Missing Congressman Tom Kean is asking his fellow New Jersey Republicans for their prayers after vanishing from the public eye with little explanation.
Kean, who has been missing from Congress for nearly three months, has been calling fellow Republicans during his time of absence, The New York Times reported. He gave Carlos Santos, the Republican leader in Union County, a ring this week.
Joe LaBarbera, Sussex County’s Republican chairman who was in Santos’ car at the time of the call, told the Times he asked Kean if he needed anything during this time, to which Kean responded “‘Just your prayers.’”
“He sounded healthy. He sounded excited to get back on the campaign trail,” Santos told the Times.
Kean has been inexplicably missing from Congress for nearly three months. He has missed more than 100 House votes since his last recorded vote on March 5 of this year.
His chief of staff, Dan Scharfenberger, has cryptically said that “there’s no cameras where Tom is,” which has only further created cause for concern about where Kean really is.
His staff has repeatedly asserted that Kean is dealing with a “personal health matter,” but has declined to elaborate on the specifics of the problem. His staff has also continued to send out communications in his name, that do not state his prolonged absence.
His father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told NJ.com that his son’s undisclosed illness is “serious” but temporary.
“It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future,” he said. “The consensus is that he will be 100% OK.”
Kean’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
This week, Kean finally addressed his absence himself, telling the New Jersey Globe, “My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery.”
“I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents,” he said.
“I anticipate that in the next couple of weeks, I’ll return to voting and to the campaign trail,” he said, adding. “I’m running.”
His home has reportedly been vacant during this time, too. Kean’s neighbors in the wealthy suburb of Westfield told NOTUS that there has been little activity at the home. His wife, Rhonda, also appears to be missing, as neighbors said they couldn’t remember the last time a car was in the driveway or she was seen walking their dog.
His New Jersey congressional district, one of the most affluent in the country, is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country in the 2026 midterm elections. Of the nearly 635,000 registered voters in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional district, Republicans have about a 3 percent voter registration edge over Democrats.
This week, the nonpartisan election analysis newsletter Inside Elections has shifted its outlook on the race towards Democrats’ favor in the wake of Kean’s unexplained absence.
“Kean’s staff insists that the congressman will be back to work shortly and continues to send out communications in his name, but there’s no indication of when he will actually return or where he currently is,” the firm stated. “While Democrats have a competitive primary to sort through, Republicans need their candidate to be present and on the trail in order to hold this swing seat.”
