Potosnak dropped out of the race in January 2012 to take a position as executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, leaving a momentarily empty field for the Democratic nomination.

By consensus of the panel, the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to trade areas in the two districts to make them safer for their respective incumbents.

Linda Stender won the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Republican primary voters chose State Senator Leonard Lance in a field of eight candidates.

[10][11] In the 2018 election, Tom Malinowski,[12] former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, was considered the front runner among the Democrats challenging Republican incumbent Leonard Lance.

[15][16] Other candidates in the Democratic primary included lawyer Goutam Jois;[17] and social worker Peter Jacob, who was defeated by Lance in the 2016 election.

[19] Berkeley Heights banking executive Linda Weber[20] and environmental advocate David Pringle[21] withdrew in March 2018.

Challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (R) defeated Raafat Barsoom and Tom Phillips in the Republican party primary receiving 79.4% (45,395) of the vote.

[23] Incumbent Tom Malinowski (D) defeated challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (R) in the general election by 1.2 percentage points for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District on November 3, 2020.