Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) is facing down a crowded and well-funded field of Democrats ahead of next year’s race for the 7th congressional district – and he’ll have plenty of money to defend himself against whichever one takes him on.
Kean raised $666,972 during the 3rd quarter of 2025, another strong fundraising haul that follows two consecutive quarters of more than $900,000 each earlier this year.
In total, since the beginning of 2025, Kean has raised an astonishing $2,569,181, more than any other New Jersey House member by far. Kean’s campaign ended September with $1,972,172 on-hand.
“Thank you to everyone who continues to stand with our campaign and support our hard work at home and in Washington to deliver results for District 7 residents,” Kean said in a statement. “Washington Democrats chose to play political games over governing, and forced a government shutdown. I will continue to focus on getting the government reopened and serving the American people, and the support of 7th district residents in our efforts is inspiring.”
The 7th district, drawn in 2022 to be New Jersey’s most competitive House district, has hosted extremely expensive House contests four cycles in a row, and 2026 is likely to mark #5.
No fewer than six Democrats – former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, businessman Brian Varela, physician Tina Shah, former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth, climate scientist Megan O’Rourke, and former Summit Councilman Greg Vartan – have reported raising at least $100,000 for their campaigns thus far. (Two other Democrats, attorney Vale Mendoza and criminal justice professor Beth Adubato, haven’t yet filed any fundraising reports.)
Bennett is the field’s fundraising leader, though the first-time candidate still has a long way to go to catch up with Kean, having raised around $1.3 million since entering the race in February. Other top fundraisers include Shah, who raised more than $600,000 during her first quarter in the race, and Varela, who raised $700,000 in his first quarter with the help of self-funding.
In 2024, Kean and Democratic challenger Sue Altman each raised more than $6 million in a race that, factoring in spending from outside groups, clocked in as the most expensive House race in New Jersey history. (Kean won 52% to 46%.)
