Malinowski, Kean Jr. have US House rematch on Tuesday. Here's what to know

In one of the country's most closely watched races for the House of Representatives, incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski is squaring off against Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. for a second time in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, one of the most affluent and best educated districts in the United States.

Seeking his third term in the House, Malinowski, 57, a native of Poland when it was Communist, came to the United States with his mother when he was 6 years old, settling in the Princeton area. He served on President Clinton's National Security Council, was chief advocate for Human Rights Watch and served as Assistant Secretary of State under President Obama. Malinowski, a resident of East Amwell, has a wife and one daughter.

Kean, 54, is the son of former Gov. Thomas Kean and a descendant of a long line of political leaders. His great-grandfather, Hamilton Fish Kean, and great-great-uncle, John Kean, were both U.S. senators. Kean was appointed to the state Assembly in 2002 and was elected to the state Senate the following year. He became minority leader in January 2008 and served in that position until he retired to run for the House of Representatives. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2006. He lives in Westfield with his wife and two daughters.

While Malinowski had only token opposition in the June primary, Kean won the primary in a field of seven candidates to win a spot on the Nov. 8 ballot.

It's considered to be the tightest Congressional race in New Jersey. Most election forecasting sites, including The Cook Report, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Split Ticket, Crystal Ball and Inside Elections, rate the contest as "leans Republican." Politico is forecasting a 52%-to-48% win for Kean.

More election coverage:Malinowski-Kean Jr. House race crucial for Republicans. Here's why

Why Malinowski vs. Kean will be different this time

In 2020, Malinowski, who defeated Republican incumbent Leonard Lance in 2018 to flip the seat, defeated Kean by a 50.6%-to-49.4% margin.

But the district's boundaries were redrawn after the 2020 Census, adding more registered Republicans to the electorate, giving what many political observers said was a better chance for Kean to recapture the seat for the GOP and bolster the party's chances of taking control of the House of Representatives.

Registered Republicans are 33% of the district's registered voters with Democrats at 30%. The race will be decided by the 35% of the electorate who are unaffiliated.

2022 is also a midterm election with lesser turnout expected than in presidential years.

And in the midterms, the party not in control of the White House traditionally has dominated the Congressional races.

Finances and strategy

With the GOP hungry to take back Congress this year, outside money has been pouring into the race.

As of Oct. 19, according to federal records, Malinowski has raised $8.4 million and spent $6.8 million.

Kean has raised $4 million and spent $3.2 million.

Malinowski had $1.6 million on hand, while Kean had half that amount.

Malinowski hit the airwaves early with a bombardment of ads targeting Kean as a follower of Trump and attacking his record on abortion. Kean has repeatedly cast Malinowski as a stooge of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and hit on his failure to timely report hundreds of stock transactions between January 2019 and May 2021.

Malinowski, knowing he's facing an uphill battle, has run an aggressive campaign making personal appearances that stretches across Central Jersey, from Union County to Warren CountyKean has run an avoid-the-local press campaign, holding no press conferences and declining to invite the press to public rallies and events — all while speaking at length to conservative outlets like Breitbart and Fox News.

Both candidates are hoping to fire up their bases to go to the polls and hope to convince unaffiliated voters to come to their sides.

The campaign issues

The political landscape is different in 2022 than it was in 2020. There is no presidential election and the COVID pandemic is over.

Instead, economics and inflation have become the primary issues in voters' minds. Democrats have also focused on abortion rights while Republicans have targeted crime.

Related:Kean Jr., Malinowski answer on abortion, inflation, 2020 and more

Malinowski has said his top priorities are making the Roe vs. Wade abortion decision part of federal law, lowering the cost of living and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.

Kean has said his top priorities are "reining in out-of-control spending," making America energy independent again and supporting middle class tax relief.

Contributing: Trenton Bureau writers Dustin Racioppi and Charles Stile

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ elections 2022: Tom Malinowski, Tom Kean Jr. square off