The unknown medical ailment that has kept Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. out of the public eye for two months took center stage Tuesday during a debate of his Democratic rivals, who called his absence from Congress a sign why voters should boot him from office.
“If you were missing work, you would tell your boss, and Tom Kean Jr.’s boss is the people. He did not tell us. That’s it. And in the time that he did not show up for work, he has raised more than $600,000 just from corporate PACs alone. That tells you who his boss is,” said Michael Roth, one of four Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in the June 2 primary. “It is time that we get a member of Congress who will show up.”
Roth and the three other Democrats hoping to unseat Kean in November — Rebecca Barnett, Tina Shah, and Brian Varela — met Tuesday night at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway for a debate sponsored by the New Jersey Globe and Rider’s Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics.
Kean, who was first elected in 2022 to represent the 7th Congressional District, has missed about 80 votes since his last recorded House vote on March 5. He hasn’t been seen in person in Washington, D.C., or New Jersey since mid-March, with his staff saying only that he is dealing with a personal health issue. He released a statement on social media three weeks ago saying that his doctors expect he’ll make a full recovery and that he would return to work “very soon.”
His challengers all wished him a speedy recovery and agreed medical crises can afflict anyone. But as a public official, Kean has a responsibility to the people who elected him to be transparent about anything that could impede his work, they said.
“What we are being assured is that his team is carrying the torch, but we elected Tom Kean Jr., not his team,” Shah said.
Kean campaign spokesman Harrison Neely did not respond to his rivals’ criticisms nor offer any more information about why Kean is out of work and when exactly he would return.
“Thank you to all of the challengers for their well wishes for Congressman Kean last night,” Neely said. “He is looking forward to getting back to a full schedule very soon.”
While Kean’s continued silence rankled his rivals, they said he had long been elusive even before his current medical troubles. Varela pointed to Kean’s failure to hold town halls and his scripted telephone calls to voters “that are kind of weird.”
“Frankly, I think that we’re maybe more aware of (his absence) because of the health reasons behind it. But from my perspective, nothing’s really changed,” Varela said.
Bennett seconded that sentiment, noting that Kean was “nowhere to be found” when President Donald Trump blocked funding for the Gateway Tunnel project and when the Trump administration bought a warehouse to build an immigrant detention facility in Roxbury. Roxbury’s Republican local officials, who oppose the new jail, have criticized Kean as unhelpful in their fight to stop it.
Bennett pointed to his past votes on key issues, suggesting it would be better if Kean stays home.
“Looking at his voting record, he has absolutely failed us. He was the deciding vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which is why tens of thousands of people in our district are losing access to their health insurance,” Bennett said.
She added: “We are going to hold him accountable for his voting record in November and flip the seat.”
The 7th District will likely be the most competitive congressional race in New Jersey, with Democrats considering it key in a national effort to flip control of the House in November’s midterm elections. It covers Hunterdon and Warren counties and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties. It was a longtime GOP seat until Democrats won it in 2018. Kean flipped it back for the GOP in 2022.
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