Robert Kean

Robert Winthrop Kean (September 28, 1893 – September 21, 1980) was an American Republican Party politician from the state of New Jersey. Kean represented parts of Essex County, New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 to 1959. He retired from the House to run for United States Senate in 1958, but was defeated by Harrison A. Williams.

Kean was known for his expertise in the areas of taxation and Social Security. A member of the prestigious Kean family, Kean was the son of a U.S. senator (Hamilton Fish Kean) and the father of a governor of New Jersey (Thomas Kean).

Early life, education, and military service Kean was born September 28, 1893, in Elberon, New Jersey. His father, Hamilton F. Kean (1862–1941), was a United States Senator from New Jersey.

Kean became involved in politics at a young age. In 1905, his uncle assisted in having him appointed as a U.S. Senate page so he could observe the Inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt. Kean attended the 1912 Republican National Convention, where he was escorted by his uncle's secretary, Donald H. McLean, with whom he would later serve in Congress. Young Kean was a Roosevelt supporter, although his uncle and father had publicly endorsed the incumbent President, William Howard Taft. He served under the command of General John J. Pershing.

Career After World War I, Kean worked in investment banking in New Jersey and New York City, heading a firm known as Kean, Taylor & Company. He was a founder of the Livingston National Bank. Republicans had held the seat from 1914 until 1936, when Democrat Frank W. Towey, Jr. won it on the coattails of President Franklin Roosevelt's re-election. The seat was viewed as likely to return Republican, and six Republicans sought the nomination in the September 20 primary. Kean won by a narrow 713 vote margin, 13,923 to 13,210 over Montclair Town Commissioner Dallas S. Townsend. Kean was endorsed by the "Clean Government" faction of the Essex GOP, while Townsend had the backing of the "Suburban Republican" faction. In the General Election, Kean defeated Towey by 12,118 votes, 48,854 (55%) to 36,736 (41%).

Kean was re-elected in 1940 (54%), 1942 (61%), 1944 (51%), 1946 (64%), 1948 (51%), 1950 (53%), 1952 (55%), 1954 (53%), and 1956 (60%). He was not a candidate for re-election to an 11th term in 1958

During his 20 years as a Congressman, Kean was the Ranking Minority Member of the House Ways and Means Committee and served on the House Banking and Currency Committee. He was considered an expert on Social Security and tax law, and was sometimes referred to as "Mr. Social Security" in Washington, D.C. Kean voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

U.S. Senate ambitions Kean considered running for United States Senate in 1954. By early 1954, New Jersey Republican leaders had decided to withdraw party support for the incumbent senator, Robert C. Hendrickson. Kean had secured commitments of endorsements from several key GOP leaders, but he declined to announce his own campaign until Hendrickson declared his intentions publicly. Hendrickson waited until the day before the filing deadline to say he was retiring, and Kean did not run.

1958 U.S. Senate campaign U.S. Senator H. Alexander Smith decided not to seek re-election in 1958, and Kean became a candidate for the open seat in the United States Senate. He won the Republican primary by 23,894 votes over Bernard M. Shanley, who had served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Dwight Eisenhower. Kean received 152,884 votes (43.00%) to Shanley's 128,990 (36.28%). Robert J. Morris, who had served as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security, finished third with 73,658 votes (20.72%).

Kean had a difficult time as a party leader. Democrats performed well in the 1959 and 1961 elections. Kean backed Bergen County State Senator Walter H. Jones, the losing candidate in the 1961 Republican gubernatorial primary. A Kean rival, former U.S. Attorney William F. Tompkins, challenged Kean for re-election in 1961 after Tompkins' candidate, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, James P. Mitchell, won the gubernatorial nomination. Kean defeated Tompkins, 409 to 268.

Kean stepped down as county chairman in 1962.

Personal life and death Kean married Elizabeth Stuyvesant Howard on October 18, 1920, in New York City. Following the death of his uncle, Alexander Kean, in 1922, Kean inherited an estate and mansion in Livingston, New Jersey, where they moved in 1924.

Kean's son, Thomas Kean, served as speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, as governor of New Jersey, and as chairman of the 9/11 Commission following the September 11 attacks.

Kean's grandchildren include politician Thomas Kean Jr. and author Leslie Kean.

Kean died in Livingston on September 21, 1980, aged 86, at Saint Barnabas Medical Center following a heart attack.

Honors Kean University is named in honor of Robert Kean and the Kean family, and its Liberty Hall Campus houses the historic property and home of the Kean family.

Electoral history General elections

Office Year Republican Votes Democrat Votes U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Robert W. Kean 48,854 Frank W. Towey, Jr. (Incumbent) 36,736 U.S. House of Representatives 1940 Robert W. Kean 67,996 Thomas J. Holleran 53,677 U.S. House of Representatives 1942 Robert W. Kean 43,942 Joseph Siegler 26,188 U.S. House of Representatives 1944 Robert W. Kean 67,680 John W. Suling 63,087 U.S. House of Representatives1946 Robert W. Kean 55,732 Raymond C. Connell 30,389 U.S. House of Representatives 1948 Robert W. Kean 63,232 Harry Dudkin 58,495 U.S. House of Representatives 1950 Robert W. Kean 54,123 Harry Dudkin 45,525 U.S. House of Representatives 1952 Robert W. Kean 84,949 Martin S. Fox 70,046 U.S. House of Representatives 1954 Robert W. Kean 59,151 Martin S. Fox 52,314 U.S. House of Representatives 1956 Robert W. Kean 90,032 Irving L. Hodes 58,364 United States Senate 1958 Robert W. Kean 882,287 Harrison A. Williams 966,832

Primary elections

Office Year Republican Votes U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Robert W. Kean 13,923 U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Dallas S. Townsend 13,210 U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Harold W. Phillhower 2,161 U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Maurice J. McKeown 777 U.S. House of Representatives 1938 A. Frank Zega 442 U.S. House of Representatives 1938 Clarence A. Seaman 431 United States Senate 1958 Robert W. Kean 152,884 United States Senate 1958 Bernard M. Shanley 128,990 United States Senate 1958 Robert J. Morris 73,658