{
  "id": "nj07-2026",
  "version": "2026-10-25.1",
  "methodVersion": "ranked-agreement-v1",
  "race": "New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District — U.S. House, November 3, 2026",
  "title": "Where do you stand?",
  "subtitle": "A policy comparison for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.",
  "cutoffDate": "2026-10-25",
  "updatedAt": "2026-10-25",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-25",
  "scope": "This exercise compares Tom Kean Jr. and Rebecca Bennett. It is not a complete ballot guide; the official list also includes Seamus Patrick O’Toole.",
  "officialCandidateList": {
    "url": "https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2026/2026-official-general-candidates-us-house-0904.pdf",
    "title": "New Jersey Division of Elections: Official 2026 U.S. House candidate list, NJ-07 on page 7",
    "publishedAt": "2026-09-04",
    "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
  },
  "candidates": [
    {
      "id": "kean",
      "name": "Tom Kean Jr."
    },
    {
      "id": "bennett",
      "name": "Rebecca Bennett"
    }
  ],
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": "immigration_enforcement",
      "title": "Immigration detention and deportation",
      "description": "Consider federal funding and capacity for immigration detention and deportation.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "immigration_enforcement",
          "prompt": "The federal government should substantially expand funding and capacity for immigration detention and deportation.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "Consider whether your answer depends on criminal convictions, pending asylum claims, or other circumstances. Opposition to one proposed facility does not answer this national funding question.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "package_vote",
              "summary": "Backed a broad law containing additional immigration-enforcement funding; a separate answer to this exact expansion statement is not established.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://guides.vote/guide/2026-new-jersey-nj-07-us-house-voters-guide/",
                  "title": "guides.vote: 2026 New Jersey NJ-07 U.S. House voters guide",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "The larger package is context, not a standalone mandate. Later opposition to the Roxbury facility is shared by both candidates."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Supports due-process protections and alternatives to detention; her answer to this exact funding-and-capacity proposition is unverified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://aapinewjersey.org/resources/voting-in-new-jersey/candidate-questionnaire-for-midterm-elections-2026/",
                  "title": "AAPI New Jersey: 2026 candidate questionnaire, Rebecca Bennett response",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://gothamist.com/news/mental-health-affordability-stock-trades-heres-what-you-missed-in-sundays-nj-debate",
                  "title": "Gothamist / WNYC: September 27 candidate debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-27",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Criticism of enforcement practices or a particular facility is not opposition to every expansion of funding."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "The sources do not establish opposing answers to this exact national funding proposition. Both candidates have opposed the proposed Roxbury facility."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "citizenship_documentation",
      "title": "Federal voter-registration documentation",
      "description": "Consider whether federal voter registration should require citizenship documents.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "citizenship_documentation",
          "prompt": "Registering to vote in federal elections should require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, beyond signing a declaration of citizenship.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "Citizenship documentation for registration and photo identification at a polling place are different requirements.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "specific_vote",
              "summary": "guides.vote links his 2026 vote for documentary proof of citizenship at federal registration.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://guides.vote/guide/2026-new-jersey-nj-07-us-house-voters-guide/",
                  "title": "guides.vote: 2026 New Jersey NJ-07 U.S. House voters guide",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "The linked Congress.gov roll call could not be reopened in this review; attribution remains contextual and cannot activate scoring by itself."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Supports easier registration and voting rights; exact acceptable citizenship-document requirements were not verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/defending-our-freedoms/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Defending Our Freedoms",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "General registration policy cannot be converted into opposition to this precise documentation rule."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "Bennett’s exact documentation requirements are unresolved; the linked official roll call also needs direct validation."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "medicaid",
      "title": "Medicaid funding and eligibility",
      "description": "Consider Medicaid funding and work-reporting rules as two separate questions.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "medicaid_funding",
          "prompt": "Congress should reverse the reductions in projected federal Medicaid spending enacted in 2025.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "This concerns spending relative to projections under the previous law. It is separate from whether any particular work-reporting rule should apply. Each Medicaid question receives half of this issue’s weight.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "package_vote",
              "summary": "Supported the 2025 reconciliation package and defended its Medicaid provisions; an exact position on reversing its projected spending reductions is not separately established.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/rebecca-bennett-campaign-7th-district-nj-tom-kean-jr-20261015.html",
                  "title": "The Philadelphia Inquirer: NJ-07 candidate policy reporting",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-10-15",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Package support and arguments about program integrity are not automatically a provision-specific position on restoration."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Her current campaign healthcare page proposes restoring the Medicaid reductions.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/lowering-healthcare-costs/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Lowering Healthcare Costs",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/rebecca-bennett-campaign-7th-district-nj-tom-kean-jr-20261015.html",
                  "title": "The Philadelphia Inquirer: NJ-07 candidate policy reporting",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-10-15",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Direct restoration proposal. Claims on the campaign page about the opponent are not treated as independent evidence."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "Bennett’s restoration proposal is explicit. Kean’s package vote and defense do not verify his answer to the exact restoration statement."
