Thomas Kean Jr.

Thomas Howard Kean Jr. (born September 5, 1968) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 7th congressional district since 2023.

Thomas Howard Kean Jr.'s father is Thomas Howard Kean, who served as governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990.

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.

His great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Kean, served in the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War, where he advocated ratification of the United States Constitution and was appointed a member of the commission to audit accounts of the Continental Army by General Washington.

Kean was born in Livingston, New Jersey, one of twin sons of Deborah (née Bye) and Thomas Kean; the couple also had a daughter.

Thomas Jr. grew up on the family's estate in Livingston.

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, but left before completing his Ph.D. in international relations.

At Dartmouth, he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

Kean 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 ran to represent New Jersey's 7th congressional district in 2000 and lost to Mike Ferguson in the Republican primary.

From 2001 to 2003, Kean was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 21st legislative district, which includes parts of Union, Morris, Somerset, and Essex counties.

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.

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

He represented New Jersey's 21st legislative district in the New Jersey Senate from 2003 to 2022, serving as minority leader from 2008 to 2022.

A member of the Republican Party, Kean is the son of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean.

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 his term ended in January 2022.

In March 2003, Kean was appointed to the New Jersey Senate to serve out the unexpired term of Rich Bagger, and won election to that Senate seat in November 2003.

In 2004, he was elected Senate Minority Whip, a position he held until 2007.

He served in the Senate on the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

In the state legislature, Kean was 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 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 2005, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors named Kean a Legislative Leader.

He 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 was named Legislator of the year by the Fireman's Benevolent Association and received a 100% voting rating from the National Federation of Independent Business.

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 ran again in 2020 and became the Republican nominee, but lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski.

In a 2022 rematch, Kean defeated Malinowski.