New Jersey voting is drawing attention because Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is among the more vulnerable Republicans on the map as he faces health care executive and former Navy Helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennet in a live New Jersey U.S. House race. NBC News is tracking the contest with live results as the count moves forward.
The number readers will watch most closely is the expected vote, which is the total number of votes expected in a race once all ballots are counted. It is built from early vote totals and information NBC News vote reporters receive on Election Day from county election officials, and it can change as more information comes in. Data is provided by The, while projections come from the NBC News Decision Desk.
That makes this race more than a routine update. Kean is the incumbent Republican representative, but he is being treated as vulnerable in a contest that could tighten or shift as new votes are added to the count. Bennet’s biography gives the race a sharper profile than a standard House matchup, pairing a health care executive and former Navy Helicopter pilot against an incumbent trying to hold a seat in a competitive year.
Because the page is live, the best number in the race is also the most moving one. The expected vote is designed to show how complete the count may become, but it is only an estimate, not a final tally. As NBC News gathers new information, that figure can change, and so can the projection attached to it.
For now, the story is simple: a vulnerable Republican incumbent is being tested by Bennet, and the result will depend on how much of the vote is still left to be counted. That is the number to watch next, because it will decide whether this New Jersey U.S. House race settles quickly or stays in flux as the count continues.
