National Republicans are opening their wallets to protect Rep. Tom Kean Jr.'s New Jersey seat, with a super PAC tied to President Trump's political orbit committing roughly $3.3 million to the race as control of the House hangs in the balance.
Safety and Affordability PAC, a newly formed group deploying tens of millions of dollars across competitive House districts nationwide, is directing a sizable share of that spending into New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. The infusion comes as the battle for the House enters its final stretch and both parties concentrate resources on a shrinking list of genuinely competitive seats.
Kean, who flipped the North and Central Jersey battleground in 2022 by unseating then-Rep. Tom Malinowski and went on to win reelection in 2024, faces Democrat Rebecca Bennett this fall in a district both parties regard as a linchpin in the fight for House control. The seat has drawn national money in each of the last several cycles, from Elon Musk's America PAC spending on Kean's behalf to labor-backed groups running robocalls against him, and this cycle is shaping up to be no different.
The $3.3 million investment signals that national Republicans aren't taking Kean's seat for granted even with a two-term incumbent already in place, and it comes on the heels of Democratic-aligned groups making their own plays in the district, including a labor coalition's Battleground Alliance PAC, which has run robocalls attacking Kean over missed votes tied to a health-related absence from Congress.
For voters in the district, the practical effect will be immediate. A wave of television advertising is expected to hit NJ-07 airwaves over the next seven weeks as both campaigns and their allied outside groups make their closing arguments before Election Day, turning what is already one of the most closely watched House races in the country into one of its most heavily funded as well.
