A victorious Rebecca Bennett says voters can soon ‘turn the page on the Trump era’

Democrat Rebecca Bennett defeated Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr., the scion of one of New Jersey’s most famous political dynasties, in Tuesday’s midterm elections, riding a “tsunami of blue” that Democrats say was set in motion by growing public disgust with President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.

Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive making her first run for office, went into Election Day favored to win by a narrow margin. Instead, she walloped Kean, with voters giving her 58% of the vote to Kean’s 40%.

“Something remarkable is happening here in New Jersey and across the country,” Bennett told jubilant supporters in a packed ballroom at Bridgewater Manor. “This is the moment we begin to turn the page on the Trump era!”

Leroy Jones, the Democratic state chairman, took the stage shortly after 9 p.m. It was nearly an hour before the race was officially called, but already, his voice was hoarse from celebrating as Republican incumbents around the country fell to Democratic challengers. In New Jersey alone, two of three GOP House incumbents — Kean and Rep. Jeff Van Drew in South Jersey — lost their bids for re-election.

“This is a tsunami of blue, and it’s all because of you!” he wheezed at the cheering crowd. “I’m not trying to rhyme here. I’m no poet, but I’m just a Democratic chairperson who’s in his glory tonight because the people have spoken and they said yes to humanity, no to Donald Trump, yes to Rebecca Bennett! The 7th District has spoken loudly, and we are going to bask in that glory!”

Somerset County Democratic Chairwoman Peg Schaffer put it more succinctly.

“We’re kicking ass all over the country!” Schaffer shouted.

Bennett took the stage just before 10 p.m. and said she’d talked to Kean by phone — and that he’d conceded gracefully.

“He congratulated me on our victory, and he expressed his commitment to the peaceful transition of power,” Bennett said.

Kean, whose father was governor from 1982 to 1990 and whose ancestor was New Jersey’s first elected governor, closed his watch party to the press and public. His team had not issued any public statements as of Tuesday night.

Bennett took the stage with a sunny smile and spoke for about 10 minutes, sticking to the script and the overriding message she has repeated to voters throughout the campaign: “No one is coming to save us.”

“With corruption in the White House, a war in Iran, and a nation more divided than ever, we have real challenges ahead of us to solve,” she said. “But I believe our best days as a nation are yet to come. Tonight we have sent a message that we are not giving up on this country that we love! We are getting to work!”

She credited a groundswell of grassroots support with helping mobilize voters to the polls, saying almost 2,000 volunteers knocked on more than 200,000 doors and made a half million calls during her campaign.

Earlier, Gov. Mikie Sherrill — “the other Navy helicopter pilot,” she joked — congratulated supporters for delivering the district a win that’s expected to help Democrats flip the House.

“It is not OK to have a president of the United States who is corrupt and lining his own pockets. It is not OK in the richest country in the world to have working people struggling so hard. And so you knew, New Jersey 7, that you wanted a leader. You wanted somebody who was going to find a way, or make one. You wanted a badass,” she said. “You guys won it!”

During the campaign, Bennett had promised to focus on improving affordability, healthcare access, national security, and veterans’ services if she made it to Congress. She also frequently accused Trump and his administration of corruption. At her victory party, she vowed to work on banning members of Congress from trading stocks and getting dark money out of politics.

Sue Altman was all in.

Altman challenged Kean in 2024 and lost, so she was eager to see Bennett prevail. She described Bennett’s victory as a referendum on Trump, with voters rejecting America’s “downward spiral” since his second term began.

“I know Rebecca will be a brilliant member of Congress,” Altman said.

Jones was looking even further ahead.

“If the trend continues, folks, the Senate will be blue!” he shouted. “There will be a firewall up. Donald Trump will be down, and the people of America can once again say that our tomorrow is bright and shiny. But we will continue to fight through ’27 and ’28, because we are going to take back the White House as we’ve taken back Congress tonight! Tonight is a good night!”