Thomas H. Kean
RIncumbentFEC H0NJ07261
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Raised this cycle$6.1M
Cash on hand: $1.4M
2026 race
NJ-07 — U.S. House
3 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Thomas H. Kean.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the New Jersey Division of Elections.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$25M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Rebecca Bennett
DChallengerFEC H6NJ07201
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Raised this cycle$8.8M
Cash on hand: $1.1M
Seamus Patrick O'Toole
IChallengerNo FEC filing
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
7 defeated candidates — show
Tina Shah
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6NJ07250
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Raised this cycle$2.3M
Cash on hand: $39K
Brian Varela
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H2NJ08265
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Raised this cycle$2.0M
Cash on hand: −$13K
Michael Roth
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6NJ07235
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Raised this cycle$1.3M
Cash on hand: $0
Megan O'Rourke
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6NJ07276
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Raised this cycle$571K
Cash on hand: $0
Gregory Vartan
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H4NJ07131
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Raised this cycle$193K
Cash on hand: $0
Beth Ellen Adubato
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6NJ07243
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Raised this cycle$168K
Cash on hand: $3K
Sara Sooy
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6NJ07284
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Raised this cycle$54K
Cash on hand: $0
Local signal
Early read on NJ-07 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Rebecca Bennettleans negative
0 pos16 neutral3 neg19 articles
Thomas H. Keanleans negative
0 pos5 neutral1 neg6 articles
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 16, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$25M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$21M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$3.1M
$1.8M for · $1.3M against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rebecca Bennett(D) + VOTEVETS $1.0M + ARTICLE ONE PAC $254K + PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $119K − REAL CHANGE PAC $661K | $8.8M | $1.4M | $661K | $9.5M |
Thomas H. Kean(R)incumbent − GIFFORDS PAC $378K − 314 ACTION FUND $210K − ACTIVATE AMERICA $2K | $6.1M | — | $591K | $5.5M |
Seamus Patrick O'Toole | $0 | — | — | $0 |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tina Shah(D)defeated + AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $300K | $2.3M | $300K | — | $2.6M |
Brian Varela(D)defeated | $2.0M | — | — | $2.0M |
Michael Roth(D)defeated + COALITION FOR PROGRESS $120K | $1.3M | $120K | — | $1.4M |
Megan O'Rourke(D)defeated | $571K | — | — | $571K |
Gregory Vartan(D)defeated | $193K | — | — | $193K |
Beth Ellen Adubato(D)defeated | $168K | — | — | $168K |
Sara Sooy(D)defeated | $54K | — | — | $54K |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside NJ versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Rebecca Bennett(D)44% in-state · $3.3M itemized
$1.5M in-state$1.9M out-of-state
Thomas H. Kean(R)28% in-state · $3.6M itemized
$1.0M in-state$2.6M out-of-state
7 defeated candidates — show
Tina Shah(D)defeated19% in-state · $1.2M itemized
$232K in-state$1.0M out-of-state
Brian Varela(D)defeated64% in-state · $685K itemized
$437K in-state$248K out-of-state
Michael Roth(D)defeated66% in-state · $777K itemized
$515K in-state$262K out-of-state
Megan O'Rourke(D)defeated27% in-state · $359K itemized
$96K in-state$263K out-of-state
Gregory Vartan(D)defeated72% in-state · $141K itemized
$102K in-state$39K out-of-state
Beth Ellen Adubato(D)defeated23% in-state · $36K itemized
$8K in-state$27K out-of-state
Sara Sooy(D)defeated88% in-state · $44K itemized
$39K in-state$5K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Bennett | Kean | O'toole | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Guns Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Rebecca Bennett
- Democrats retake Senate in sweeping midterm rebukeAlbuquerque JournalNov 4
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/kean-bennett-race-nj-7th-district-results-winner-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/11/03/democrat-rebecca-bennett-wins-nj07-tom-kean/New York Daily NewsNov 4
- https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/11/03/2026-election-midterm-results-updates/New York Daily NewsNov 4
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.