New Jersey House seat flips as Republican Thomas Kean Jr. defeats Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski

Republicans flipped a House seat in New Jersey, with Republican Thomas Kean Jr. defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski in the state’s 7th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. 

The 7th district was considered one of the most vulnerable House seats in the state following redistricting last year that gave Republicans a three-point advantage over Democrats. 

Thomas Kean Jr. is the former Minority Leader of the New Jersey state Senate and the son of a popular former governor.

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Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., speaks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on September 16, 2020, in Washington, DC.
(Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Malinowski, first elected to the House in 2018, previously faced Kean in 2020, though Malinowski was able to beat his two-time Republican challenger by just 5,000 votes. 

Malinowski faced criticism from Kean on inflation and controversial stock trades during Covid-19 that the Garden State congressman failed to disclose.

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Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., is considered one of the most vulnerable House  Democrats, along with Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
(Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg, Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc., Zach Gibson)

Since 2020, Malinowski has bought or sold as much as $1 million of stock in medical and tech companies that had a stake in the virus response, according to an analysis of records by The Associated Press. 

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The trades were just one slice of a stock buying and selling spree by the congressman during that time, worth as much as $3.2 million, which he did not properly disclose under the STOCK Act — though Malinowski claims the alleged violations of the were nothing more than paperwork errors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.