New Jersey voters got their marquee congressional race Tuesday as former state Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. and Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski won their primaries Tuesday, according to projections by the Associated Press.
That sets up what promises to be the state’s hottest congressional battle in this November’s midterm general election: a rematch of 2020, when Malinowski narrowly won re-election over Kean, the son of former Gov. Tom Kean.
Kean dispatched six opponents to win the Republican nomination Tuesday, including state Assemblyman Eric Peterson of Hunterdon County and pastor Phil Rizzo, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in last year’s GOP primary.
Kean had nearly 19,000 votes — or about 45% of the vote — when the AP called the race at about 10:30 p.m., followed by Rizzo with more than 9,000 votes and Peterson more than 7,000.
Malinowski beat perennial candidate Roger Bacon to take the Democratic nomination Tuesday.
“It’s going to be another close race, and in New Jersey this year, this is the race (to watch),” Malinowski told NJ PBS after his win. “All eyes are going to be on our district. I’m just glad that the Democratic party is completely unified.”
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Malinowski will defend his seat in a redrawn 7th Congressional District that is less friendly to him than the district he won by just 1 percentage point over Kean two years ago.
He raised $5.1 million and had $3.6 million in the bank through May 18, while Kean brought in $2.2 million and had $1.2 million to spend.
The Cook Political Report gave Kean a slight edge in the rematch, while Inside Elections called the race a tossup.
Kean said in a statement Tuesday night that he is “fully committed to flipping this seat in November.”
“New Jersey needs a leader with a clear vision and the right experience to make a difference,” he said. “I am committed to taking on Washington’s out-of-control spending and delivering the honest public service that the people of this district deserve.”
“Tom Malinowski has presided over crisis after crisis that have taken a serious toll on New Jersey,” Kean added. “He will deny, deflect and play dumb in one final, failed attempt to save his own political career, but make no mistake — he owns his record.”
Kean’s campaign website is devoid of issues, though in fundraising emails he has criticized inflation and the high gas prices now pulsing through the economy. He declined to respond to numerous requests to comment on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by supporters of President Donald Trump, which the Republican National Committee characterized as “legitimate political discourse.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee has put him on their list of GOP challengers most likely to flip a Democratic-held seat.
NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said in a statement Tuesday night that Kean is “a common-sense conservative who is ready to get to work for a district that is hurting from Tom Malinowski’s failed leadership.”
Malinowski, who ousted Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018 as part of that year’s Democratic wave, hammered the GOP and Kean on abortion rights after a draft Supreme Court decision indicated that the Republican-appointed majority was prepared to overrule Roe v. Wade.
Kean voted against a new state law protecting abortion rights in New Jersey law
Malinowski also has criticized Kean for his votes against gun safety following the mass killings in Buffalo and in Uvalde, Texas.
But Malinowski has faced ethical problems for failing to disclose numerous stock trades and is awaiting final disposition from the House Ethics Committee.
The Office of Congressional Ethics, which found that Malinowski violated the law requiring timely disclosure, also reported that Malinowski did not direct any of those trades. Since then, he has put his financial holdings in a blind trust.
Malinowski said Tuesday night he wishes “this was a race about issues,” especially “how to fix the economy.”
”Unfortunately, what I think we’re going to get from the other side is just a lot of dumb attack ads,” he said.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.
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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.
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