New Jersey's 7th Congressional District

New Jersey's 7th Congressional District

Incumbent

Thomas Kean Jr.

Assumed office: January 3, 2023

New Jersey's 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Thomas Kean Jr. (R).

As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey representatives represented an average of 774,541 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 733,958 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Thomas Kean Jr. (R)
		Beth Ellen Adubato (D)
		Rebecca Bennett (D)
	Submit photo	Michael Garth (D)
	Submit photo	Valentina Mendoza (D)
		Megan O'Rourke (D)
		Michael Roth (D)
	Submit photo	Felipe Santos (D)
		Tina Shah (D)
	Submit photo	Sara Sooy (D)
		Brian Varela (D)
	Submit photo	Gregory Vartan (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Susan Altman (D), Andrew Black (G), and Lana Leguia (L) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Kean Jr. (R)	51.8	223,331
		Susan Altman (D)	46.4	200,025
		Andrew Black (G)	1.0	4,258
		Lana Leguia (L)	0.9	3,784

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 431,398
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Susan Altman (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan Altman	100.0	38,030

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,030
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jason Blazakis (D)
• Joseph Signorello (D)
• Gregory Vartan (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Roger Bacon (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Kean Jr.	78.2	37,623
		Roger Bacon	21.8	10,460

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 48,083
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Kean Jr. (R)	51.4	159,392
		Tom Malinowski (D)	48.6	150,701

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 310,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Clayton Pajunas (L)
• Veronica Fernandez (Of, By, For!)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) defeated Roger Bacon (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Malinowski	94.5	37,304
		Roger Bacon	5.5	2,185

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,489
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brandon Wienberg (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Kean Jr.	45.6	25,111
		Philip Rizzo	23.6	12,988
		Erik Peterson	15.4	8,493
		John P. Flora	5.5	3,051
		John Isemann	5.0	2,732
		Kevin Dorlon	4.1	2,237
	Submit photo	Sterling Schwab	0.8	429

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,041
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) defeated Thomas Kean Jr. (R) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Malinowski (D)	50.6	219,629
		Thomas Kean Jr. (R)	49.4	214,318

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 433,947
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Malinowski	100.0	80,334

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 80,334
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Raafat Barsoom (R) and Tom Phillips (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Kean Jr.	79.4	45,395
		Raafat Barsoom	10.8	6,151
		Tom Phillips	9.8	5,631

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,177
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Barrett (R)
• Rosemary Becchi (R)
• Robert Trugman (R)

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Tom Malinowski (D) defeated incumbent Leonard Lance (R), Diane Moxley (G), and Gregg Mele (Freedom, Responsibility, Action Party) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Malinowski (D)	51.7	166,985
		Leonard Lance (R)	46.7	150,785
		Diane Moxley (G)	0.8	2,676
		Gregg Mele (Freedom, Responsibility, Action Party)	0.7	2,296

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 322,742 (100% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Tom Malinowski (D) defeated Peter Jacob (D) and Goutam Jois (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Malinowski	66.8	26,172
		Peter Jacob	19.1	7,503
		Goutam Jois	14.1	5,507

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 39,182
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lisa Mandelblatt (D)
• Kurt Perhach (D)
• David Pringle (D)
• Linda Weber (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7

Incumbent Leonard Lance (R) defeated Lindsay Brown (R) and Raafat Barsoom (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Leonard Lance	74.9	24,934
		Lindsay Brown	14.4	4,795
		Raafat Barsoom	10.7	3,556

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 33,285
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Previous election results

2016

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Leonard Lance (R) defeated Peter Jacob (D), Dan O'Neill (L), and Arthur Haussmann Jr. (Conservative) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Lance defeated Craig Heard and David Larsen in the Republican primary, while Jacob faced no opposition for the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on June 7, 2016. Lance won re-election in the November 8 election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Lance Incumbent	54.1%	185,850
	Democratic	Peter Jacob	43.1%	148,188
	Libertarian	Dan O'Neill	1.6%	5,343
	Conservative	Arthur Haussmann Jr.	1.2%	4,254
Total Votes				343,635
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Leonard Lance Incumbent	53.9%	31,807
David Larsen	32.9%	19,425
Craig Heard	13.2%	7,774
Total Votes		59,006
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2014

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Leonard Lance (R) defeated Janice Kovach (D) and Jim Gawron (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Lance Incumbent	59.3%	104,287
	Democratic	Janice Kovach	38.8%	68,232
	Libertarian	Jim Gawron	2%	3,478
Total Votes				175,997
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2012

