Rebecca Bennett, who is running against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey's 7th congressional district, is making an issue out her Republican opponent's stock transactions. 

During Kean's extended absence, which he revealed was the result of being hospitalized for depression, he submitted four periodic transaction reports, as required by law, Politico reported. 

Lawmakers' potential to use insider information to enrich themselves through the stock market has become a concern for voters ahead of the midterms, and Kean's stock transactions give the Democrats a means to highlight his absence without looking insensitive to the mental health issue that caused it. 

Kean told Politico that he's delegated all authority for stock transactions to his financial advisors and only learns of decisions they've made when he needs to sign transactions reports. He said any suggestion that he's acting on insider information is "peddling false, debunked information." 

His challenger doesn't see it that way. Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, said Kean should be held accountable for the trades made by his financial advisors with his authorization, especially those made while he was absent from Congress. 

“At the end of the day, it’s his signature on the form,” she said. 

Bennett said neither she nor her husband own stocks, having shifted all of their investments into index and mutual funds last year.