Thomas Kean Jr.

Thomas Howard Kean Jr. (/ˈkn/;[1] born September 5, 1968) is an American Republican politician currently serving as Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate. From 2001 until 2003, he was a New Jersey General Assemblyman, and represented the 21st Legislative District, which includes parts of Union, Morris, Somerset, and Essex Counties. In 2003, he was elected a New Jersey state senator representing the same district, and in January 2008 became Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate.

Tom Kean
Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate
Assumed office
January 8, 2008
Preceded byLeonard Lance
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 21st district
Assumed office
March 1, 2003
Preceded byRich Bagger
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
April 19, 2001  March 1, 2003
Preceded byAlan Augustine
Succeeded byJon Bramnick
Constituency22nd district (2001–02)
21st district (2002–03)
Personal details
Born
Thomas Howard Kean Jr.

(1968-09-05) September 5, 1968
Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Rhonda Kean
Children2
RelativesThomas Kean (father)
ResidenceWestfield, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Tufts University (MA)
WebsiteOfficial website
Legislative website

After Governor Chris Christie was reelected in 2013, Christie attempted to remove Kean as Minority Leader, but ultimately failed.[2] Kean was frequently mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for governor in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election, but did not seek the nomination.[3] Kean won the Republican primary for New Jersey's 7th congressional district in 2020, but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in the general election.

Early life

Kean was born in Livingston, New Jersey, the son of Deborah (née Bye)[4] and Thomas Kean, a former governor of New Jersey. He grew up on the family's estate in Livingston.[5] His grandfather is Robert Kean, a former congressman from New Jersey. His great-grandfather, Hamilton Fish Kean, and great-great-uncle, John Kean, were both United States Senators. His grandmother's family are descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch colonial Governor of New Amsterdam (now known as New York). His great-grandmother, Katharine Winthrop, was a direct descendant of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is also a direct descendant of Thomas Dudley, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a signer of Harvard College's charter. His second great-great-uncle was Hamilton Fish, a United States Senator, Governor of New York, and U.S. Secretary of State. He is also a relative of William Livingston, the first governor of New Jersey.[6]

Kean is a graduate of the Pingry School and Dartmouth College and holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he completed doctoral studies ABD in international relations.[7] At Dartmouth, he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. [8] He was an aide to former Congressman Bob Franks and a special assistant at the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the George H. W. Bush administration. He has also been a volunteer firefighter and a volunteer emergency medical technician. Presently, Kean resides in Westfield, New Jersey with his wife, Rhonda, and their two daughters.[9]

Campaigns for U.S. House and Senate

2000

Kean sought the Republican nomination for New Jersey's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, but lost the Republican primary to Mike Ferguson by about 4,000 votes, finishing second in a field of four candidates.[10]

2006

Kean was the Republican nominee running for the United States Senate seat vacated by former U.S. Senator and former Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine, a seat now filled by Corzine's designated replacement, Bob Menendez. Kean was the winner of the June 6, 2006, primary against conservative John P. Ginty, by a 3–1 margin.[11] He lost the general election to Menendez by a margin of 53.3% to 44.3%. The New Jersey Senate race was the narrowest victory for an incumbent Democrat in the United States in an election that saw Democrats retake control of the Senate as part of a nationwide backlash against the Bush administration.[12] Kean was endorsed by The Courier-Post, The Press of Atlantic City, and Asbury Park Press.

2020

On April 16, 2019, Kean announced that he was running for New Jersey's 7th congressional district in 2020, challenging first-term Democratic incumbent Tom Malinowski.[13] In the first quarter of 2019 Kean nearly matched Malinowski's fundraising total of over $500,000.[14] In August 2019, Kean received an endorsement from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.[15] Kean narrowly lost to Malinowski in the general election. It was the closest House race in New Jersey and one of the closest in the country; due to the close margin and slow counting of mail-in and provisional ballots, the outcome remained in doubt until nearly two weeks after the election.[16] He can challenge Malinowski again in 2022 after the congressional lines are redrawn using the results of the 2020 Census; Kean might still reside within the district.[17]

New Jersey Assembly

Kean was appointed to the General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, in April 2001, to fill out the unexpired term of Alan Augustine, who had resigned on March 21, 2001, due to health reasons. He was elected to a full term in the Assembly in November 2001.[18] In the Assembly, he was the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and served as vice chairman for the State Government Committee.

