The Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District said she stopped attending church after Donald Trump’s election because she struggled to worship alongside people who voted for him.
RAHWAY, N.J. — Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett said she stopped attending church after Donald Trump was elected because she could not bring herself to sit among congregants who had voted for him, remarks that later became an issue in her race against Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Now, she’s painting herself as a moderate Democrat to try to get her fellow Trump-voting churchgoers to support her over Tom Kean in November.
Bennett, a Navy veteran running in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, described growing up in the Presbyterian Church before pulling away following Trump’s election.
“I cannot sit in this church full of people who voted for Trump,” Bennett said in the recorded remarks.
“I will say I use that word intentionally, and the reason that I do it is that I grew up in the Presbyterian church, and after Trump got elected, I stopped going to church for the first time in my life because I was like, I cannot sit in this room of people at the time I was stationed somewhere that was pretty conservative.
“I was still in the military at the time. I was like, I cannot sit in this church full of people that voted for Trump. And then ultimately I decided they do not get to decide what Christianity looks like. And to me it’s the same thing about, they do not get to decide what patriotism is.
“You do not get to wrap yourself in the flag while you are literally murdering Americans in broad daylight.”
-Rebecca Bennett, Democrat candidate for U.S. Congress, New Jersey. CD-7
“You do not get to wrap yourself in the flag while you are literally murdering Americans in broad daylight.”
Kean brought the issue into the congressional campaign during a debate with Bennett, arguing that the comments raised questions about how she views constituents who disagree with her politically.
Bennett pushed back on that characterization and said her family remains active in their church community.
NJ-7 Race Draws Increased Attention
Bennett is challenging Kean for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a seat that has shifted between the two parties in recent election cycles.
Kean is seeking another term in Congress, while Bennett is making her first run for the House after serving as a Navy pilot and later working in the health care industry.
The church remarks are now part of the broader campaign debate over whether each candidate can represent voters across the political spectrum in a closely divided district.