Tina Shah, one of the eight Democrats hoping to defeat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) next year, raised over $600,000 during her first quarter in the race, a huge sum that immediately cements her as one of the field’s leading candidates.
Shah raised more from donors during the 3rd quarter than any other Democrat in the 7th district – or any other non-incumbent candidate anywhere in New Jersey – has raised in a single quarter so far this cycle. (One of Shah’s competitors in the 7th district, businessman Brian Varela, raised $694,000 during his first quarter in the race, but $400,000 of that came from his own pockets.)
“I am honored to see the outpouring of support our campaign has received,” Shah said in a statement. “We deserve better than Tom Kean Jr. We can lower costs for working families, protect reproductive rights, and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need. New Jerseyans are demanding leaders who will put patients and people ahead of industry profits. Our campaign is fighting to serve hardworking families, not special interests and corporations; that is why I will flip NJ-07 in 2026.”
$260,000, or close to one-half, of Shah’s haul came within the first 24 hours of her campaign, which also represents the largest one-day fundraising total of any New Jersey candidate this cycle.
A practicing physician who held roles in both the Obama and Biden administrations, Shah is on her first run for public office; she mulled a potential campaign against Kean in 2024, but ultimately decided not to get in. If elected, Shah would be the first member of New Jersey’s growing South Asian community to represent the state in Congress.
And the seat she’s running for is well-positioned to host one of the most competitive races of 2026. Kean first arrived in office in 2023 after unseating Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), and the seat remains evenly divided, with Donald Trump outpacing Kamala Harris among 7th district voters just 49%-48% last year; Kean’s 2024 re-election campaign against Democrat Sue Altman was the most expensive House race in New Jersey history.
Plenty of other Democrats have also see opportunity in the 7th district in 2026: besides Shah and Varela, also running for the seat are former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, criminal justice professor Beth Adubato, climate scientist Megan O’Rourke, former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth, attorney Vale Mendoza, and former Summit Councilman Greg Vartan.
So far, Bennett is the field’s fundraising leader with more than $900,000 raised, but she’s also been in the race longer than any other candidate. 3rd quarter fundraising totals – which no other 7th district candidates besides Shah have announced yet – will likely provide quite a bit more clarity on which candidates are seriously in the running for the nomination to take on Kean.
Kean, for his part, has raised a whopping $1.9 million for his re-election campaign so far this year; he, too, has not yet released his Q3 numbers.
