The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is wading into the race for New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, targeting independent and conservative voters with a new digital ad campaign focused on free speech and President Donald Trump.
“[Trump] lied, and he’s not stopping,” the ad’s narrator intones after showing news clips about the suspensions of Stephen Colbert’s and Jimmy Kimmel’s late night shows. “Trump wants to control what you see so he can control what you think.”
The size of the DNC’s investment is not huge: the committee called it a “five-figure” campaign, which means the total buy could be as low as $10,000. The ad also doesn’t ever mention the man Democrats are hoping to beat next year, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).
Nonetheless, the ad provides a window into how Democrats are thinking about the race for the 7th district. In 2024, Democratic nominee Sue Altman worked to connect Kean to Trump whenever possible, but then Trump ended up carrying Kean’s district by a narrow margin; by specifically aiming their new ad at conservatives and independents, Democrats are now evidently trying to drive a wedge between Trump and his supporters ahead of 2026.
“Donald Trump’s administration has amassed a chilling record of restricting speech, extorting private companies, and dropping the full weight of the government censorship hammer on Americans simply exercising their First Amendment rights,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “This is no exaggeration, and it’s splintering the coalition that got Trump elected.”
Typically, national parties don’t invest heavily in congressional races until the last few months of the campaign, when TV ad dollars will go the furthest and be top-of-mind for swing voters. In off years like 2025, national committees like the DNC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) will instead spend small amounts of money on digital ad campaigns that test out messaging and keep targeted seats in the news.
So far this cycle, Democratic ads have repeatedly used the same cudgel against Kean: the One Big Beautiful Bill. Two DCCC digital ads that ran over the summer in Kean’s district and other competitive districts around the country blamed rising grocery prices and falling rural hospital funding on the controversial bill; the liberal group Unrig Our Economy also spent $200,000 last month attacking Kean over the bill’s Medicaid cuts.
Republicans, meanwhile, have done the opposite against Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), saying in their own ads that Pou’s vote against the Big Beautiful Bill was a betrayal of New Jersey families. The NRCC ran one ad last spring saying Pou’s vote amounted to supporting a massive tax hike, and launched a new ad campaign just last week blaming a looming government shutdown on Pou’s vote against a stopgap funding bill.
Both districts feature still-unsettled primaries, making it tougher for either party to get fully involved without knowing who their nominee will be: two Republicans are running against Pou, and a whopping eight Democrats are in the race against Kean.
Script
Narrator: Remember when Trump said…
Trump: America is also a free nation… On Day One, I signed an executive order to stop all government censorship.
News anchor 1: CBS is cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert…
News anchor 2: Amid pressure from the Trump-aligned FCC, Kimmel’s show will be off the air…
Narrator: He lied, and he’s not stopping.
Trump: You have evening shows, and all they do is hit Trump. They’re not allowed to do that.
Narrator: Trump wants to control what you see so he can control what you think.
