District 7 Primary Election 2026: Rebecca Bennett

DISTRICT 7, NJ — District 7's Congressional primary election on June 2 has four democratic candidates running for one open seat.

Rebecca Bennett is one of the Democratic candidates running in the primary.

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Additionally, Tina Shah, Michael Roth, and Brian Varela are all running in the primary for the democratic ticket.

Are you running for office in District 7? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

Rebecca Bennett

Age: 39

Town of residence: Bridgewater, NJ

Position sought: US-House New Jersey's 7th Congressional District

Party affiliation: Democratic

Family: My husband, Alex, and I, live in Bridgewater with our two daughters and our dog, Sourdough.

Education:

• Cornell University - B.S.
• University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School MBA

Occupation: Former Navy helicopter pilot, healthcare leader, mom of two.

Previous or current elected appointed office: N/A

Campaign website: Rebeccabennettforcongress.com

Why are you seeking election to Congress?

I’m running because Washington needs fewer career politicians and more leaders who understand the challenges we are facing in this country. As a Navy helicopter pilot, healthcare leader, and mom of two, I learned that real leadership means showing up, listening, and delivering.

I grew up in a small town and earned an ROTC scholarship to study chemical engineering at Cornell University before commissioning into the U.S. Navy.

I served more than 15 years in uniform as a helicopter pilot, experimental test pilot, aircraft commander, and officer in the Air National Guard. After graduating flight school at the top of my class, I flew the MH-60 Seahawk and was the number one pilot in every squadron I served in. I was selected as the only MH-60S helicopter pilot in my class to attend U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, becoming just the 18th female Navy test pilot in the Navy's history.

I used the GI Bill to get my MBA from The Wharton School at Penn. When it was time to leave active duty, my husband and I, who is also a Navy veteran and union member, chose to move to NJ to raise our family.

I built a career in healthcare because I wanted to continue mission-driven work to focus on increasing access to care, improving patients’ outcomes, and decreasing costs. I started my career in healthcare working for J&J and continued working in digital health, obesity, and gastrointestinal care.

What issues do you feel need to be tackled in the district?

Holding the current Administration accountable. The current Congress has completely abdicated its responsibility to be an equal branch of government. Right now flipping the House is critical to provide some form of accountability to the current Administration. I’m a pragmatic, common-sense leader who looks for common ground to work with people to make life better for all of us.

Affordability. As a mom raising two daughters attending public school, I fully understand the challenges of balancing work & family while navigating inflation and the rising cost of living. I want to pursue policies in Congress that will help bring down costs for families in New Jersey. You can read more by visiting: rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities.

Healthcare. After I left the Navy, I started working in healthcare. I’ve worked at early-stage startups and Fortune 50 companies, and I’m ready to stand up to anyone who tries to strip away healthcare from New Jersey families. We have to expand access and bring down costs for patients, and I’m excited to bring my experience in healthcare to Congress.

National security. I served in the Navy for over a decade as a helicopter pilot, experimental test pilot, and aircraft commander. The use of new and improving technologies, including AI and drones, are only making the world more dangerous. It’s time for Congress to have a new generation of veterans who can speak to national security issues with steady leadership and the experience necessary to help keep America safe.

I have put together a robust policy platform to tackle these issues: rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities.

What sets you apart from your challengers?

I am a patriot. I love this country. It’s why I joined the military. It’s why I’m doing this now.

• I have spent my entire adult life serving this country, and I’m not about to stand on the sidelines while the people in power ignore issues faced by all of us just to enrich themselves.
• I swore an oath to support & defend the country against all enemies, foreign & domestic
• I put my life on the line for this country and I am not about to sit by while the people in power fail to solve problems we are all facing while enriching themselves.
• That is why I am running for Congress. I care deeply about this country and what version of the country we are going to leave for my daughters, and your kids and the next generation.

• Washington is broken and we need a new generation of leaders to actually get things done that are not beholden to special interests. I am not taking corporate PAC money, will work to ban stock trading for members of Congress, and I will work to end Citizens United.
• Tom Kean Jr. is a career politician and a trust fund kid who has never worked a day in his life - he’ll never stand up for us. He will never fight for us the way this district deserves because he’s never had to fight for anything in his life. He has no idea what families here are actually going through. He voted to cut taxes for his biggest donors paid for by cuts to healthcare. And he’s never shown the courage to stand up to his own party when it matters. Since he won’t fight for us, we’re going to replace him with someone who will.
  • We deserve a representative who is going to fight for us, not someone who coast on his dad’s last name.

We need to mobilize Democrats in the district to turn out to vote and win over Independents, and moderate Republicans who may have voted for Kean in the past but have soured on Trump. Nonpartisan research has shown that Democratic military veteran candidates outperform non-veteran counterparts by an average of roughly 6 percentage points. My bio uniquely positions me to appeal to voters in this district.

Is there anything you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?

• Recent internal polling shows Rebecca has surged to a 21-point lead in the vote, leading the field with 36% of the vote, while no other candidate exceeds 15%. An informed vote exercise shows that Rebecca will only continue to consolidate voters as they hear her message through the June 2nd Primary Election. Public polling backs up Rebecca’s internal poll and finds her leading the field with 36% of the vote.
• Republican-linked MAGA dark-money attacks are pouring in a massive six-figure backed attack to smear Rebecca in the final two weeks of the primary election.
• Rebecca has raised more than any other candidate in the field, pulling in nearly $3 million this cycle, including over $700,000 in the last quarter alone, giving her a commanding fundraising lead over the competition.
• Rebecca has earned a growing list of endorsements that includes members of Congress such as Pat Ryan, Seth Moulton, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, and former Congressman Patrick Murphy; labor support from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1, New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (NJ FMBA), and The Public Alliance NJ; national organizations like Foreign Policy for America, Defend the Vote, VoteVets, New Politics, Vote Mama, The Next 50, Leadership Now, Square One, and Taking the Hill PAC, Tri-State Maxed Out Womens PAC, Frontline Fighters PAC, Democrats Work for America, and local Democrats making up over 80% of the district’s total voting population in both the primary and general elections: Hunterdon County Democratic Committee, Somerset County Democratic Committee, Union County Democratic Committee, Morris County Democratic Committee, along with NJ College Dems, Door to Door Democracy, Union County Elected Officials, Somerset County Commissioners and County Elected Officials, former Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt, former Summit Council President Marjorie Fox and former Summit Council member Phyllis Sank, Lambertville Mayor Andrew Novick and Council President Benedetta Lambert, State Senator Joseph Cryan, Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli, Clinton Mayor Janice Kovach, High Bridge Mayor Michele Lee, and more.