Democrats Gun for Missing New Jersey Congressman’s Swingy Seat
This much is certain: One of four Democrats will emerge victorious after Tuesday’s primary election and gear up to face uncontested Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) in one of the most competitive races in the country.
Foggier is where Kean has been since early March. Absent from Congress, absent from the campaign trail, missing over 100 votes, seeming to make all of two phone calls in preparation for the election, the congressman hasn’t been seen in months due to a mystery illness.
“I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” he said in a Tuesday statement. “At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition.”
“Just your prayers,” he responded when a Republican official on one of the two calls asked if he needed anything, per the New York Times.
And the few people who presumably know what’s going on have developed a habit of making cinematically cryptic comments.
When asked why there haven’t even been photos or videos of Kean shared, his chief of staff Dan Scharfenberger said “there’s no cameras where Tom is.”
“He’s hopefully coming back soon and he’s under the care of a doctor,” former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr. told CNN in May. “They all agree he’s going to be fine.”
“It took a real illness to knock him out,” he added. “This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future. The consensus is that he will be 100 percent okay.”
Kean’s seat has swung from party to party in recent cycles. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) won it in 2018 and held it in 2020, narrowly losing to Kean in 2022 after redistricting made the seat more Republican friendly. It’s one of just 18 House races Cook Political Report rates a tossup.
Former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett is considered the frontrunner on the Democratic side. Kean does not have any primary challengers.
— Kate Riga
Sullivan vs. Sullivan
Dan Sullivan entered the Alaska Senate race last Friday. But it’s not the Dan Sullivan you may be thinking of. This Dan Sullivan is challenging the incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), for his Senate seat.
And Sen. Sullivan is frustrated, claiming that his new challenger is a plant by Democrats and former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-AK) Senate campaign to confuse voters. He railed about it at length in the Senate hallways Tuesday.
“The Democrat party is talking about ‘we care about fair elections.’ It’s bullshit,” Sullivan, told a group of reporters, including TPM, as he made his way to the weekly GOP luncheon. “The Democrats in DC, the Peltola campaign are complicit in trying to trick Alaskans — that’s an insult — to rig, and I say very strongly, rig an election in their favor.”
“The Democratic leadership here, if they know about it, it’s a scandal … It will be a scandal,” Sullivan insisted, raising the prospect of legal action.
Peltola is expected to mount a competitive challenge to Sullivan, and a few votes for the wrong Sullivan could make a difference.
— Emine Yücel
Can Trump’s Endorsement Spare Iowa Republicans a Messy Convention?
President Trump endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) for governor Friday after over 15,000 Republicans had already cast their votes, per local news outlet The Gazette.
Feenstra has run a less than inspiring campaign, skipping all of the debates and dropping behind another Republican in a recent poll.
If no candidate breaks 35 percent on Tuesday, party activists will choose the winner at a Republican convention.
The Democratic nominee will be state auditor Rob Sand. Sand is running such a strong campaign that Cook Political Report rates the November election a tossup. A Sand win could also help pull the Dems’ Senate nominee — also to be decided Tuesday — over the line in one of the party’s reach states.
— Kate Riga
In Case You Missed It
The Backchannel: Drip, Drip, Drip: Grand Jury Misconduct Edition
Morning Memo: Will We NEVER Learn the Lessons of Trump?
Our race preview for the California governor’s contest: Long, Weird California Governor Primary Comes to a Close After Surprise Becerra Surge
Our race preview for the Iowa Democratic primary for U.S. Senate: Iowa Dems Mull ‘Electability,’ the ‘Establishment’ in Tuesday Primary as They Try to Pull Off the Unthinkable
Layla A. Jones: Tariff Refunds Are Going Well. Trump’s DOJ Wants to Make Them Harder.
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Judge Demands Answers on Trump’s Collusive IRS Deal — David Kurtz
What We Are Reading
Republicans’ Talarico Trans Taunt Is A Witch Hunt In The Classic Sense — Brian Beutler, Off Message
The Federal Government’s Insect-Defense Agency Is Infested With Bed Bugs — Eric Katz, NOTUS
White House Seeks to Impose Political Test on Billions in Federal Grants — Tony Romm, New York Times
there’s no cameras where Tom is.”
Interesting comment. My read on that is rehab. If so, I hope he recovers from whatever. I also hope he gets his ass kicked in November
I suspect he may be on life support somewhere. Occam’s Razor.
Proof of life? None provided. What else is a plausible explanation?
Well, we’ve got hantavirus, ebola, and now, seemingly, a pandemic of health obfuscation affecting the Republican party. And there’s no cure . . .
I think they are trying to be coy, and this is the worst possible time to attempt coyness.
Maybe he has been transitioning?