NEW PROVIDENCE - Rebecca Bennett had just told about 50 people that her military shaped patriotism and leadership skills make her the best candidate to "fire" Thomas H. Kean Jr. when it was time for questions.

One man said he understood Bennett used to be a Republican. What's up with that?

Bennett, one of four Dems seeking the party's CD-7 nomination in the June 2 primary, hit the topic head on.

Yes, that's true. Benentt said she was born in Texas and that her family leaned Republican.

"I just registered with whatever party my parents were, and honestly, didn't think much about it. I was an 18-year-old kid."

Then she joined the military, which by design, is supposed to be non-political.

Bennett said her political consciousness was not raised until 2015 when Donald Trump announced his first run for president. As she explained:

"It was like watching an abject horror. ... That was the first time I really thought about it. And that's when I realized I was, in fact, a Democrat."

She said she changed her registration and made a campaign contribution to Hillary Clinton.

Bennett fielded the question at a "meet and greet" Thursday evening in a private home.

This allowed her to make a more general point about today's Republican party and by extension, Kean Jr.

She said her goal, assuming she gets to November, is to attract unaffiliated voters and "center right" Republicans. Or, as she said, voters who supported former Governor Tom Kean Sr.

"That Republican Party does not exist anymore," she said, referring to the Trump takeover of the GOP.

Another question was also about November.

One man said he thought Sue Altman ran a good campaign against Kean in 2024, but still lost. What would Bennett do differently?

Bennett said there are some differences.

Broadly speaking, she said studies show that a military background helps Democratic candidates. Bennett served in the Navy.

There is some logic here. Some Republicans like to question the patriotism of Democrats, but that attack is blunted when a Democratic candidate served in the military.

Bennett also said Kean's record is different.

"Tom Kean Jr. has a tougher voting record than he did when Sue was running against him," she said.

By that, she meant that serving under a Republican president, Kean has shown no independence.

She said he was largely absent when Trump tried to cut funding for the Gateway Tunnel and that he has done nothing to help Roxbury Township, a Republican-run town, fight a proposed ICE facility. That is an assessment with which the Roxbury council agrees.

Megan O'Rourke, who dropped out of the CD-7 race a few weeks ago, was also on hand to back Bennett.

"Even if you don't win, you can change the conversation," she said.

O'Rourke, a climate scientist who lost her federal position under the Trump Administration, said of the remaining candidates in the race, Bennett is the district's best bet to flip the seat.