Republican New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who represents a highly competitive district Democrats are targeting in the midterms, has reportedly not been seen by colleagues for over a month and has missed dozens of votes.
Kean, who has held New Jersey’s Seventh congressional district since 2023, has not cast a vote since March 5 and has missed nearly 50 roll calls, Politico reported late Wednesday. Kean missed over 20% of the votes between January and March 2026, according to GovTrack.
New Jersey’s other two Republican Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, told Politico they had been calling and texting Kean out of concern, only to be met with “radio silence.” Other members of his conference have yet to meet and address the issue.
Kean’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Members close to Kean’s office and campaign told the outlet that the congressman had run into unannounced and unspecified health issues and that he would be returning to office in the next few weeks.
“Everyone understands from their own family experiences that people run into unexpected health issues,” Bill Palatucci, a Republican National Committee member and the Kean campaign’s attorney, told Politico. “Voters will be completely sympathetic and it’s so early in the year that it will be long forgotten come the fall.”
Kean, who is running in his GOP primary unopposed, faces a potentially strong challenge in this year’s midterms. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss-up,” citing “a tougher environment for the congressman, a likely stronger Democratic nominee, and this district’s long-term shift away from the GOP.”
President Donald Trump carried Kean’s Seventh district by just one percentage point in the 2024 presidential election. Trump had lost the swing seat by four points in 2020.
In the neighboring blue-leaning 11th district, left-wing Democrats notched a notable victory after former labor union director Analilia Mejia defeated her more moderate rival, former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, for the seat vacated by current New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Mejia easily beat Republican candidate Joe Hathaway in the special election, 60% to 40%.
Kean unseated Malinowski, who had previously represented the Seventh district, in 2022, after narrowly losing to the Democrat two years earlier. Kean’s father, former Republican New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, led the Garden State from 1982 to 1990.
Republicans are facing an uphill battle to preserve their slim House majority as the midterms approach, plagued by resignations, retirements and even a sudden death of one of their members.
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