New Jersey's 7th congressional district is situated in North-Central New Jersey and includes all of Hunterdon and Warren Counties; and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties. The district is represented by Republican Thomas Kean Jr., who was first elected in 2022, defeating Democratic incumbent Tom Malinowski.
The district, which has become more ethnically diverse and competitive over time, is one of the most affluent congressional districts in the United States, once having the twelfth-highest median income of congressional districts in the nation. Per a 2024 study, it is the second wealthiest congressional district in New Jersey and the fifteenth wealthiest in the United States, with 31.0 percent of households earning over $200,000.
Contents
History
2000 redistricting
New Jersey's 7th district and the 12th district were redistricted after the 2000 census by a bipartisan panel. By consensus of the panel, the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to trade areas in the two districts to make them safer for their respective incumbents. It is likely that this tradeoff, which made New Jersey's 7th less competitive for Democrats, had an effect on the outcome of 2006 election, which was decided by approximately 3,000 votes. Areas of the former 7th district such as Franklin Township that had historically voted reliably Democratic were moved into the adjacent 12th district in order to shore up Democratic incumbent Rush Holt, while reliably Republican Millburn was removed from the 7th, and instead split between the 10th and 11th districts. Additionally, heavily Democratic Plainfield was moved from the 7th to the already Democratic-leaning 6th district. Despite the redistricting, NJ-07 was still the most competitive House district in New Jersey, and was the only one considered to be in play in 2006 by political pundits.
2008 election
In 2008, Mike Ferguson (who had first been elected in 2000, replacing Bob Franks) did not seek another term. Linda Stender won the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Republican primary voters chose State Senator Leonard Lance in a field of eight candidates. In the general election, Lance defeated Assemblywoman Linda Stender by a margin of 25,833 votes.
2010 election
In the 2010 general election, Democratic challenger Ed Potosnak challenged Lance. Still, Lance defeated Potosnak by a margin of 59% to 41%.
2012 redistricting and election
All of New Jersey's congressional districts were redistricted after the 2010 census, with New Jersey losing one seat, from 13 to 12 seats. The 7th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting, losing all of Democratic Middlesex County, while now including all of heavily Republican Hunterdon. Lance continued to win re-election comfortably over the next eight years. However, Democrat Tom Malinowski flipped this seat in the 2018 election, then bringing the state's upcoming representation to 11 Democrats and 1 Republican.
In the 2012 general election under this new configuration, Republican incumbent Leonard Lance held his seat against Democratic challenger Upendra J. Chivukula. For the 2012 election, both Ed Potosnak, who challenged Lance in the 2010 midterms, and former Edison Mayor Jun Choi announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination. Choi dropped out of the race in December 2011 after redistricting left his Edison home outside the 7th District. Potosnak dropped out of the race in January 2012 to take a position as executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, leaving a momentarily empty field for the Democratic nomination.
2018 election
During the primary, Tom Malinowski, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, was considered the front runner among the Democrats challenging Republican incumbent Leonard Lance. Malinowski was endorsed by Westfield teacher/attorney Lisa Mandelblatt and attorney Scott Salmon when they withdrew from the race in February 2018. Other candidates in the Democratic primary included lawyer Goutam Jois; and social worker Peter Jacob, who was defeated by Lance in the 2016 election. Green Party of New Jersey member Diane Moxley also announced her intent to run for the seat. Lindsay Brown, a product manager at the New York Post and a self-described progressive, ran in the Republican primary against Lance. Berkeley Heights banking executive Linda Weber and environmental advocate David Pringle withdrew in March 2018.In the Democratic primary Malinowski prevailed with 26,059 votes and 66.8% of the vote. Jacob finished second with 7,467 votes and 19.1% of the vote.
Lance won the Republican primary with 74.9%, and 24,856 votes.
During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Malinowski campaign raised $528,000 while the incumbent Lance raised $237,000. Jois raised $189,000 and Jacob raised $29,000.
Malinowski flipped the seat in the general election with 51.7% of the votes.
2020 election
Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) ran in the Democratic primary uncontested. Challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Raafat Barsoom and Tom Phillips in the Republican primary with 79.4% (45,395) of the vote.
In the general election, the incumbent Malinowski defeated Kean with 50.6% of the vote, by 1.2 percentage points on November 3, 2020. The race was expected to be competitive, with Malinowski winning by a smaller margin than the previous election.
2022 redistricting and election
The New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission altered the boundaries of the district effective January 6, 2022. [2] Although the district remains competitive, the district is slightly more Republican than it was previously.
Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) faced 2020 challenger Thomas Kean Jr. once again in 2022. In the general election, Kean prevailed, unseating Malinowski. It was one of 18 districts that would have voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election had they existed in their current configuration while being won or held by a Republican in 2022.
2024 election
Incumbent representative Thomas Kean Jr. ran in the Republican party primary and won with 78.2% (37,623) of the vote. Democratic Challenger Sue Altman ran uncontested in the Democratic primary winning 100% (38,030) of the vote.
Incumbent representative Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated challenger Sue Altman (D) in the general election with 51.7% of the vote on November 5, 2024. The race was expected to be somewhat competitive, with the Cook Political Report classifying the race as Lean Republican.
2026 midterm election
Four Democrats ran in the primary for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District - Rebecca Bennett, a health care technology executive and former United States Navy aviator; Michael Roth, a small business consultant and former Small Business Administration administrator in the Biden administration; Tina Shah, an ICU physician and former Senior Adviser to the US Surgeon General; and Brian Varela, a small business owner. Bennett ultimately prevailed in the primary, with 45.3% of the vote. Kean ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
Kean's 117-day long absence from Congress due to his disclosed depression diagnosis has drawn attention to the campaign. Kean has pledged to run for re-election, while political analysts have suggested that his absence could narrow his margin of victory or ultimately lead to his defeat.
Composition
For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of six counties and 95 municipalities.
Hunterdon County (26):
All 26 municipalities
Morris County (12):
Chester Borough, Chester Township, Long Hill Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township (part; also 11th), Mine Hill Township, Mount Arlington, Mount Olive Township, Netcong, Roxbury, Washington Township, Wharton
Somerset County (13):
Bedminster, Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Branchburg, Bridgewater Township (part; also 12th; includes Bradley Gardens, Bridgewater Center, Green Knoll, Martinsville, and part of Finderne), Far Hills, Green Brook Township, Hillsborough Township (part; also 12th; includes Neshanic and part of Belle Mead and Flagtown), Peapack-Gladstone, Raritan, Somerville, Warren Township, Watchung
Sussex County (10):
Andover Borough, Byram Township, Fredon Township, Green Township, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta, Stanhope, Stillwater Township, Walpack Township
Union County (12):
Berkeley Heights, Clark, Fanwood, Linden (part; also 10th), Mountainside, New Providence, Rahway, Scotch Plains, Springfield Township, Summit, Westfield, Winfield Township
Warren County (22):
All 22 municipalities