共和党籍新泽西州联邦众议员汤姆·基恩二世在今年因神秘缺席国会数月而遭受批评后，被民主党挑战者丽贝卡·贝内特击败，美国全国广播公司新闻部（NBC News）预测。贝内特战胜基恩——这位同名的新泽西州前共和党州长、深受欢迎的托马斯·基恩之子——是民主党争取众议院多数席位的一项关键胜利。基恩正处于第二任期，被视为选票上最脆弱的共和党人之一，主要超级政治行动委员会（super PAC）在竞选最后几周撤回了对基恩的支持支出。
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., who faced criticism this year after a mysterious monthslong absence from Congress, was defeated by Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett, NBC News projects. Bennett’s victory over Kean, the son of New Jersey’s popular former GOP governor of the same name, was a key win for Democrats in their bid for the House majority. Kean, who was in his second term, had been seen as one of the most vulnerable Republicans on the ballot, and top super PACs yanked spending in support of Kean in the closing weeks of the campaign.
他从3月5日到6月30日缺席国会山，随后透露自己曾住院并被诊断患有抑郁症。他缺席了140次投票。“当人们听到‘抑郁症’这个词时，许多人认为它只是意味着感到悲伤。但抑郁症远不止于此。它是生理上的，也是情感上的，”基恩在复工后备受关注的议院发言中表示。“除非你亲身经历，否则很难完全理解这种疾病可以有多强大。”
He was absent from Capitol Hill from March 5 to June 30, when he revealed that he had been hospitalized and diagnosed with depression. He missed 140 votes. “When people hear the word ‘depression,’ many think it simply means feeling sad. But depression is so much more than that. It is physical. It is emotional,” Kean said in a closely watched floor speech upon his return. “Until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”
他的缺席是近年华盛顿最离奇的插曲之一。随着记者提问和猜测升温，基恩的办公室称他在处理“个人医疗问题”，但拒绝提供任何细节或回答问题。全国广播公司新闻部等媒体的记者曾敲响基恩在新泽西州住所的大门，但无人应答。增加困惑的是，共和党籍众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（路易斯安那州）及其他共和党领袖称他们曾与基恩或其家人通话，却拒绝就为何缺席公众视野提供任何解释。
His absence was one of the stranger episodes in recent memory in Washington. As reporters asked questions and speculation mounted, Kean’s office said he was dealing with a “personal medical issue” but declined to provide any specifics or answer questions. Reporters from NBC News and other outlets knocked on the door of Kean’s New Jersey home, but no one answered. Adding to the confusion, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other GOP leaders said they had spoken to Kean or his family but refused to provide any explanation about why he was missing from the public eye.
从一开始，民主党就认为他们在贝内特身上拥有一位强有力的候选人，这位医疗保健高管和民主党籍新泽西州州长蜜琪·谢里尔一样，曾是海军直升机飞行员。
From the outset, Democrats believed they had a strong candidate in Bennett, a healthcare executive who, like Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, is a former Navy helicopter pilot.
她攻击基恩投票支持特朗普总统的“大而美法案”，称该法案削减了新泽西州第七选区数千人的医疗补助，并因他支持特朗普对伊朗开战的投票而批评他。至于基恩，他的名字在新泽西州政坛与一个追溯至美国独立战争的家族世系密不可分。他批评贝内特与医疗保健公司的关系，他的竞选广告称这些公司拒绝为患者提供保险并向纳税人多收费。
She attacked Kean for voting for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which she said enacted Medicaid cuts for thousands of people in New Jersey’s 7th District, and dinged him for his votes supporting Trump’s war with Iran. As for Kean, his name is synonymous in New Jersey politics with a family lineage stretching to the American Revolution. He criticized Bennett for her ties to healthcare companies that his campaign ads said denied coverage to patients and overbilled taxpayers.
“这次选举是常识对疯狂；选常识派的人，”约翰逊在新泽西州与基恩一起竞选时说。基恩缺勤期间，他的办公室试图让他看起来很忙碌。他的办公室几乎每天在X、Instagram和其他社交媒体上发帖，继续起草立法，并向《国会记录》提交发言，让人误以为他在国会山发表演讲。“我今天起立，纪念新泽西州西中部犹太联合会成立65周年，”基恩6月2日的一条记录写道。
“This election is common sense versus crazy; go with the commonsense guy,” Johnson said while he was campaigning with Kean in New Jersey. While he was missing from work, Kean’s office tried to make it appear he was keeping busy. His office posted almost daily on X, Instagram and other social media sites, continued to author legislation and submitted remarks to the Congressional Record that make it appear he was in the Capitol delivering speeches. “I rise today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Jewish Federation of West Central New Jersey,” read an entry from Kean on June 2.