WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s abundantly clear who the national Republican Party wants to run in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District next fall.
“Tom Kean is the kind of leader that we need in Congress,” said GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, formally endorsing the NJGOP Senate Leader. “He is fully prepared to win a competitive general election and hit the ground running for the people of New Jersey. Tom Kean has my full support and endorsement.”
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McCarthy’s endorsement is likely far more important for Kean’s fundraising prospects than opinion on the ground; the son of the former governor has already raised over $500,000 for his challenge and hopes to continue to build a formidable war chest.
The fight for the right to take on incumbent Tom Malinowski in 2020 is contested.
Last month, Kean primary rival Rosemary Becchi – a tax attorney with Capitol Hill experience – earned the backing of the national ‘Maggie’s List’ organization.
“I’m deeply honored by this early and strong support from the conservative women behind Maggie’s List,” Becchi said. “My goal from the beginning, in founding Jersey First nearly two years ago and now as a declared candidate for New Jersey’s District 7 Congressional seat, has been to promote the same values of individual responsibility, smaller government, fiscal conservatism and strong national security that Maggie’s List has represented for nearly a decade.”
Maggie’s List is a Federal Political Action Committee which supports conservative women seeking federal office.
A recent NRCC poll found Malinowski in a statistical dead heat with Kean; the poll did not appear to ask a questions concerning Becchi.
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