Back in August, police were summoned to a Tom Kean Jr. event at a Warren County golf course because a New York Times reporter was outside, presumably interviewing attendees.

A few days later, three journalists (myself included) were not allowed to cover a Kean rally in Flemington. They waited outside the venue and when it ended, Kean walked briskly to his car, avoiding all questions.

Now in quite the display of raw chutzpah, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is accusing Democratic candidate Rebecca Bennett of - you guessed it - not answering questions.

"Rebecca Bennett. No Answers, Only Silence." That's the headline.

The site displays "clips" from seven news stories in which neither Bennett nor her campaign responded to media questions, one of which was about "political violence."

Kean is getting into the act as well.

He says of Bennett on social media:

"She dodges questions from the public, relies entirely on scripted talking points, and refuses to give voters a clear answer on her policy proposals. New Jersey deserves a proven leader with a real record - not a candidate who hides behind empty slogans. "

Before we get to Kean's MO, it's reasonable to point out that Bennett won a contested Democratic primary and appeared at many joint events and "meet and greets."

To be sure, a lot of these events attract party loyalists. At the same time, she did field some tough questions, one of which was, why were you originally a Republican?

Bennett explained at the time that she grew up in Texas and registered as a Republican because her family leaned that way. She said she eventually became a Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.

Kean, even before his nearly four-month absence for health reasons, has never had a very visible public persona.

His public schedule is not released, no matter the event.

National Night Out, a community event to honor and support law enforcement, takes place every August. There are events in just about every town. It's a great opportunity for politicians to pose with cops and firemen.

Kean's office declined to say in advance which town events he would attend.

As for the NRCC's creation, it's really not all that unusual.

A time-honored political practice is for candidates to accuse their adversary of doing exactly what they are being accused of doing. That's what is happening here.

The battleground is CD-7 covering at least parts of Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. It is the most competitive congressional race in the state.

A poll for InsiderNJ done by StimSight Research arriving this week gave Bennett a five-point lead - 47 to 42 percent.

Two years ago, Kean was re-elected, beating Democrat Sue Altman by about 23,000 votes. He first won the seat in 2022, defeating incumbent Tom Malinowski.