Shy Congressman-elect Kean Continues to Hide
Not much has changed with CD-7.
Tom Malinowski has planned a “town hall” with local residents.
Tom Kean’s team does not respond to questions.
We’re obviously joking a bit.
Everything changed in CD-7.
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Malinowski was defeated and Republican Kean Jr. is the congressman-elect.
But now it’s been three weeks since the election, and the patterns established during the campaign are continuing.
Malinowski set up a “Goodbye and Thank You” town hall at 11 a.m. on December 10 at Springfield High School. There’s nothing new about that.
Malinowski held numerous “town halls” and public meetings throughout the campaign—and even before—that were in full swing.
Kean not.
He can be confident that his strategy was successful. He won by about 9,000 votes in a district that became more Republican after the 2020 census.
As long as you’re winning, there’s no need to explain anything.
But now that he’s about to enter Congress, things are different. You’d think Kean would be keen to communicate in any way he could with his new constituents across the district.
However, a request to interview Kean after his win was ignored. Likewise the question about his plans for a “getting to know” town hall.
As for Malinowski, he himself said on election night that he would have won re-election under the old card. He’s probably right about that.
The new map removed a number of very Democratic cities (Dover and Millburn) and added parts of very Republican Warren County.
He put it this way:
“We’ve worked so hard on our race and as of 2020 we’ve been gaining ground in my original district. We lost mostly to the county re-election, which added about 30,000 Republicans. …. Overall, the message I think the country sent on election night was – more moderation, less MAGA. More problem solving, fewer performance artists in Washington. This is incredibly good for the country. The thing I’ve been fighting for the last four years has taken a big step forward.”
It’s understandable that Malinowski is talking about the overall success the Dems have had across the country this year – stopping a so-called red wave, retaining control of the Senate and flipping some governorships.
In a recent interview with NJ Spotlight News, Malinowski said he will take a vacation, but after that he will “stay in the fight.”
Not surprisingly, he didn’t say if he would run again in 2024. That would establish Malinowski-Kean III. Maybe not as gripping as Ali-Frazier III, but you get the point.
Just for the record, the Dems’ National House Majority PAC is already targeting CD-7 as a district it believes could topple in 2024.
You probably think there’s no need to wait for Kean to be sworn in.
(Visited 11 times, 11 visits today)
