Former New Jersey state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. will take on in a rematch versus embattled incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski for the state’s 7th Congressional District, which is now projected to turn red after redistricting. The Associated Press declared Malinowski the winner of the New Jersey Democratic House main less than 30 minutes after polls closed.
Kean is set to beat six other Republican prospects for the election with more than 45% of the vote and almost 70% of tallies counted, according to the AP.
He lost to Malinowski in 2020 by simply over 5,000 votes. While New Jersey redistricting in 2015 slanted the chances in favor of 3 susceptible Democratic House incumbents, the wealthy 7th district in the Newark residential areas moved from D +4 to R +3, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Malinowski is already under intense attention as he faces a congressional ethics investigation for his alleged failure to disclose stock trades.
He supposedly failed to disclose his trades, which all members of Congress are required to do within 45 days of the trade’s execution, should the amount traded exceed $1,000, and finds himself under committee scrutiny alongside GOP Reps. Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota.
Lots of incumbent New Jersey Democratic members of Congress seem safe due to redistricting entering their favor. Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s district moved from an even match to D +7. Rep. Mikie Sherill will likewise likely have a simple time after getting the Democratic election, as her district moved from D +1 to D +11.
Incumbent Rep. Andy Kim will more than likely have the clearest course to reelection following Tuesday’s main, as his district was redrawn from R +5 to D +9.
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s kid, Port Authority Commissioner Robert Menendez Jr., appears most likely to represent the Garden State’s 8th District, a D +47 seat. The AP called the race in his favor after he made more than 80% of the vote with about 35% of the tallies counted..
New Jersey saw a stunning Republican upset last fall after Democratic state Senate President Steve Sweeney lost to truck driver Edward Durr, who invested about $2,000 on his project. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy won reelection in 2021 in a race that was much closer than experts anticipated.
H/T Just The News
