Election 2026
Independent, source-first accountability
Issue record
In short
Thomas Kean Jr.'s congressional site backs pre-existing condition coverage and lower drug prices. Rebecca Bennett's campaign would protect pre-existing condition coverage and restore Medicaid and Medicare funding cut in 2025. No campaign site or statement was found for Seamus Patrick O'Toole. On the record, Kean voted for a House-passed bill extending marketplace premium credits and for the 2025 law adding Medicaid work requirements; he co-sponsored New Jersey's 2019 mental health parity law.
Campaign positions
His campaign says he is working to protect healthcare. His congressional site supports keeping coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, letting young people stay on a parent's plan, ending lifetime caps and surprise billing, expanding telemedicine, and lowering drug prices partly by bringing pharmaceutical manufacturing home.
Would protect people with pre-existing conditions, restore Medicaid and Medicare funding cut in 2025, increase support for mental health services for young people, oppose cuts to the National Institutes of Health, and shift insurers' and providers' incentives toward keeping people healthy.
No campaign site, platform or public statement was found. Seven likely campaign domains have no DNS record, the state's contact list gives only an email address, no FEC registration exists, and the one news report found describes his petition, not his views.
Evidence timeline
campaign position
His record runs both ways: he voted to extend marketplace premium credits in a bill awaiting the Senate, and for the 2025 tax law that adds Medicaid work requirements.
His campaign says he is working to protect healthcare. His record runs both ways. He voted for H.R. 1 twice in 2025 (Roll Calls 145 and 190); the law requires states to set Medicaid work requirements for certain adults (section 71119) and makes other eligibility changes. He is an original cosponsor of two bipartisan health-insurance bills, the Bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension Act (H.R. 5145) and the Bipartisan Health Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 6501), neither of which has left committee. On January 7 and 8, 2026 he voted to discharge and then to pass H.R. 1834, which extends those credits through 2028; it passed 230 to 196 and awaits the Senate. He has also sponsored health bills of his own, among them the HELP Copays Act (H.R. 6423), with Democratic original cosponsors, the Mental Health Parity Enforcement and Funding Act (H.R. 9551) and the Medicare Premiums Reduction Act of 2026 (H.R. 9709); none has left committee. Limit: "Protect healthcare" names no measure, so there is nothing specific to hold the record against. His votes to extend the marketplace credits go the way the claim points; his votes for a law that tightens Medicaid eligibility go the other way. How many people either change covers is an estimate, not a record, and this card does not score it.
official action
He was one of three Senate sponsors of the bill, with two Democrats; its Assembly twin became law in April 2019.
In the September 27 debate he said Gov. Phil Murphy signed his bill in 2019 that went after insurers so people with addiction or mental health conditions are treated with parity. As a state senator he was one of three primary sponsors of S1339, with Democrats Robert Gordon and Joseph Vitale; it requires health insurers to cover mental health and substance use treatment on par with other care. The Assembly version, A2031, which also lists him as a Senate sponsor, was enacted as P.L. 2019, c.58, approved April 11, 2019. Limit: He shared the Senate bill with two Democratic prime sponsors. The law was enacted from the Assembly's version, which also lists him and the same two senators as sponsors. Sponsor and cosponsor both count here. How well the law has been enforced is not measured.
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Kean for Congress Inc · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Campaign-controlled source; the "Paid for by Kean for Congress Inc" line matches the committee's filed website, WWW.TOMKEAN.COM. It carries one paragraph of positions and links X (@keanforcongress), Facebook (KeanForCongress), Instagram (@tomkean) and YouTube. Its Media page carries no content.
candidate statement
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: campaign position; Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Office of Rep. Thomas H. Kean, Jr. · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
His congressional office's issue page, in his own voice.
candidate statement
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: campaign position
Rebecca Bennett for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Campaign priority page. One of its bullets concerns her opponent's votes and is not used here.
