To: Interested Parties
From: Om Savargaonkar, Campaign Manager
Date: November 14th, 2025
Subject: Democrats in New Jersey are Fired Up to Elect Women Veterans
Democrats in New Jersey are fired up to elect women veterans: Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, business and healthcare leader, and mom of two daughters, is the strongest candidate to flip NJ-07 from red to blue in 2026
The 2025 Gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia—where former national security and veteran candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill not only won their respective races, but won by wide, double-digit margins, prove that voters have built in trust and credibility with candidates whose backgrounds are rooted in service, leadership, and patriotism. And their focus on the future, by centering their families in their campaigns, prove that voters are looking for candidates whose motivation to serve is rooted in more than themselves. Rebecca Bennett’s service as a Navy helicopter pilot, experimental test pilot, business and healthcare leader, and a mom of two, uniquely positions her as the strongest candidate in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District to flip this seat from Red to Blue next November.
I. The Congressional Veteran Advantage: Women veterans helped flip the House in 2018 and research has shown, and the 2025 results proved, Democrats who have served our country in uniform have a unique ability to win competitive general elections and have a track record of over-performance in districts like NJ-07.
- According to VoteVets, “a recent study published in the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties finds that “Democratic veteran candidates obtain, on average, 5.83 percentage points higher vote share than their non-veteran copartisans.”
- Additionally, a recent Gallup poll found, “military experience tops candidate credentials,” with 55% of U.S. adults saying “that military service on a candidate’s resume makes it much (16%) or somewhat (39%) more likely they’ll vote for that person.”
II. A Story Rooted in Service to Country: Rebecca spent her career in uniform, flying missions in some of the most dangerous and challenging environments in the world, never backing down from a fight: That experience transcends partisanship – expanding the core Democratic base and bringing in new voters.
- As Governor-Elect Sherrill showed, over 600,000 more voters turned out to vote in 2025 than in 2021.
- And exit polls showed her ability to win self-identified independent voters by 15%, and even securing the support of 9% of self-identified Republicans.
Crucially, Governor-Elect Sherrill showed that she not only can win swing voters, but she can simultaneously drive out the Democratic base.
- Governor-Elect Sherrill won NJ-07 by 1.1% – 50.2% to 49.1%. It is more clear than ever that these voters are enthusiastic to vote for service women like Rebecca Bennett and will be critical to flipping this seat next year.
- Town Highlights: In the district’s biggest suburban and swing voter centers – Bridgewater and Westfield, Governor-Elect Sherrill’s Navy Helicopter Pilot bio drove voters out across partisan lines to vote and deliver big wins for Democrats. They’re ready to do the same for Rebecca Bennett in 2026.
III. A Vision for the Future: As a mom of two, Rebecca is focused on the issues that matter most: lowering costs to help families make ends meet. She understands the strain of unaffordable child care, skyrocketing utility bills, and health insurance premiums that are rising year after year. For Rebecca, these issues are not just talking points, they’re what concerns her everyday as she drops her kids off at school in the morning.
IV. Building a winning campaign: Driven by her commitment to service, Rebecca Bennett was the first Democratic candidate to launch her campaign in the 7th Congressional district. Rebecca has proven to be the strongest fundraiser in the field, having raised more than $1.4 million to-date – more than double any other candidates in the field.
Rebecca has been endorsed by key groups, including VoteVets, New Politics, and Vote Mama, as well as Members of Congress including Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), and Congressman Pat Ryan (NY-18).