        },
        {
          "id": "medicaid_work_reporting",
          "prompt": "Certain working-age adults should have to document qualifying work, education, or community-service activity to remain eligible for Medicaid, with statutory exemptions.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "CMS describes rules for certain adults aged 19–64, generally beginning no later than January 1, 2027, with states able to start earlier. Exemptions include pregnancy or postpartum coverage, medical frailty, and specified caregivers, among others. This does not apply to every Medicaid recipient. Each Medicaid question receives half of this issue’s weight.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "His reconciliation statement endorses requiring eligible adults able to contribute to their community to do so to receive Medicaid benefits.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Statement was readable in the search index; direct page access returned 403. This supports work-rule direction, without establishing every implementation detail."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "unknown",
              "summary": "An exact position on these statutory work-reporting requirements was not verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/lowering-healthcare-costs/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Lowering Healthcare Costs",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Opposition to Medicaid reductions or the overall 2025 law does not establish opposition to each work requirement."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "A direct answer from Bennett on the work-reporting requirement was not verified.",
          "contextSources": [
            {
              "url": "https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicaid-community-engagement-requirement-certain-individuals-interim-final-rule-comment-period-cms",
              "title": "CMS: Medicaid community-engagement interim final rule fact sheet",
              "publishedAt": "2026-06-01",
              "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "congressional_stocks",
      "title": "Lawmakers’ individual stock holdings",
      "description": "Consider ownership, independent control, purchase restrictions, and disclosure for congressional households.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "congressional_stocks",
          "prompt": "Which rule should apply to members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children?",
          "type": "categorical",
          "context": "These alternatives describe different legal requirements. A personally managed investment arrangement is not automatically a qualified blind trust, and voluntary divestment is not automatically a proposed legal mandate.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "mixed",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Backs a ban on new individual-stock purchases and also cosponsors the TRUST in Congress Act; these do not establish a single exclusive choice.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-votes-ban-members-congress-trading-stocks",
                  "title": "Kean: Stock-trading legislation statement",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-07-22",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Support for a narrower bill is not opposition to stronger restrictions. His personal “blind structure” is not classified as a qualified blind trust.",
              "matchedOptionIds": []
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "mixed",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Calls for a full individual-stock trading ban and has divested personally; the exact mandatory holdings, family, and trust rules remain unresolved.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/defending-our-freedoms/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Defending Our Freedoms",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/fact-check-tom-kean-jr-still-wants-members-of-congress-to-be-able-to-sell-individual-stocks/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Response to stock-trading legislation",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-07-22",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://whyy.org/articles/election-2026-new-jersey-7th-congressional-district-voter-guide/",
                  "title": "WHYY: 2026 NJ-07 candidate guide",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Personal conduct and a general trading-ban pledge do not uniquely map the detailed alternatives.",
              "matchedOptionIds": []
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "The exact legislative rules are not mapped completely enough for both candidates; no categorical points are awarded.",
          "options": [
            {
              "id": "divestment",
              "label": "Require divestment of individual company stocks, while allowing diversified funds."
            },
            {
              "id": "blind_trust",
              "label": "Permit individual holdings only in a qualified blind trust with independent control."
            },
            {
              "id": "purchase_ban",
              "label": "Prohibit new individual-stock purchases but allow existing holdings to be retained and sold with advance disclosure."
            },
            {
              "id": "disclosure",
              "label": "Allow ownership and trading under disclosure rules and existing insider-trading restrictions."
