There’s no New Jersey congressional election more competitive this year than the one for the 7th District, where incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Tom Kean, Jr.

That’s despite Kean nearly ousting Malinowski two years ago, and a redistricting that shifted 30,000 more Republicans into the district, extending its boundaries to include all of Warren County and more towns in Sussex County. As of Wednesday, the Cook Political report had New Jersey's 7th District rated as “leans Republican.” Roll Call considers Malinowski the second-most vulnerable incumbent in the House. Yet the Malinowski camp says its internal polls show the race is extremely tight.

What we learned about polarization
Kean has attempted to draw a clear link between his opponent and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (In the only televised debate between the two candidates, Kean mentioned Pelosi 11 times). Malinowski ties Kean to former President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (one Westfield resident, Carole Cooke, said outside the nearby Trader Joe’s that Kean’s campaign promise to have Trump’s back is a “no go for me&quot .

Democratic strongholds like Rahway could prove to be essential to Malinowski’s strategy in the run-up to the election. The town was pulled into the 7th District through the same redistricting process that upped the count of Republicans overall.

“Malinowski has not been their representative, and so they're used to voting for Donald Payne [the Democratic incumbent seeking re-election in the 10th Congressional District],” Solomon said. “So it'll be very interesting to watch whether Malinowski can get turnout in Rahway. That is key.”

Democratic Reps. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Sean Casten of Illinois and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania have introduced legislation asking for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, after OPEC announced its decision to curb oil production on Wednesday.

Tweet: "This is a hostile act by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, designed to hurt the United States and our allies and to help Russia, despite President Biden's overtures," Malinowski wrote on Twitter on Thursday."If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help Putin keep oil prices high, they should look to him for their defense," he added in a later tweet.


In a joint statement, Malinowski, Casten and Wild said: "OPEC's decision appears designed to increase Russia's oil export revenues, enabling Putin to continue his war crimes in Ukraine, and undercutting Western sanctions."

Malinowski, Casten and Wild said that Saudi Arabia's and the UAE's decision to cut oil production "despite President Biden's overtures to both countries in recent months, is a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine." In response, they called for the U.S. to "resume acting like the superpower in our relationship with our client states in the Gulf."