Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) is running for reelection in New Jersey’s 7th District despite a monthslong absence from both Capitol Hill and the campaign trail due to an undisclosed health issue.
Kean’s nomination on June 2 is largely a formality, as he is the only Republican running in the GOP primary. The 57-year-old Kean has missed over 100 votes in the House, with his last vote being recorded on March 5.
Few details have been shared regarding the congressman’s illness, but Kean told the New Jersey Globe that he expects to make a full recovery and will be back on Capitol Hill in the “next couple of weeks.”
“My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery,” Kean told the outlet. “I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents.”
Kean is still running for a third term in the 7th Congressional District, a purple swing seat that will be crucial to the GOP’s effort to hold its House majority in November.
“Congressman Tom Kean has a long record of delivering results for New Jerseyans – first at the state level and now in Congress – and will continue to do so once he has recovered from this medical issue. In the meantime, we have staffed up in the district and remain fully committed to his re-election in November,” Kristen Cianci, the Republican National Committee’s Northeast regional communications director, told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Still, GOP concerns have mounted during Kean’s prolonged absence over whether he is able to run for reelection.
“It’s such a thin House majority — that seat is so crucial to the balance of power nationally,” Republican Michael Crispi told the Washington Examiner during a phone call earlier this month. “It is so unfair to the people who pay his salary, it is so unfair to the Republican caucus that he’s not being transparent on what’s going on. I’ve never seen this level of cover-up ever, except for during Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.”
Democrats are targeting Kean’s seat as a prime pickup opportunity this November. Kean is the only New Jersey Republican placed on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Districts in Play” target list.
“Career politician Tom Kean Jr. has never been more vulnerable. He will be held accountable for betraying New Jersey families and for the damage he has inflicted when he’s actually been in Washington to vote,” DCCC spokesman Eli Cousin said in a statement.
Four Democrats are vying to take on Kean in November: Rebecca Bennett, a healthcare business owner and former Navy pilot; Michael Roth, a former Biden official; Tina Shah, a physician and former Obama and Biden adviser; and Brian Varela, the chairman of the Morris County Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson told reporters earlier this month that Kean told him he would be returning to Capitol Hill sometime in June during a phone call. Hudson added that Kean thanked him for giving him space to recover.
Kean’s attendance in the House will be crucial for GOP leadership in June, as they prepare to vote on several high-stakes pieces of legislation, including a $70 billion party-line immigration bill and the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The House is also set to vote on a Democratic-led war powers resolution seeking to rein in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told CNN earlier this month that his son is “under the care of a doctor,” and is recovering from a serious, but temporary illness. Kean Sr. declined to provide details about his son’s health at the time.
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“He’s hopefully coming back soon and he’s under the care of a doctor,” Kean Sr. said. “They all agree he’s going to be fine. He’s under a doctor’s care.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Kean Sr. for comment.