CLARK – Thomas H. Kean Jr. probably surprised both the audience and Tom Malinowski when he said he supported the CHIPS Act – a Democratic-sponsored bill passed a few months ago to bolster the nation’s microchip industry.

But then ….

Kean first quipped that the bill should have been passed years ago and then added his clearly-planned zinger.

He said that Malinowski, historically speaking, has done nothing to keep U.S. jobs from being outsourced. And after all, he’s been in Washington for 30 years.

Half of the SRO crowd in the Holiday Inn for Thursday’s Kean-Malinowski debate applauded loudly

But so did the other half when Malinowski replied:

“I’m sorry, I’ve been in Congress for four years, not 30 years, sir.”

Kean said he was talking about Malinowski’s residence in D.C. and, presumably, his work in the State Department and other government jobs.

“You never left,” Kean said.

Kean’s point was certainly a bit of a stretch, but it served to liven up what the sponsors – the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce – envisioned (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) as a boring debate.

Malinowski said all this sounded “silly,” but that didn’t stop him from a historic assessment of his own.

Noting Kean’s long tenure in the state Legislature, Malinowski said, “What the hell have you done?

And then referring to earlier Kean comments about supply side problems, the incumbent congressman said, “You mumbled about supply chains, I actually got the job done.”

That allowed Malinowski to talk for at least the second time in the debate about the passage this year of such Democratic achievements as an infrastructure bill, Covid relief, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and the aforementioned CHIPs Act.

The stakes are quite high in CD-7. Redistricting gives Kean the advantage, but Malinowski says the race is a jump ball and that he thinks he has more volunteers to canvas and to help turnout the vote in a mostly affluent district ranging across parts of six counties.

Kean’s overall point was simple. He said Malinowski and the Dems have failed in many ways.

He mentioned a carpenter friend in Rahway whose monthly expenses have risen by $800 because of inflation. Kean said unrestrained immigration remains a problem because Democrats have failed to do anything about it. As for the Medicare bill that Malinowski touted, Kean suggested this amounted to a form of “price controls.”

More broadly, Kean said Malinowski supports regulations that stifle business initiative and that he opposes energy independence.

Very early in the hour or so debate, Kean said Malinowski votes in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi, an eternal villain to most Republicans. In fact, he said it three times.

That prompted Malinowski to quip that Kean must be playing a “drinking game,” in which some spectators hit the bottle every time a certain name or issue is mentioned.  Perhaps intent on keeping the early morning crowd sober, Kean didn’t mention Pelosi again during the rest of the debate.

This debate was officially limited to economic issues, but Malinowski creatively used a question about food security and public health to bring up abortion, which he said is a women’s health issue. This was no surprise. Democrats hope the overturning of Roe v. Wade will bolster turnout by Democrats and like-minded souls.

Kean, who stumbled over an abortion question at a earlier forum, didn’t address the issue. The Republican candidate has said he is pro-choice, but wants to limit abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy with the exception of rape, incest and life of the mother.

It is impossible to view today’s event without commenting on the contrasting styles of the candidates.

Kean, who has had few truly public events, was questioned briefly by reporters upon leaving the debate ballroom. But after a few minutes, he quickly departed.

Malinowski stuck around long enough to have an impromptu press conference. In it, he was asked about his stock trading activity during the pandemic, a key issue for Team Kean.

The incumbent said he was “late and sloppy” in filing paperwork, but that there has never been any evidence of conflict.

A Kean TV ad takes a less benign view. It claims that Malinowski used “privileged information” to profit by trading medical and tech company stock.

In his post-debate session with the press, Malinowski said Kean is on shaky ground here.

“This is a guy who lives off the stock market,” he said, adding that the Republican is a “hypocrite.”

Nor did Malinowski forget Kean’s crack about him being a Washington insider for 30 years. Reminding everyone about Kean’s electoral history, he said:

“He’s been trying to get to Washington for 30 years.”

That’s a stretch as well, but you get the point.