Tom Kean, Jr.

Thomas Howard Kean Jr. ( ; born September 5, 1968) is an American Republican politician and the U.S. representative-elect from New Jersey's 7th congressional district. From 2001 until 2003, he was a New Jersey General Assemblyman, representing 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 he became minority leader of the New Jersey Senate, serving in the position until retiring from the Senate in 2022.

After Governor Chris Christie was reelected in 2013, Christie tried and failed to remove Kean as minority leader. Kean was frequently mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for governor in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election, but did not seek the nomination. He was the Republican nominee for New Jersey's 7th congressional district in 2020, narrowly losing to incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in the general election. He was the Republican nominee for the 7th district again in 2022, defeating Malinowski in a rematch.

Early life

Kean was born in Livingston, one of twin sons of Deborah (née Bye) and Thomas Kean, who went on to be twice elected governor of New Jersey, serving from 1982 to 1990; the couple also had a daughter. Thomas Jr. grew up on the family's estate in Livingston. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Kean graduated from the Pingry School in Basking Ridge. He is also a graduate of 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. At Dartmouth, he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. 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. Kean resides in Westfield, with his wife, Rhonda, and their two daughters.

New Jersey Assembly

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

New Jersey Senate

Tenure

In March 2003, Kean was appointed to the New Jersey Senate to serve out the unexpired term of Rich Bagger

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