New Jersey Senate

2022 election

On January 11, 2021, Democrat Joseph Signorello, the mayor of Roselle Park, announced he would challenge Kean in the June 8, 2021 primary for Kean's senate seat.[19]

Tenure

Kean with Kyrie Irving in 2010

In March 2003, he was appointed to the New Jersey Senate to fill out the unexpired term of Rich Bagger, and won election to that Senate seat in November 2003. In 2004, Kean was elected Senate Minority Whip, a position he held until 2007. He serves in the Senate on the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.[7] In the state legislature, Kean has been a proponent of ethics reform in New Jersey government. He was the original sponsor of legislation banning pay to play practices in New Jersey. He has sponsored legislation to streamline government, promote education, protect the environment, and lower property taxes. Kean was one of 24 elected officials chosen as an Aspen Rodel Fellow in Public Service.

In 2002, Kean was named one of 40 state leaders from the entire nation to be recognized as a Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments for high achievement and service to state government.

In 2005, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors named Kean as a Legislative Leader. He has also received, for the second year in a row, the Amerigroup Foundation's Champion for Children award for his advocacy on behalf of children's health issues. He also has been named Legislator of the year by the Fireman's Benevolent Association and has received a 100% voting record with the National Federation of Independent Business.[20]

Kean was one of six Republicans in the state senate to vote for a 2019 appropriations bill which passed 31 to 6.[21]

Committees

  • Commerce
  • Higher Education
  • Legislative Oversight
  • Legislative Services Commission

District 21

The representatives to the New Jersey Legislature for the 21st District for the 218th Legislature are:

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2017[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (Incumbent) 37,579 54.7
Democratic Jill Lazare 31,123 45.3
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (Incumbent) 42,423 69.6
Democratic Michael Komondy 18,517 30.4
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (Incumbent) 27,750 67.5
Democratic Paul Swanicke 13,351 32.5
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (Incumbent) 29,795 59.7
Democratic Gina Genovese 20,092 40.3
Republican hold
New Jersey general election, 2003[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (Incumbent) 32,058 67.4 8.8
Democratic Francis D. McIntyre 14,470 30.4 11.0
Green Teresa Migliore-DiMatteo 1,055 2.2 N/A
Total votes 47,583 100.0

New Jersey Assembly

New Jersey general election, 2001[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. 44,223 31.8
Republican Eric Munoz 39,457 28.4
Democratic Tom Jardim 28,499 20.5
Democratic J. Brooke Hern 26,896 19.3
Total votes 139,075 100.0

United States Senate

United States Senate election in New Jersey, 2006[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bob Menendez (inc.) 1,200,843 53.3% +3.1%
Republican Thomas Kean Jr. 997,775 44.3% −2.8%
Libertarian Len Flynn 14,637 0.7% +0.4%
Marijuana Edward Forchion 11,593 0.5%
Independent J.M. Carter 7,918 0.4 +0.2
Independent N. Leonard Smith 6,243 0.3%
Independent Daryl Brooks 5,138 0.2%
Socialist Workers Angela Lariscy 3,433 0.2% +0.1%
Socialist Gregory Pason 2,490 0.1% +0.0%
Majority 203,068 9.0%
Turnout 2,250,070
Democratic hold Swing 3.26%

