Republican state Sen. Tom Kean, Jr., who came within 1 percentage point of winning the seat two years ago, has ousted two-term incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski’s (D-N.J.) in New Jersey’s Congressional District 7 (CD 7), picking up a key red win in a blue state.
According to results posted by the New Jersey Secretary of State Office’s Division of Elections (DOE), Kean garnered 52.3 percent, or 153,535 of 293,340 ballots cast, to Malinowski’s 47.7 percent to win their Nov. 8 election.
Analysts nationwide were watching New Jersey’s marquee midterm rematch between Malinowski and Kean because it was viewed by the GOP as an opportunity for the GOP to flip one of the state’s 10 Democratic-held seats and send a third Republican to Congress.
Kean, 54, served 20 years in the New Jersey State Assembly. The grandson of former U.S. Rep. Robert Kean (R-N.J.), and son of former Republican Gov. Thomas Kean, Sr., this is his fourth attempt to win a Congressional seat.
On Election Night, Kean refrained from declaring victory in the race but reiterated his “solemn pledge ... to serve with integrity, to listen, to learn, to earn this responsibility you’ve honored me with to steer this nation toward greater opportunity, security, and prosperity.”
Malinowski actually conceded before Kean acknowledged the results. “I am deeply grateful to the people of the 7th District for the honor of representing you, and I congratulate Congressman-Elect Kean,” he said in a statement issued before noon EST on Nov. 9.
Malinowski, 57, a native of Poland, served on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council, was chief advocate for Human Rights Watch, and was an Assistant Secretary of State under President Barak Obama before winning a House seat in 2018.
Kean followed up with a statement thanking Malinowski for “years of public service and his vigorous campaign” before calling his election “an opportunity to change the course of history.”
Kean lost to Malinowski by less than 5,300 votes in 2020, but post-Census reapportionment made CD 7 more accommodating to GOP candidates.
In fact, according to the New Jersey DOE, as of Nov. 1, there were more registered Republicans than Democrats in CD 7, which is among the nation’s 10 most-affluent and well-educated congressional districts; it includes former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf resort.
The New Jersey DOE reports 33 percent—206,589—of the “new” CD 7’s 617,703 voters are registered Republicans, with 30 percent, less than 190,000, registered as Democrats.
