New Jersey's 7th congressional district

New Jersey's 7th district and the 12th district were redistricted after the 2000 census by a bipartisan panel. By consensus of the panel, the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to trade areas in the two districts to make them safer for their respective incumbents. It is likely that this tradeoff, which made New Jersey's 7th less competitive for Democrats, had an effect on the outcome of 2006 election, which was decided by approximately 3,000 votes. Areas of the former 7th district such as Franklin Township that had historically voted reliably Democratic were moved into the adjacent 12th district in order to shore up Democratic incumbent Rush Holt, while reliably Republican Millburn was removed from the 7th, and instead split between the 10th and 11th districts. Additionally, heavily Democratic Plainfield was moved from the 7th to the already Democratic-leaning 6th district. Despite the redistricting, NJ-07 was still the most competitive House district in New Jersey, and was the only one considered to be in play in 2006 by political pundits.

In the 2018 election, Tom Malinowski,[11] former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, was considered the front runner among the Democrats challenging Republican incumbent Leonard Lance.[12][13] Malinowski was endorsed by Westfield teacher/attorney Lisa Mandelblatt and attorney Scott Salmon when they withdrew from the race in February 2018.[14][15] Other candidates in the Democratic primary included lawyer Goutam Jois;[16] and social worker Peter Jacob, who was defeated by Lance in the 2016 election. Green Party of New Jersey member Diane Moxley also announced her intent to run for the seat.[17] Lindsay Brown, a product manager at the New York Post and a self-described progressive, ran in the Republican primary against Lance.[18] Berkeley Heights banking executive Linda Weber[19] and environmental advocate David Pringle[20] withdrew in March 2018.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Malinowski campaign raised $528,000 while the incumbent Lance raised $237,000. Jois raised $189,000 and Jacob raised $29,000.[13][21]

Malinowski won the Democratic nomination in the June primary.[22]

In the Democratic primary Malinowski prevailed with 26,059 votes and 66.8% of the vote. Jacob finished second with 7,467 votes and 19.1% of the vote.[23]

Lance won the Republican primary with 74.9%, and 24,856 votes.[23][24]

Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) defeated challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (R) in the general election by 1.2 percentage points for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District on November 3, 2020. The race was expected to be competitive, with New Jersey's 7th being one of 40 seats gained by Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections.

Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) ran in the Democratic party primary uncontested, winning 100% (80,334) of the vote. Challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Raafat Barsoom and Tom Phillips in the Republican party primary receiving 79.4% (45,395) of the vote.[25]

2020 challenger Thomas Kean Jr. has announced he will seek the Republican nomination in 2022. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official Rik Mehta is also seeking the Republican nomination in the 7th district. He was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate against Cory Booker in 2020. Newcomer John Henry Isemann is also exploring a bid for Congress. [26]

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present