            },
            {
              "id": "mixed",
              "label": "Another approach / mixed"
            },
            {
              "id": "unsure",
              "label": "Unsure"
            },
            {
              "id": "skip",
              "label": "Skip this question"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "clean_energy",
      "title": "Federal clean-energy incentives",
      "description": "Consider restoring federal tax incentives across clean-energy technologies.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "clean_energy",
          "prompt": "Congress should restore federal clean-energy tax incentives rolled back by the 2025 law.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "The affected incentives cover multiple technologies. You can choose Mixed / depends and note distinctions such as electricity generation, home solar, or electric vehicles.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "mixed",
              "basis": "package_vote",
              "summary": "Supported the 2025 package after previously joining a letter seeking to preserve clean-energy credits. An exact current position on restoration is not established.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/kean-continues-push-for-maintaining-clean-energy-tax-credits-as-gop-hashes-out-tax-bill/",
                  "title": "New Jersey Globe: Kean urges preservation of clean-energy tax credits",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-03-10",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "The preservation letter and package vote pull in different directions; neither proves opposition to all restored credits."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Supports renewable-energy incentives, including solar and electric vehicles, but exact restoration of all rolled-back provisions was not verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/safeguarding-new-jerseys-environment/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Safeguarding New Jersey’s Environment",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "A general incentive pledge does not resolve every technology and provision in the restoration statement."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "The package vote conflicts with earlier preservation advocacy, and current provision-specific restoration positions are incomplete."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "abortion_authority",
      "title": "Federal and state abortion law",
      "description": "Consider which level of government should set abortion-access protections or restrictions.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "abortion_authority",
          "prompt": "Which legal framework comes closest to your view?",
          "type": "categorical",
          "context": "This question concerns federal and state authority. It does not imply any pregnancy limit or exception.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "historical",
              "summary": "In 2024 reporting, favored state regulation of abortion and opposed a national ban; current-cycle reaffirmation of that framework was not verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://www.fox5ny.com/news/sue-altman-tom-kean-jr-nj-17-race-2024-election",
                  "title": "FOX 5 NY: Kean’s 2024 positions",
                  "publishedAt": "2024-10-16",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Historical evidence is visibly dated and excluded from scoring. The article was published October 16, 2024 and updated November 1, 2024.",
              "matchedOptionIds": [
                "state_authority"
              ]
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Her current campaign page calls for restoring abortion-access protections at the federal level.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/defending-our-freedoms/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Defending Our Freedoms",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "This supports a federal protection direction, but does not specify every limit, exception, or preemption rule.",
              "matchedOptionIds": [
                "federal_access"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "Kean’s state-authority statement is from 2024 and has not been verified as a current 2026 position.",
          "options": [
            {
              "id": "federal_access",
              "label": "Federal law should establish a nationwide minimum right to abortion access, while allowing states to provide broader access."
            },
            {
              "id": "state_authority",
              "label": "Abortion policy should be primarily determined by individual states."
            },
            {
              "id": "federal_restrictions",
              "label": "Federal law should establish nationwide abortion restrictions."
            },
            {
              "id": "mixed",
              "label": "Another approach / mixed"
            },
            {
              "id": "unsure",
              "label": "Unsure"
            },
            {
              "id": "skip",
              "label": "Skip this question"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "iran",
      "title": "U.S. military action against Iran",
      "description": "Reflect on military objectives, diplomacy, congressional authorization, and an exit strategy.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "iran",
          "prompt": "The United States should continue its military campaign against Iran rather than seek to end the campaign now.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "Time-sensitive, unscored reflection only. The current operational situation and both candidates’ present positions require re-verification; the wording must not be taken as confirmation that a particular campaign is ongoing.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Defended the U.S. action at the September 27 debate; that statement does not verify an answer under the operational conditions now.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-election-7th-district-debate/",
                  "title": "Associated Press via WHYY: Candidate debate on Iran and tariffs",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/tom-kean-rebecca-bennett-debate-20260928.html",
                  "title": "The Philadelphia Inquirer / The New York Times: Kean and Bennett debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "September support is retained as dated context only. A war-powers vote would not by itself establish every current military objective."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Called for ending the war at the September 27 debate; her answer under the latest operational conditions was not immediately verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-election-7th-district-debate/",
                  "title": "Associated Press via WHYY: Candidate debate on Iran and tariffs",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://whyy.org/articles/election-2026-new-jersey-7th-congressional-district-voter-guide/",
                  "title": "WHYY: 2026 NJ-07 candidate guide",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "The time-sensitive item stays disabled for scoring pending a new review immediately before any activation."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "Disabled: September candidate statements predate subsequent diplomacy, and the immediate military situation was not sufficiently verified for this exact “continue now” proposition."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "high_income_taxes",
