A Republican candidate has flipped a Democratic congressional seat in deep-blue New Jersey.
Thomas Kean Jr. was declared the winner on Wednesday after Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski conceded the 7th District race, according to Politico.
Kean won 52.3 percent of the vote, according to Associated Press results posted by The New York Times. Malinowski received 47.7 percent of the vote.
In the new Congress, Democrats will hold a 9-3 majority in New Jersey’s U.S. House contingent, down from 10-2 in the current Congress.
Malinowski was the only incumbent member of Congress in New Jersey to be toppled this year.
Malinowski said he would have won if not for new boundaries drawn as part of the state’s redistricting process, according to CBS News.
“There’s absolutely no question that we would have been winning, without question, that original district and even this district without 30,000 additional Republicans voters that were added last December,” Malinowski said.
Malinowski had flipped the district in 2018’s blue wave and hung on in 2020 when he defeated Kean by 1 percentage point.
Kean is a former minority leader of the New Jersey state Senate and the son of former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, Fox News reported.
Do you think Republicans will take control of the House?
Yes: 93% (43 Votes)
No: 7% (3 Votes)
“We took the campaign directly to the voters and talked about the issues they cared about. They’re talking about inflation issues. That was their concern. Border security, energy independence,” Kean said, according to CBS.
“I would like to thank Tom Malinowski for his years of public service and his spirited campaign,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter.
— Tom Kean (@KeanForCongress) November 9, 2022
“Throughout this district and throughout this nation, we have been given an opportunity to change the course of history,” he said.
“I am incredibly grateful to the voters of the 7th District for their confidence. My solemn pledge to you will always be to serve with integrity, to listen, to learn, to earn this responsibility you’ve honored me with to steer this nation towards greater opportunity, security and prosperity.”