candidate statement
For: Rebecca Bennett: campaign position
New Jersey Division of Elections · Published Jul 27, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
The state's contact list for general-election House candidates. For O'Toole it gives only a Gmail address named for his ballot slogan; it lists no website for any candidate.
official election record
For: Seamus Patrick O'Toole: campaign position
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Read from OpenFEC on September 23, 2026: fourteen registered 2026 candidates for this seat, including Kean (H0NJ07261), Bennett (H6NJ07201) and Leguía (H4NJ07164). No Seamus O'Toole is registered for this seat, and a name search of New Jersey candidates for O'Toole returned no one.
fec filing
For: Seamus Patrick O'Toole: campaign position
New Jersey Globe · Published Jun 9, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Reports that O'Toole filed 299 signatures against a 250 threshold, that an administrative law judge upheld 17 challenged signatures, and that the challenge was withdrawn. The only reporting found that describes him at all, and it describes his candidacy, not his views.
original reporting
For: Seamus Patrick O'Toole: campaign position
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Recorded vote of May 22, 2025, passed 215 to 214. Kean: Yea. On Roll Call 144 the same day, a motion to recommit, he voted Nay, which is a vote against sending the bill back.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Recorded vote of July 3, 2025, passed 218 to 214. Kean: Aye.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Enacted text read from GovInfo (PLAW-119publ21). Section 70120 replaces the 10,000 dollar cap on the deduction for state and local taxes with 40,000 dollars for 2025, 40,400 for 2026 and one per cent more each year through 2029, reduced by 30 per cent of income above 500,000 dollars but not below 10,000, and returning to 10,000 dollars from 2030. Section 71119 requires states to set Medicaid community engagement (work) requirements for certain adults. Section 50102 orders at least 30 Gulf of America oil and gas lease sales through 2040.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Sponsored by Rep. Kiggans. Kean is an original cosponsor, from September 4, 2025. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Sponsored by Rep. Fitzpatrick. Kean is an original cosponsor, from December 9, 2025. Referred to three committees.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Recorded vote of January 7, 2026, passed 221 to 205. The motion brought to the floor the rule for H.R. 1834. Kean: Yea.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Recorded vote of January 8, 2026, passed 230 to 196. Kean: Yea.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Engrossed text read from GovInfo (BILLS-119hr1834eh). As passed, its one section extends the enhanced premium tax credit for marketplace health insurance, and the credit for households above 400 per cent of the poverty line, through 2028. Placed on the Senate calendar February 10, 2026; not law.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Sponsored by Kean; original cosponsors include Reps. Barragán, Auchincloss and Watson Coleman, Democrats.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Published Jun 30, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Sponsored by Kean, introduced June 30, 2026. Referred to the Education and Workforce Committee; not reported.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
Congress.gov · Published Jul 15, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026
Sponsored by Kean, introduced July 15, 2026. Referred to the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees; not reported.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Not comparable yet
New Jersey Globe · Published Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 28, 2026
The host's full video of the 7th District debate. Kean says Gov. Murphy signed his bill in 2019 that holds insurers to parity for mental health and addiction treatment. Described from YouTube's captions of the video, read on September 28, 2026; not quoted, because a second transcript to check the wording against was not yet available.
candidate statement
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Matches stated record claim
New Jersey Legislature · Reviewed Sep 28, 2026
Mental health and substance use parity for health insurance. Primary sponsors: Senators Robert M. Gordon, Thomas H. Kean Jr. and Joseph F. Vitale.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Matches stated record claim
New Jersey Legislature · Reviewed Sep 28, 2026
The version enacted as P.L. 2019, c.58. Its sponsor list includes Senators Robert M. Gordon, Thomas H. Kean Jr. and Joseph F. Vitale.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Matches stated record claim
New Jersey Legislature · Reviewed Sep 28, 2026
The chapter law, approved April 11, 2019. It was enacted from Assembly Bill 2031, which replaced S1339 on the Senate side.
official legislative record
For: Thomas H. Kean Jr.: Matches stated record claim