      "title": "Federal income-tax cuts for higher earners",
      "description": "Consider whether recent federal income-tax reductions for higher-income taxpayers should be reversed.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "high_income_taxes",
          "prompt": "Congress should reverse recent federal income-tax cuts for higher-income taxpayers.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "A precise comparable $500,000 threshold and income definition could not be verified, so this reflection uses “higher-income taxpayers.” SALT deductions are a separate issue.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "package_vote",
              "summary": "Backed and praised the 2025 tax law; a separately verified answer on reversing the particular higher-income provisions was not established.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://gothamist.com/news/mental-health-affordability-stock-trades-heres-what-you-missed-in-sundays-nj-debate",
                  "title": "Gothamist / WNYC: September 27 candidate debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-27",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Support for the larger tax law is not automatically opposition to reversing each rate or income-specific provision."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Proposes returning the top individual tax rate to its pre-Trump level and using the revenue for childcare assistance.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://aapinewjersey.org/resources/voting-in-new-jersey/candidate-questionnaire-for-midterm-elections-2026/",
                  "title": "AAPI New Jersey: 2026 candidate questionnaire, Rebecca Bennett response",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/rebecca-bennett-campaign-7th-district-nj-tom-kean-jr-20261015.html",
                  "title": "The Philadelphia Inquirer: NJ-07 candidate policy reporting",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-10-15",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Do not substitute a household, AGI, taxable-income, or individual $500,000 threshold. Exact comparable tax provisions require further review."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "The income base, covered provisions, and exact two-candidate comparison remain unresolved; the original $500,000 threshold is not used."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "tariffs",
      "title": "Broad import tariffs",
      "description": "Consider the administration’s broad tariff policy, including imports from allied countries.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "tariffs",
          "prompt": "The United States should maintain the administration’s broad import-tariff policy debated in September 2026, including tariffs on allied countries.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "This comparison concerns the broad administration tariff policy discussed at the September 27, 2026 debate. It does not equate support for a targeted national-security or industry tariff with support for every broad tariff. Use Mixed / depends if your answer differs by country or industry.",
          "scoringEligible": true,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "At the September 27 debate, defended the administration’s use of tariffs and said Congress should not interfere with that policy.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://gothamist.com/news/mental-health-affordability-stock-trades-heres-what-you-missed-in-sundays-nj-debate",
                  "title": "Gothamist / WNYC: September 27 candidate debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-27",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/tom-kean-rebecca-bennett-debate-20260928.html",
                  "title": "The Philadelphia Inquirer / The New York Times: Kean and Bennett debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-28",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Direct defense of the broad policy in the debate context, corroborated by independent reporting; not inferred from one targeted tariff."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "oppose",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "At the same debate, called for rolling back the administration’s tariffs; her questionnaire response explicitly proposes ending the trade conflict with allies.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://gothamist.com/news/mental-health-affordability-stock-trades-heres-what-you-missed-in-sundays-nj-debate",
                  "title": "Gothamist / WNYC: September 27 candidate debate",
                  "publishedAt": "2026-09-27",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                },
                {
                  "url": "https://aapinewjersey.org/resources/voting-in-new-jersey/candidate-questionnaire-for-midterm-elections-2026/",
                  "title": "AAPI New Jersey: 2026 candidate questionnaire, Rebecca Bennett response",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Direct opposition to the broad policy and explicit allied-country scope; does not imply opposition to every targeted tariff."
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "suppressor_tax",
      "title": "Federal tax on firearm suppressors",
      "description": "Consider the federal suppressor tax separately from other firearm laws.",
      "questions": [
        {
          "id": "suppressor_tax",
          "prompt": "Congress should restore the federal tax on firearm suppressors removed by the 2025 legislation.",
          "type": "agreement",
          "context": "The question concerns a federal tax, not a ban on possession, and does not represent every aspect of gun policy.",
          "scoringEligible": false,
          "evidence": [
            {
              "candidateId": "kean",
              "direction": "unknown",
              "basis": "package_vote",
              "summary": "Supported the larger 2025 law; a standalone position on restoring the suppressor tax was not verified.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://kean.house.gov/media/press-releases/kean-supports-passage-full-reconciliation-bill",
                  "title": "Kean: Supports Passage of Full Reconciliation Bill",
                  "publishedAt": "2025-07-03",
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "A vote for the full package does not establish a separate answer on this tax."
            },
            {
              "candidateId": "bennett",
              "direction": "support",
              "basis": "direct_statement",
              "summary": "Her current public-safety page explicitly proposes reinstating the tax on firearm suppressors.",
              "sources": [
                {
                  "url": "https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/priorities/keeping-our-neighborhoods-safe/",
                  "title": "Bennett campaign: Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe",
                  "publishedAt": null,
                  "checkedAt": "2026-10-25"
                }
              ],
              "reviewNote": "Narrow tax proposal only; broader campaign rhetoric is not reproduced as factual characterization."
            }
          ],
          "exclusionReason": "Bennett’s proposal is explicit, but Kean’s package vote does not establish his standalone suppressor-tax position."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
