{"id":1378,"date":"2026-05-30T20:03:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1378"},"modified":"2026-05-30T20:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:03:41","slug":"whats-the-word-new-jersey-voters-look-for-answers-about-tom-kean-jr-s-absence-from-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1378","title":{"rendered":"‘What’s the word?’ New Jersey voters look for answers about Tom Kean Jr.’s absence from Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WESTFIELD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 When New Jersey voters gathered this week to talk with a state lawmaker about affordable housing and new data centers, there was something else on their mind, too. Where is their congressman, Republican Tom Kean Jr.?<\/p>\n

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“What\u2019s the word?\u201d Steve McCabe, an 80-year-old retired lawyer, asked Jon Bramnick, a GOP state senator.<\/p>\n

Bramnick had no answer for Kean’s unexplained medical absence that has stretched over nearly three months. But he told the audience how Kean hated to miss votes when they served together in the Legislature, even if that meant driving through a snowstorm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Tom, we should really turn around,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Now Kean has missed more than 100 votes in Congress, and he has not been spotted in Washington or in his district. It is a political mystery with potentially national consequences: Kean represents a district that is among Democrats’ top targets as they try to retake control of Congress.<\/p>\n

Kean’s office insists he is still running for reelection. He is not facing any challengers in Tuesday’s primary while several Democrats are running for their party’s nomination.<\/p>\n

Harrison Neely, Kean\u2019s campaign consultant, said the congressman was dealing with a medical emergency. He promised that Kean would be transparent about the issue and would return to a full schedule \u201cvery soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an emergency, you don\u2019t get to plan these,\u201d Neely said. \u201cThere\u2019s no good timing for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Bramnick, it seems like it must be something serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him not to be there, that\u2019s a big deal,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We’re expecting him back here soon\u2019<\/p>\n

Kean represents the 7th Congressional District, a mix of suburbs and small towns. It includes President Donald Trump\u2019s Bedminster golf course.<\/p>\n

Despite being redrawn after the most recent census in 2021 to become more favorable to Republicans, the district has seesawed between the parties in each of the last two midterm elections. Republican Leonard Lance lost to Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2018. Malinowski lost to Kean in 2022.<\/p>\n

Kean’s last vote in the House was March 5. Since then his absence has drawn escalating attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re expecting him back here soon,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., recently. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be fully transparent.”<\/p>\n

Kean comes from a storied political family. His father served as governor. An ancestor was New Jersey\u2019s first leader after the United States declared independence.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Globe, a local political website, said it received a call from Kean this month. He did not explain his condition, only that \u201cmy doctors are confident that I\u2019m on the road to a full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCabe, the voter who asked Bramnick about Kean, said he wanted an update after reading the news about the congressman’s absence.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope he\u2019s not sick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What if Kean steps down?<\/p>\n

Bruce Paterson, a 75-year-old retired engineer from Garwood, described himself as a \u201cregular Democrat, not like the crazy Democrats they have today.\u201d He attended the town hall with Bramnick and plans to support Kean in the general election.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he comes back,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, will I vote for him? Probably only because we need a nice balance” in a state otherwise dominated by Democrats.<\/p>\n

Another voter asked Bramnick if Kean steps down after Tuesday\u2019s primary whether he would accept the Republican nomination for the 7th District. If that were to happen, party leaders in the district’s counties would hold a convention to choose a replacement.<\/p>\n

Bramnick repeatedly noted Kean is running for reelection and questioned whether his own candidacy would be a good fit in today’s Republican Party. While Bramnick has criticized Trump, including during Bramnick’s failed campaign for governor last year, Kean has embraced the president and features his endorsement prominently on social media accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not considered the biggest fan of Donald Trump,\u201d Bramnick said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that the Republican Party is interested in sending someone to Washington that may vote yes or no depending on how I feel about the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats are waiting in the wings<\/p>\n

Some Democrats running in the primary have criticized Kean over the failure to tell constituents about what is going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom Kean disappeared from the job,\u201d said Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy pilot also in the race, wished Kean a speedy recovery but criticized his record in Congress, including the battle over money for a new railway tunnel connecting New Jersey with New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was nowhere to be found when funding got cut for the Gateway Tunnel, which is a critical infrastructure project in our district,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Candidates Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor, and Brian Varela, a marketing agency founder, have also been critical of Kean during debates.<\/p>\n

Kean, who has a cash advantage at this point over his potential Democratic opponents, still has time before the November election to connect with voters, said Benjamin Dworkin, director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is not going to be that he was out for a hundred plus votes in the spring,\u201d he said. \u201cThe question is really, how effective is he going to get once he returns?\u201d<\/p>\n

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WESTFIELD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 When New Jersey voters gathered this week to talk with a state lawmaker about affordable housing and new data centers, there was something else on their mind, too. Where is their congressman, Republican Tom Kean Jr.?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n'What's the word?' 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