On this episode of The Siren Podcast, Jo sits down with Brian Varela, a candidate running in the Democratic primary to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. This district has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, as its current member of Congress, Republican Tom Kean Jr., has decided to take a now months long leave of absence. He and his staff have offered zero communication to his constituents, or even to other Republican members of Congress.
All the while, Kean Jr. continues to file stock disclosures while missing every single vote in Congress. If any other person decided to miss months of work with zero explanation to their boss (his constituents), they would ultimately, and justifiably, be fired.
Kean Jr. has now been calling Republican county chairs in an attempt to do damage control, and is supposedly (get this) running for reelection. One of the people running against him, is Brian Varela.
Brian entered this race as the underdog in a crowded, competitive primary, and has now built one of the broadest coalitions in the race. He’s now been endorsed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on the progressive side and former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney on the other, plus 32BJ SEIU, Make the Road, Our Revolution NJ, and more.
Jo and Brian talked about why NJ-7 is absolutely flippable, as Donald Trump only won it by a point in 2024, and current NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill carried it by a point in 2025. They discuss what Democrats got catastrophically wrong on the economy in 2024, and why Brian, a young, first-generation Colombian American, is uniquely positioned to win back the exact voters Trump lied to.
All this and more, right here on The Siren Network.
