Kean returned to Congress after an unexplained absence. Now it's time for his first and only debate

Tom Kean Jr., the Republican congressman from New Jersey whose four-month absence from the House this year went unexplained until he disclosed that he was being treated for depression , and Democrat Rebecca Bennett are readying for the first and only campaign debate Sunday night in their closely contested race.

The 7th Congressional District , which includes President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club, has changed party control in each of the past two midterm elections, making it a magnet for campaign spending and a kind of political barometer. Republicans are trying to defend their narrow House majority at a time when Trump's approval rating is deeply underwater and gas prices are rising because of his war with Iran .

Kean, a former state legislator who comes from a deep-rooted political family, is seeking a third term. During his absence, he missed more than 100 votes.

He returned in June and said he had been hospitalized for depression and that he was a private person by nature.

Bennett, a former Navy pilot who also worked as a healthcare executive, is a political newcomer. She won a competitive primary in June and was widely viewed as a more moderate and electable Democrat than some of her competitors.

Millions of dollars have poured into the race.

Last week, a super PAC tied to the Republican president indicated it would spend more than $3 million to help Kean in the race. Another political action committee tied to Democrats has set aside about $2.5 million for television ads in the New York market to help Bennett and another Democrat in a New York district.

Kean's district became slightly more Republican after the redistricting following the 2020 census. Nonetheless, Democrats view it as a prime pickup opportunity.

Kean won in 2022 by unseating Democrat Tom Malinowski, who had ousted Republican Leonard Lance in 2018.

Kean comes from a long line of public servants, stretching 250 years to the country’s founding when one of his ancestors became New Jersey’s first leader since independence.

Kean’s great-grandfather was a senator, his grandfather was a congressman and his father was a two-term governor.