Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ.) Wiki Commons
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) has been absent from Congress for 85 days, and has missed over 100 votes. Now Republicans are realizing that they're risking losing the seat.
The Washington Post explained on Friday that the district is one of the country's most competitive, so it would be a tough lift for any Republican in an election year that is stacking up to look like a "blue wave" even with the GOP's redistricting gambit.
“No one knows where he is and, from my understanding, the speaker doesn’t know what the exact situation is,” said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican operative. “Just as there’s no room for error in the congressional majority, there’s no room for error in this congressional race.”
Kean hasn't just been MIA from Congress; he hasn't appeared in public to campaign either. The only thing that he's been willing to say is that he's been struck with an undisclosed illness and would be back "soon."
"My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery," Kean told the New Jersey Globe in a phone interview last week.
“I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents," he said. However, he still hasn't provided any transparency about his "recovery."
Indeed, the Post cited one GOP operative who works on House races who is frustrated with the "total information void."
“No one knows what is going on, which is leading to a lot of anxiety,” the person said.
“We cannot hold the majority without this seat. And folks need to know if he is capable of running for reelection and winning. ... You can’t just go missing for months and tell people they just need to be patient and wait without any accountability," they added.
One GOP House leadership aide explained, “Elected officials, especially in competitive districts, are held to a different standard and transparency comes with the job. Republicans have a swing seat to protect and a razor-thin majority.”
The problem for Kean is that he's been labeled from the beginning as an "absentee congressman."
“He will be held accountable for betraying New Jersey families and for the damage he has inflicted when he’s actually been in Washington to vote,” the Post wrote, quoting Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
The primary elections are quickly approaching and Kean will quickly learn who his opponent is.
The front runner so far has been Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot. She's been withholding judgment on Kean's absences.
“I sincerely wish him well. I hope he has a speedy recovery,” she told the Post. “I certainly would have been more transparent about this if I was our member of Congress. And I think we do need to have rules about disclosure, both from a financial perspective as well as if you’re going to have some sort of extended absence.”
The problem, she explained, is that it's all part of his approach to politics from the start.
“He is never around, he’s not on the ground, he doesn’t meet with voters, and he doesn’t meet with constituents,” Bennett said. “And so, to me, this is just an extension of how he’s been in office from the beginning.”