The Democratic nominee to represent New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District in the House of Representatives, Rebecca Bennett, said she "stopped going to church" because she could not sit in a room "full of people who voted for Trump," audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon shows.
At a campaign event in February, a woman asked Bennett, "I loved hearing you say that you're a patriot, but what are you going to do about that being a right-coded way of presenting yourself?" Bennett responded with a story about how she stopped attending church services because she could not bear to be around people who voted for President Donald Trump.
"I will say I use that word intentionally, and the reason that I do it is because, so, 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,'" Bennett said. "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 who 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 [how] 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."
Bennett's remarks could alienate local voters, given that President Donald Trump carried the district Bennett is running to represent in 2024, winning 49 percent of the vote to Kamala Harris's 48 percent. Representatives for Bennett did not address the recording in a statement provided to the Free Beacon, instead saying Bennett "is the candidate [Republicans] fear most in November."
Bennett, facing off against incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R.), has sought to position herself as a moderate Democrat in her bid to represent a district that has generally elected Republicans but that Cook Political Report has rated a toss-up this year. A former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, Bennett has said her background means she can reach those who might not vote for "a traditional Democrat."
Another audio clip obtained by the Free Beacon, though, suggests that Bennett may not be as moderate as she claims.
In February, after far-left Democrat Analilia Mejia won the party's nomination for the April special election to replace New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill (D.) in Congress, an audience member at a separate Bennett campaign event asked Bennett whether she supported Mejia's campaign and whether she would accept an endorsement from Mejia.
"I mean, yes and yes," Bennett said. "I don't know that she's gonna endorse anybody in this primary, but yeah, she won the primary, so yes, she's the nominee."
Mejia—who served as political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign—co-led an organization that aimed to build "community safety without police," stated that she wants to "abolish ICE," and falsely accused Israel of committing a "genocide" in Gaza. In an April debate ahead of the special election in her district, Mejia said, "If [antisemitism] is the worst thing that I could be accused of, then I will stand with it, because I believe we have to fight for the freedom and justice of every human being."
Though Bennett's X account now uses the handle "RebeccaForNJ07," Bennett used to post under the name "BigRedBecks." She deleted numerous X posts sent under that name praising left-wing Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) upon announcing her campaign. She has also given to organizations like Swing Left, which claimed that Trump was "letting white nationalists write immigration policy," called the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a "scam," and criticized Republican lawmakers over their efforts to make those tax cuts permanent.
