he told me. But I don’t even know the details, and I have to respect that."

Shortly before polls closed Tuesday, Kean said in a written statement that he will be "completely transparent" about his medical issue when he resumes in-person work. He said he expects to return "within a matter of weeks," after previously saying in mid-May that he would resume work "in the next couple of weeks."

November Matchup

The nomination gives Bennett a direct line into a race where the Republican incumbent has stayed out of public view while retaining his office and legislative activity. For voters in the district, the contest now turns on whether Kean's return comes before November and how his absence has changed the campaign that will decide the seat.