General Discussion

pat_k

(14,733 posts)

8. I lived in Westfield from 1995 to 2015.

Thu Jul 2, 2026, 10:00 PM

Jul 2

Glad to hear others have a similar gut feeling about this "not adding up."

Westfield is a generally Republican town, but in 1996, we elected the first Democratic mayor since 1909, so it's not as entrenched as one may think. A couple years after I left, they elected Shelley Brindle. And now they have Jeremy Berman.

As far as NJ-7th, Tom Kean, Jr. wins way too many votes on the reputation of his father as Governor in the 80's. He may pull it out on that reflected reputation again, but I'm not so sure. This is a great year of opportunity for Dems and I've been plugging Rebecca Bennett from afar every chance I get.

NJ-7th was VERY competitive until 2001, when they shifted reliably Democratic strongholds into the 12th district and removed Plainfield from the 7th. We still worked like hell and came close with Linda Stender in 2006.

They made matters worse by making it more Republican in 2011.

But even with that, Tom Malinowski was able to pull off a win. Another round of redistricting to lean more Republican in 2021 gave Tom Kean the edge.

It's an uphill battle, but I think Rebecca Bennett has a real shot.

And I would be over the moon if she pulls it off. It would just show that, try as they might to make it a "safe" Republican seat, people in NJ aren't complete idiots.

Bennett is worth fighting for. Make a case for her to anyone who may have written her off!!

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforrebecca-bennett-nj26/

Great interview interview with Simon Rosenberg.