A bit of a weird one, as Kean hasn't been seen in months, makes no votes in the House of Representatives, yet still posts on social media sporadically and makes stock trades. And with all that he expects voters to still support him in what is anticipated to be a highly competitive race in NJ-07, where he ought to lose to Democrat Rebecca Benett come November.
Trump says Kean "is working tirelessly" on their behalf, though.
Source: CNN
GOP Rep. Tom Kean is running unopposed in his primary on Tuesday, seeking a third term in one of the nation’s most competitive seats.
But voters haven’t seen or heard directly from Kean in months — and it’s still unclear when he might return to work on Capitol Hill. Kean has yet to offer a date for his return to House Speaker Mike Johnson and his team, who have been navigating their reed-thin margins without him since early March, according to three GOP leadership sources.
The New Jersey congressman said in late April on social media that he’s dealing with a “personal medical issue,” without specifying what it is, and said he would be back “very soon.” Late last month, he told The New Jersey Globe that he’d be back in the “next couple of weeks.”
His absence, though, is now increasingly rattling House Republicans. Kean’s colleagues say they are worried about his health — and how the unexplained absence could complicate the GOP’s ability to hold onto a critical swing seat in an already difficult midterm cycle, according to multiple sources.
In late April, he mentioned an undisclosed personal medical issue.
But today he (or his staff) are thanking Trump for his endorsement. "He will never let you down."
UPDATE: The New York Times has been looking for Kean for months. They even checked the 20 hospitals in the surrounding area. They couldn't find him.
Beginning in April, a Times reporter visited Mr. Kean’s primary residence in Westfield, N.J., several times. Some neighbors said they had not seen Mr. Kean or noticed any changes at the house. All declined to be quoted. A knock on Mr. Kean’s door went unanswered.
Digging into Mr. Kean’s disclosures from when he was a state senator, a reporter found the address of Mr. Kean’s vacation home in Bay Head, N.J., an exclusive community on the Jersey Shore where Bruce Springsteen also has a home. In May, she paid the house a visit. Advertising fliers were stuck in the front door. There was also a note left in April advising residents to move their cars. It seemed that no one had visited the home for some time.
Mr. Kean also owns a stake in his family’s estate on Fishers Island, N.Y., off the Connecticut coast of Long Island Sound. Like most of the largest homes on the island, the Kean estate sits on a private road behind a staffed guard gate. Pedestrians may walk past the gate, but only residents and their guests are allowed to drive on the eastern part of the island. Reporters arrived by ferry and interviewed people in the island’s public areas, determining that Mr. Kean had not been seen there.
