Politicians only care about one thing. That’s getting elected no matter what.
But now a Democrat running for Congress has been caught shredding incriminating evidence ahead of critical 2026 elections.
Democrat Running For Congress Scrubs Progressive Past in NJ Race
In New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a battleground leaning Republican, Democrat Rebecca Bennett is running as a self-styled moderate to unseat GOP Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. A Navy veteran and Air Force National Guard member, Bennett has earned the “moderate” label from local media. Yet, a closer look at her digital footprint reveals a carefully curated pivot, as she’s deleted a trail of social media posts that betray a far more progressive stance. This selective erasure raises questions about the authenticity of her campaign and the sincerity of Democrats who reshape their image to chase votes.
Bennett’s X account, recently rebranded from @BigRedBecks to @RebeccaForNJ07, has undergone a noticeable cleanse. Posts that once aligned her with progressive icons like Sen. Elizabeth Warren have vanished. In 2019, Bennett gushed, “Love her,” about Warren, a figure synonymous with the left wing of the Democratic Party. Another deleted post from the same year praised a Taylor Swift-inspired video mashup of Warren, with Bennett writing, “I love everything about this. (Except the misogyny that makes it real…) #TeamWarren.” These enthusiastic endorsements clash with the centrist persona she now projects in a district that backed Donald Trump in the last election.
The scrubbing extends beyond Warren. Bennett also erased posts praising Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump nationally and narrowly in Kean’s district. When Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020, Bennett cheered, “Let’s Goooooo,” in a post that’s since disappeared. This deletion seems strategic, given Harris’s unpopularity in the district and the broader electorate. It’s a move that suggests Bennett is less committed to her party’s leaders than to her own electoral prospects.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, another progressive darling, also received Bennett’s deleted praise. In 2020, she called him the “best senator” on X, a sentiment now wiped from her public record. This pattern of erasing ties to high-profile Democrats points to a calculated effort to distance herself from the party’s left flank. For a candidate running as a moderate, these posts are inconvenient relics of a past she’d rather voters forget.
Bennett’s deletions also touch on contentious political moments. During the 2020 riots following George Floyd’s death, she endorsed a call from Obama strategist David Plouffe for House Democrats to “hold hearings” and investigate law enforcement’s response. This now-deleted post places her firmly on the side of progressive demands for police scrutiny, a stance that might not resonate in a district skeptical of such measures. Her decision to remove it suggests an awareness that these views could alienate swing voters.
Even Bennett’s stance on Trump’s first impeachment has been sanitized. A January 2020 post declared her a fan of Rep. Jason Crow, who voted to impeach Trump, with Bennett stating, “Officially a @JasonCrowCO6 fan. I’m a vet who also didn’t have the equipment I needed to do my job, so this is personal for me too. #ImpeachmentTrial.” This post, now gone, tied her to a divisive moment in American politics, one that might not play well in a pro-Trump district. Its removal speaks volumes about her willingness to reshape her public image.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has taken notice. In a statement to Fox News Digital, NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said, “It’s clear Rebecca Bennett is desperately trying to run away from her past and cover up her radical, out of touch agenda.” O’Toole added, “But New Jersey voters see right through her act and know exactly who she is: a radical scam artist who can’t be trusted.” The NRCC’s sharp critique frames Bennett’s deletions as evidence of deceit, a charge that resonates when candidates obscure their true beliefs.
Bennett’s campaign, when pressed by Fox News Digital about the deleted posts, sidestepped the issue. Senior advisor Dan Bryan dismissed the NRCC’s attacks as “recycled bad faith” from “right-wing outlets.” He insisted, “It’s no surprise to see the NRCC and conservative news outlets start attacking Rebecca, because they know she is a serious threat to beat Congressman Tom Kean next November and flip NJ7.” Bryan emphasized Bennett’s military service and Kean’s alleged failures, but the refusal to address the deletions only fuels suspicion about her motives.
The hypocrisy here is striking. Democrats often champion transparency and authenticity, yet Bennett’s actions suggest a willingness to obscure her past to appeal to a more conservative electorate. Her announcement video, nearly two minutes long, conspicuously avoids mentioning her party affiliation. This omission, paired with the scrubbed posts, paints a candidate more concerned with winning than with standing by her convictions. It’s a tactic that undermines the moral high ground Democrats often claim.
Bennett isn’t alone in this digital sleight of hand. Sue Altman, another New Jersey Democrat who ran against Kean in 2024, faced similar criticism for deleting posts critical of law enforcement. Altman’s defeat suggests voters may not take kindly to candidates who rewrite their digital history. Bennett’s campaign risks the same fate if voters perceive her as inauthentic in a district where trust is paramount.
The NJ-07 race is poised to be a bellwether in the upcoming midterms, with Republicans clinging to a slim 220-215 House majority. Bennett’s attempt to thread the needle as a moderate in a Trump-friendly district will test whether voters reward her reinvention or punish her for it. Her deleted posts, once public declarations of progressive allegiance, now linger as ghosts that could haunt her campaign.
What’s clear is that Bennett’s social media purge is no accident. Each deleted post represents a deliberate choice to obscure a piece of her political identity. In a district that values straightforwardness, this maneuvering could backfire. Voters may wonder: If Bennett is so quick to erase her past, what else might she hide if elected?
The scrutiny over Bennett’s deletions also exposes a larger tension within the Democratic Party. Candidates like her must navigate a tricky balance between the party’s progressive base and the centrist voters needed to win swing districts. By erasing her progressive roots, Bennett risks alienating both sides—progressives who feel betrayed and moderates who sense dishonesty. It’s a gamble that reveals the lengths to which some Democrats will go to secure power.
As the campaign heats up, Bennett’s opponents will likely keep the pressure on, using her deleted posts to question her integrity. The NRCC’s early salvo suggests they see her reinvention as a vulnerability. For voters, the challenge will be discerning whether Bennett’s moderate facade is genuine or a convenient mask donned for electoral gain.
Bennett’s campaign will need to convince voters that her military service and focus on local issues outweigh the doubts raised by her digital cleanup. But in a district that leans Republican, where Trump’s influence looms large, her scrubbed progressive past may prove a liability too heavy to shed.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