See also: New Jersey's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 7th Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Leonard Lance won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Upendra Chivukula	40%	123,057
	Republican	Leonard Lance Incumbent	57.2%	175,662
	Libertarian	Patrick McKnight	1.3%	4,078
	Independent	Dennis Breen	1.5%	4,518
Total Votes				307,315
Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Leonard Lance won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ed Potosnak (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Lance incumbent	59.4%	105,084
	Democratic	Ed Potosnak	40.6%	71,902
Total Votes				176,986

2008
On November 4, 2008, Leonard Lance won election to the United States House. He defeated Linda Stender (D), Michael P. Hsing (Hsing for Congress), Dean Greco (All Day Breakfast Party) and Thomas D. Abrams (Prosperity Not War) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Lance	50.2%	148,461
	Democratic	Linda Stender	42.2%	124,818
	Hsing for Congress	Michael P. Hsing	5.6%	16,419
	All Day Breakfast Party	Dean Greco	1.1%	3,259
	Prosperity Not War	Thomas D. Abrams	0.9%	2,671
Total Votes				295,628

2006
On November 7, 2006, Mike Ferguson won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Linda Stender (D), Darren Young (L) and Thomas D. Abrams (Withdraw Troops Now) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Ferguson incumbent	49.4%	98,399
	Democratic	Linda Stender	47.9%	95,454
	Libertarian	Darren Young	1%	2,046
	Withdraw Troops Now	Thomas D. Abrams	1.6%	3,176
Total Votes				199,075

2004
On November 2, 2004, Mike Ferguson won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Brozak (D), Matthew Angus Williams (I) and Thomas D. Abrams (Independent/Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Ferguson incumbent	56.9%	162,597
	Democratic	Steve Brozak	41.7%	119,081
	Independent	Matthew Angus Williams	0.7%	2,016
	Independent/Libertarian	Thomas D. Abrams	0.8%	2,153
Total Votes				285,847

2002
On November 5, 2002, Mike Ferguson won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tim Carden (D) and Darren Young (Independent/Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Ferguson incumbent	58%	106,055
	Democratic	Tim Carden	40.9%	74,879
	Independent/Libertarian	Darren Young	1.1%	2,068
Total Votes				183,002

2000
On November 7, 2000, Mike Ferguson won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Maryanne Connelly (D), Jerry L. Coleman (I), Darren Young (I), Shawn Glanella (I) and Mary T. Johnson (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 7 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Ferguson incumbent	51.6%	128,434
	Democratic	Maryanne Connelly	45.6%	113,479
	Independent	Jerry L. Coleman	2.2%	5,444
	Independent	Darren Young	0.4%	973
	Independent	Shawn Glanella	0.2%	386
	Independent	Mary T. Johnson	0.1%	283
Total Votes				248,999

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2020 census

The New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission enacted a new congressional map on December 22, 2021. This map took effect for New Jersey's 2022 congressional elections. The commission voted 7-6 to approve the Democratic map proposal, with all six Democratic members and the tiebreaker, former New Jersey Supreme Court Judge John Wallace voting to approve. All six Republican members of the commission voted against the map.

How does redistricting in New Jersey work? In New Jersey, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by two distinct politician commissions. The congressional redistricting commission comprises the following 13 members:

1. The majority and minority leaders of each chamber of the New Jersey State Legislature appoint two commissioners a piece (for a total of eight members).
2. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint two members to the commission (for a total of four members). Commissioners appointed by the political parties cannot be members of Congress or congressional employees.
3. The first 12 commissioners appoint the last member. This member cannot have held public office in the state within the previous five-year period. If the first 12 commissioners cannot agree on an appointment, they must submit two names to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The court must then appoint the final commissioner.

If the congressional redistricting commission fails to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, it must submit two plans to the state Supreme Court, which must in turn select from those two plans a final map.

The state legislative redistricting commission comprises 10 members. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint five members to the commission. In the event that this commission is unable to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, the state Supreme Court may appoint a tie-breaking member.

State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:

1. Districts must be contiguous.
2. Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
3. Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."

There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 7th Congressional District of New Jersey after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2010 census

In 2011, the New Jersey State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is EVEN. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were about the same as the national average. This made New Jersey's 7th the 212th most Republican district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 7th the 217th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 51.1%-47.3%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 7th the 217th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 51.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 47.3%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 7th Congressional District the 215th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.03. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.03 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in New Jersey
• New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2024
• New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2022
• New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2020
• New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 7

Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Vacant

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (3)

Vacancies (1)