U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s reelection could determine control of the House. So why has the New Jersey Republican been missing votes for almost 2 months?

Kean, 57, has not voted on a bill since March 5. He has missed 52 votes across 15 days of voting. His office has cited vague health issues, and the lack of detail is particularly out of the ordinary. And the Union County Republican was already facing a tough election ahead.

Kean, whose father served two terms as governor, represents a swing district that includes parts of North and Central Jersey. He previously served 19 years in the state Senate, including 14 as the Republican Party’s leader.

Kean flipped the district in 2022, ousting former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski by roughly 3 points after redistricting pushed the seat toward the GOP. He won reelection by roughly 5 points in 2024 in a strong year for Republicans.

But the landscape has changed as President Donald Trump’s falling approval ratings amid high gas prices and an unpopular war will make it tough for Republicans to maintain their razor-thin majority in the House.

Kean is widely seen as New Jersey’s most vulnerable incumbent and four Democrats are vying in the June 2 primary to take him on in the fall.

The 7th Congressional District encompasses Hunterdon and Warren Counties, as well as parts of Morris, Somerset, and Sussex counties.

It voted for Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill by roughly 2 points last year after voting for Trump by roughly 1 point in 2024.

Kean’s district is also home to a planned ICE detention center in Roxbury, which has faced opposition from local Republicans and Democrats alike and has drawn a lawsuit from Sherrill’s administration.

Kean has avoided taking a stance on the center.

What’s going on with Tom Kean Jr.?

Politico reported last week that not even his Republican colleagues could say where he had been for the last month and hadn’t heard back from him when they reached out. His team cited unspecified health issues in that report, and Kean consultant Harrison Neely said he would be back to his regular schedule soon.

Kean broke his silence with a social media statement on Monday that he posted to his campaign account rather than his official congressional one.

“I want to thank my constituents and colleagues for their patience as I address a personal medical issue,” he said. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon.”

“I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100%,” he added.

He noted that his congressional staff has continued constituent services and legislative work and his campaign has continued to “run strong.”

But the cryptic statement did not indicate what’s going on with Kean and why it’s led to his absence.

What is out of the ordinary about this?

Kean’s situation has reignited a debate over how much the public is entitled to know about their elected officials’ health.

Some argue that elected officials deserve privacy on these matters, but others contend that the public is entitled to be kept in the loop since an elected official’s health condition impacts their ability to serve.

The lack of specificity on Kean’s diagnosis contrasts with other high-profile examples in recent years.

Sen. John Fetterman’s staff, for example, disclosed the Pennsylvania Democrat’s stroke during the 2022 campaign, his treatment for depression the following year and more recently a fall that led to his hospitalization in November.

Both Trump and former President Joe Biden informed the public when they became sick with COVID-19, but as the two oldest presidents they have also faced questions about their health and concerns about transparency.

Two members of the New Jersey delegation died while serving in 2024: Donald Payne Jr., a Newark Democrat who died from a diabetes complication at 65, and Bill Pascrel, a Passaic County Democrat who was 87. Both lawmakers’ staffs informed reporters of the reason for their hospitalizations at the time.

Why does this matter?

Kean’s seat was already a target of Democrats before his absence.

It is the only congressional district in the state rated by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up.

And his absence is further straining the narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to advance Trump’s agenda in Congress before the midterms.

Johnson told the New York Times in a statement that he expected Kean to be “back to 100% very soon.” Kean’s own campaign lawyer told the Los Angeles Times that Kean and his father “made it very clear it’s a personal matter and he’s recovering and will be back soon.”

But while Kean is absent from the House floor he’s still been active in trading stocks, NOTUS reported, noting that the lawmaker signed disclosures on trades in March and April.

Who is running to replace him?

Four Democrats are competing in a June 2 primary to face off Kean in November.

The Democratic contenders are:

—Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, Air National Guard officer, and healthcare business leader. She has raised the most money in the primary at nearly $2.7 million.

—Tina Shah, an ICU physician who was appointed as a fellow in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2016 and worked as a senior adviser for the U.S. Surgeon General under former President Joe Biden’s administration from 2021-2022.

—Brian Varela, an entrepreneur who worked in marketing and childcare.

—Michael Roth, who served an an interim leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration under Biden.

The candidates have each raised more than $1 million in the competitive district, but no one has raised more than Kean, who has raised nearly $4.4 million and has nearly $3.4 million cash on hand.

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