CHESTER - Rebecca Bennett is consistent.

"This Trump Administration is trying to destroy our democracy. They are enriching themselves and they are making our problems worse," she said Wednesday evening. "Tom Kean Jr. is a coward and he is complicit."

We are now in the general election cycle. However, the theme is similar to what Bennett said a few months ago during the CD-7 Democratic primary in which she topped a field of four.

One of those she beat in the primary, Brian Varela, attended the event at the home of Darcy Draeger, the Morris County Democratic Chair.

There has been some chatter from Republicans that calling Kean, a man who was out of commission this year for almost four months because of depression, a "coward," is a bit insensitive.

But her description centers on Kean's support for Donald Trump, not his illness.

Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, said her life and career has been helped by ROTC grants, the GI Bill and VA loans.

The point was simple. It is government programs like those that can give a boost to average people. Left unsaid, but likely understood by the 60 or so people in the room, was that Rep.  Kean never needed such help.

Her race against Kean is clearly the most competitive in the state.

Officially, this was a rally and fundraiser for Chris Russo, the Democrat running for Morris County Commissioner. There is only one seat up on the seven-member board this year.

Democrats don't usually win county freeholder/commission seats in Morris. (That's an understatement).

All who care about this know the last Democratic to win a county seat in Morris was in 1973.

And as Draeger noted, that was also the last year (prior to this year) that the Knicks won the NBA championship.

So, if the Knicks can do it after 53 years, why not the Morris Democrats?

Of course, the man running is Russo, a councilman in Morristown, not Jalen Brunson.

Russo said he is pragmatic. He is not looking to upset how the county is run, which most agree is pretty darn good.

But he wants to bring a "fresh set of eyes" to the board of commissioners.

County government can be hard for average voters to focus on. So in many ways, this election comes down to party preference.

Russo has no qualms with that. Trump's approval ratings are down and Dems have benefitted of late from a changing population.

"Those are tailwinds I will take," Russo said.