I don't think Appropriations is as salient here as it is in the Midwest or South. This is not a district where people really care about the federal government providing their livelihood.
(I have close family in affluent bits of NJ-7 who formerly lived in similar parts of NJ-11).
I would agree that Appropriations isn't that big of a deal in the district, the tax bill on the other hand is. The GOP does have a high floor in the district and it will be a close race, but there are enough of swing and typically Republican leaning (but not hyper GOP) middle to upper middle class voters in which the tax bill will have a big impact.
