Hi, everyone! My name is Rebecca Bennett, and I’m so proud to be the democratic nominee in our district. I have spent my life serving this country. I am a former Navy helicopter pilot and test pilot and now, I am choosing to serve my country in a new way. I am running for Congress in CD-7, aiming to flip the seat and replace Tom Kean Jr., who has absolutely failed us.

I’ve always taken on the biggest challenges. That’s why I’m running. I’ve put my life on the line for this country, and I will do everything I can to make sure we’re leaving things better off than we found them for my daughters and the next generation.

I grew up in a small town with a clear sense that I wanted to serve my community and my country. After earning an ROTC scholarship to Cornell University to study chemical engineering, I decided to fly helicopters.

I graduated from flight school at the top of my class, and from there, went on to fly the MH-60 Seahawk, where I led missions in some of the world’s most challenging environments. On those missions, I led teams of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. But I never knew what political party my squadron belonged to, because we were there as Americans to serve our country and get the job done.

I was later selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, where I tested and evaluated new flight technology for the U.S. Navy. While serving as an experimental test pilot, I used the GI Bill to earn my MBA with honors from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After leaving the Navy, I worked in healthcare, from startups to Fortune 50 companies, in order to increase access to care, improve patients’ outcomes, and decrease costs for patients.

I’m also a mom. My husband and I have two young girls, one in public school, one in daycare. They are thriving here in the district. But like so many of you, my family is feeling the cost-of-living crisis now more than ever. From childcare that costs as much as a monthly mortgage payment, to $500 utility bills, to $4/gallon gas, it’s gotten too hard to get ahead.

We need a new generation of leadership in Washington that actually understands the challenges we’re facing. Career politicians like Tom Kean Jr. go to Washington and look out for their own stock portfolios while families like ours struggle with rising costs and cuts to our healthcare system.

I’m sick of it. My husband and I divested all of our individual stocks and I’m not taking a dime of corporate PAC money because there should never be a question as to why I’m in this or who I’m fighting for. I will be a leader who shows up for all of us.

We’ve got our work cut out for us between now and election day. The road to taking back the House of Representatives runs right through NJ-07. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said last week that this race is one of the top three races in the country, and I have no doubt that the special interests Tom Kean Jr. serves will pour money into our communities to try to elect him again.

But what Tom Kean Jr. won’t have is all of you. Across this district, New Jerseyans are excited and ready to get to work to chart a better path forward. Winning won’t be easy, but I’ve been doing hard things my whole life. But I can’t do it alone. It’s going to take all of us working together to flip this seat.

I’d love for you to join our team. You can sign up to volunteer with us here.

Let’s win this thing together.