References

  1. Felzenberg, Alvin S. (2006). Governor Tom Kean. Rutgers University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8135-3799-3. From the time James Kean arrived in South Carolina, the Keans took pains to retain the proper pronunciation of their name, which rhymes with rain rather than with green.
  2. Isherwood, Darryl (8 November 2013). "Democrats continue to savage Kean". NJ.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  3. Lizza, Ryan (14 April 2014). "Crossing Christie". New Yorker. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. Staff. "Weddings; Dorian Drees, Reed Kean", The New York Times, December 10, 2000. Accessed September 5, 2019. "Dorian Drees, a daughter of Susan Drees Sugarman of Palm City, Fla., and the late John M. Drees, was married yesterday to Reed Stuyvesant Kean, a son of Thomas H. Kean, the former governor of New Jersey, and Deborah Bye Kean of Far Hills, N.J."
  5. Chen, David W. "A Kean on the Ballot? What Else Is New?", The New York Times, September 16, 2006. Accessed February 24, 2011. "As he grew up at the family homestead in Livingston, the younger Mr. Kean said he was most impressed with the reception that his father received in the community."
  6. Staff. "10 Things to Know About Tom Kean", The Star-Ledger, April 10, 2015. Accessed November 23, 2016.
  7. Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr. legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 17, 2008.
  8. Chen, David W. (October 23, 2006). "Out to Show He's Not Just an Old Jersey Name (Published 2006)" via NYTimes.com.
  9. Chen, David W. "For Menendez and Kean, a Fierce First Debate", The New York Times, June 26, 2006. Accessed March 7, 2008. "Then, a few minutes later, the most dramatic exchange occurred when Mr. Kean sought to contrast his own background and record in Westfield, a wealthy suburb, with Mr. Menendez's in Hudson County."
  10. "2000 Primary Election Results -- U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  11. Unofficial List - Candidates for US Senate - For June 2006 Primary Election Archived 2006-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, dated June 7, 2006
  12. "CNN.com - Elections 2006". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  13. NJ.com, Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for; NJ.com, Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for (April 16, 2019). "Big-name N.J. Republican Tom Kean Jr. challenges rookie Democrat for seat in Congress". nj.
  14. "Kean raises 500k for House bid". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  15. "House Minority Leader endorses Kean". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  16. "Malinowski defeats Kean in close race". New Jersey Globe. November 18, 2020.
  17. "Will New Jersey see a Kean vs. Malinowski rematch, and other redistricting issues". New Jersey Globe. November 18, 2020.
  18. Bowman, Bill. "Ex-governor's son swims upstream", Asbury Park Press, September 27, 2003. Accessed April 17, 2008. "Kean, who was appointed to the Assembly in March 2001 upon the resignation of the late Alan Augustine, won re-election in 2001. He was appointed to his 21st District Senate seat earlier this year after the resignation of Richard H. Bagger."
  19. "Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello Launches Campaign for State Senate in LD21". Insider NJ. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  20. Senator Tom Kean, Jr., New Jersey Senate Republicans. Accessed November 23, 2016.
  21. "Senate passes budget 31-6". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  22. "Official List Candidates for State Senate For General Election 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  23. "Official List Candidates for State Senate For General Election 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  24. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.
  25. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2012.
  26. "Official List, Candidate Returns for State Senate for November 2003 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  27. "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  28. Official List: Candidates for US Senate For November 2006 General Election Archived 2007-11-26 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Elections, dated December 4, 2006. Accessed September 26, 2007.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Alan Augustine
Member of the New Jersey Assembly
from the 22nd district

2001–2002
Served alongside: Rich Bagger
Succeeded by
Jerry Green
Preceded by
Joel Weingarten
Member of the New Jersey Assembly
from the 21st district

2002–2003
Served alongside: Eric Munoz
Succeeded by
Jon Bramnick
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by
Rich Bagger
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 21st district

2003–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Leonard Lance
Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate
2008–present
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bob Franks
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from New Jersey
(Class 1)

2006
Succeeded by
Joe Kyrillos
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