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'''Thomas Howard Kean, Jr.''' (born September 5, 1968), known as '''Tom Kean, Jr.''', is a moderate conservative Republican from [[New Jersey]] who currently serves as the Minority Leader of the upper state legislature, a position he has held since 2008. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the [[2020 U.S. House elections]] from New Jersey's 7th district, narrowly losing to [[Democrat]] [[Tom Malinowski]].
Kean is the son of Thomas Howard "Tom" Kean, Sr., a [[Moderate Republican]]<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism>Friedman, Matt (April 16, 2019). [https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2019/04/16/tom-kean-jr-targets-socialism-in-congressional-campaign-kickoff-974090 Tom Kean Jr. targets socialism in congressional campaign kickoff]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> who was the Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. The elder Kean said of his son:
{{cquote|He's got quiet courage, he’s got decency, he's got imagination, he's got drive, he's got the kind of qualities that you would put together if you want to make an ideal congressman.|||Thomas Kean, Sr.}}
==Political career==
===Bid for Congress, 2020===
In mid-April 2019, Kean announced his run for U.S. House from New Jersey's 7th congressional district against Tom Malinowski, who ousted Moderate Republican [[Leonard Lance]] and flipped the seat for the Democratic Party in the [[2018 midterms]].<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/> Kean stated at an American Legion Hall in Union County:
{{cquote|Inequality must be addressed. This will require new laws, not the abandonment of the America principles that we value. We simply cannot sit by as DC politicians advocate for the false policies that history has discarded.|||Kean, 2019}}
During the campaign, Kean, who studied the failure of socialism abroad at Eastern Europe in 1988, railed against radical measures pushed by [[progressives]] in Congress such as the [[Green New Deal]].<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/> Kean also attempted to tie Malinowski to congressional far-leftists despite the fact that the Democrat congressman escaped a socialist dictatorship in his youth.
The Democrat establishment tried to tie Kean to Trump and [[Chris Christie]] with the aim of weakening his support among suburban voters who shifted away from the GOP in the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 presidential election]], to which Kean responded:<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/>
{{cquote|Let me be clear about who I am and what I represent: I am a Tom Kean Republican.|||Kean, 2019}}
==Political views==
Although most of Kean's political positions appear to be orthodox party stances, his credentials are questionable due to having flip-flopped. Despite voting against [[same-sex "marriage"]] in 2010, he flip-flopped a decade later,<ref>Wildstein, Daniel (June 30, 2020). [https://newjerseyglobe.com/campaigns/kean-says-he-regrets-2010-vote-against-gay-marriage/ Kean says he regrets 2010 vote against gay marriage]. ''New Jersey Globe''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> likely in an attempt to appease increasingly liberal voters in his district.
Little is known of Kean's position on [[abortion]]; according to [[On the Issues]], he has expressed opposition towards a litmus test for [[United States Supreme Court]] justices on the issue in a debate with [[Robert Menendez]] in 2006.<ref>[https://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Thomas_Kean_Jr__Abortion.htm Thomas Kean Jr. on Abortion]. ''On the Issues''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> Kean has also supported [[embryonic stem cell research]], a stance he heavily touted.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kean, Thomas Howard, Jr.}}
[[Category:New Jersey]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Moderate Republicans]]
Kean is the son of Thomas Howard "Tom" Kean, Sr., a [[Moderate Republican]]<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism>Friedman, Matt (April 16, 2019). [https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2019/04/16/tom-kean-jr-targets-socialism-in-congressional-campaign-kickoff-974090 Tom Kean Jr. targets socialism in congressional campaign kickoff]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> who was the Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. The elder Kean said of his son:
{{cquote|He's got quiet courage, he’s got decency, he's got imagination, he's got drive, he's got the kind of qualities that you would put together if you want to make an ideal congressman.|||Thomas Kean, Sr.}}
==Political career==
===Bid for Congress, 2020===
In mid-April 2019, Kean announced his run for U.S. House from New Jersey's 7th congressional district against Tom Malinowski, who ousted Moderate Republican [[Leonard Lance]] and flipped the seat for the Democratic Party in the [[2018 midterms]].<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/> Kean stated at an American Legion Hall in Union County:
{{cquote|Inequality must be addressed. This will require new laws, not the abandonment of the America principles that we value. We simply cannot sit by as DC politicians advocate for the false policies that history has discarded.|||Kean, 2019}}
During the campaign, Kean, who studied the failure of socialism abroad at Eastern Europe in 1988, railed against radical measures pushed by [[progressives]] in Congress such as the [[Green New Deal]].<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/> Kean also attempted to tie Malinowski to congressional far-leftists despite the fact that the Democrat congressman escaped a socialist dictatorship in his youth.
The Democrat establishment tried to tie Kean to Trump and [[Chris Christie]] with the aim of weakening his support among suburban voters who shifted away from the GOP in the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 presidential election]], to which Kean responded:<ref name=tomkeantargetssocialism/>
{{cquote|Let me be clear about who I am and what I represent: I am a Tom Kean Republican.|||Kean, 2019}}
==Political views==
Although most of Kean's political positions appear to be orthodox party stances, his credentials are questionable due to having flip-flopped. Despite voting against [[same-sex "marriage"]] in 2010, he flip-flopped a decade later,<ref>Wildstein, Daniel (June 30, 2020). [https://newjerseyglobe.com/campaigns/kean-says-he-regrets-2010-vote-against-gay-marriage/ Kean says he regrets 2010 vote against gay marriage]. ''New Jersey Globe''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> likely in an attempt to appease increasingly liberal voters in his district.
Little is known of Kean's position on [[abortion]]; according to [[On the Issues]], he has expressed opposition towards a litmus test for [[United States Supreme Court]] justices on the issue in a debate with [[Robert Menendez]] in 2006.<ref>[https://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Thomas_Kean_Jr__Abortion.htm Thomas Kean Jr. on Abortion]. ''On the Issues''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref> Kean has also supported [[embryonic stem cell research]], a stance he heavily touted.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kean, Thomas Howard, Jr.}}
[[Category:New Jersey]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Moderate Republicans]]