---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When my father ran for the state…"
description: "\"When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline said, 'Kean's Son to Run for Assembly.' When my grandfather first ran for Congress, it was 'Kea..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg"
---

#  When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline…

![“When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline said, 'Kean's Son to Run for Assembly.' When my grandfather first ran for Congress, it was 'Kean's son to run for Congress.'” quote by Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg)

> “When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline said, 'Kean's Son to Run for Assembly.' When my grandfather first ran for Congress, it was 'Kean's son to run for Congress.'”

[Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A political legacy can be highlighted by media framing, emphasizing family connections over individual merit.

**In simple terms:** Family ties shape political perception.

Key Takeaway

Recognize personal qualifications beyond lineage.

Themes

politics media family legacy

Mood

critical reflective

Type

analytical observational

When to use this quote

- campaigns
- media coverage
- family political dynasties
- voter perception

Key Concepts

branding public perception

Questions to Reflect On

- How does family background affect voter trust?
- Can merit outweigh legacy in elections?

A Different Perspective

Media focus on lineage may obscure policy substance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Congress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Grandfather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandfather/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/)

## Related quotes

> [While I've been asked to run for Congress, I really believe we need to defend freedom locally. And by doing that, by just standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/while-i-ve-been-asked-to-run-for-congress-i-really-believe-we-need-to/)

[Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/)

> [For background, Brand New Congress was created in the summer of 2016 with the goal of recruiting 400 candidates to run for Congress with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saikat-chakrabarti/for-background-brand-new-congress-was-created-in-the-summer-of-2016/)

[Saikat Chakrabarti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saikat-chakrabarti/)

> [Justified or not, the Supreme Court has a kind of sacred status in American life. For whatever reason, Presidents can safely run against Congress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/justified-or-not-the-supreme-court-has-a-kind-of-sacred-status-in/)

[Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/)

> [Why would I want to run for Congress and continue to get tainted with all the things that people get tainted with as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/why-would-i-want-to-run-for-congress-and-continue-to-get-tainted-with/)

[Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/)

> [I first decided to run for Congress when I was 29 - and became a Representative at the age of 30.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/i-first-decided-to-run-for-congress-when-i-was-29-and-became-a/)

[Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/)

> [When I worked in a medical practice, our practice provided the insurance. When I retired the next day to run for public office to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-roe/when-i-worked-in-a-medical-practice-our-practice-provided-the/)

[Phil Roe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-roe/)

> [When I decided to run for Congress, I saw it as an opportunity to serve the South Jersey community that had become my home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-runyan/when-i-decided-to-run-for-congress-i-saw-it-as-an-opportunity-to/)

[Jon Runyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-runyan/)

> [“Handcuffs barely wrap around the girth of my penis. I should run for Congress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/handcuffs-barely-wrap-around-the-girth-of-my-penis-i-should-run-for/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [When I was 27, having never run for office before, I decided to run for Congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/when-i-was-27-having-never-run-for-office-before-i-decided-to-run-for/)

[Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/)

> [“A man’s principles are his own. Man starts flip-flopping on what he believes based on outside influences and he may as well run for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-zep/a-man-s-principles-are-his-own-man-starts-flip-flopping-on-what-he/)

J.J. Zep

> [I decided to run for Congress to get and keep people in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-krishnamoorthi/i-decided-to-run-for-congress-to-get-and-keep-people-in-the-middle/)

[Raja Krishnamoorthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-krishnamoorthi/)

> [I decided to run for Congress because when I was approached as a community leader, I felt that one of the things that spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacky-rosen/i-decided-to-run-for-congress-because-when-i-was-approached-as-a/)

[Jacky Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacky-rosen/)

> [I was in the Minnesota state Senate from 2000 until 2006. In 2006, I was urged to run for Congress, I did. And I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-was-in-the-minnesota-state-senate-from-2000-until-2006-in-2006-i/)

[Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/)

> [The Tea Party movement went off on a more extreme agenda that I did not support at all, and was very frustrated by it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-murphy/the-tea-party-movement-went-off-on-a-more-extreme-agenda-that-i-did/)

[Patrick Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-murphy/)

> [“I bowl like I masturbate: with two hands. I should run for Congress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-bowl-like-i-masturbate-with-two-hands-i-should-run-for-congress/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

## More by Thomas Kean, Jr

> [Campaign finance and ethics reform only works if it curtails all special interest groups equally and does not carve out any exceptions to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/campaign-finance-and-ethics-reform-only-works-if-it-curtails-all/)

[Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

> [I always knew that I would give back. My mother and my father both believe you have to work hard and give back. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/i-always-knew-that-i-would-give-back-my-mother-and-my-father-both/)

[Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

> [We owe every student in every neighborhood in New Jersey an equal opportunity to succeed. We know that more money, alone, is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/we-owe-every-student-in-every-neighborhood-in-new-jersey-an-equal/)

[Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

> [My opponents will do anything they can to distract from their own flawed candidate. Bob Menendez is under federal criminal investigation. As far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/my-opponents-will-do-anything-they-can-to-distract-from-their-own/)

[Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

[Explore all 5 Thomas Kean, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/)

## More Assembly quotes

> [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [ Mac \[Barnett\] and I prank each other during our presentation. We show baby pictures of each other looking completely ridiculous. I can't believe the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/mac-barnett-and-i-prank-each-other-during-our-presentation-we-show/)

[Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/)

> [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Yet if anyone cares to read over the now crumbling minutes giving an account of the meetings at which the Italian Fasci di Combattimento…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/yet-if-anyone-cares-to-read-over-the-now-crumbling-minutes-giving-an/)

[Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/)

> [To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-that-world-assembly-of-sovereign-states-the-united-nations-our/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/liberalism-is-a-creation-of-the-seventeenth-century-fathered-by/)

[Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/)

> [Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how." Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-i-m-not-dancing-will-said-through-gritted-teeth-i-don-t-know-how/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [I was a star campaigner for the Aruvikkara byelection and the assembly elections. They were very valuable experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-a-star-campaigner-for-the-aruvikkara-byelection-and-the/)

[Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/)

> [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assembly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-wait-for-a-perfect-church-you-must-wait-until-you-get-to/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/no-harm-will-come-to-me-the-assembly-is-prepared-to-treat-us-leniently/)

[Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/)

> [Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled 'Peaceful resolution of the Palestine conflict.' Every year, the vote is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/every-year-the-united-nations-general-assembly-votes-on-a-resolution/)

[Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/)

Browse all 409 Assembly quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline said, 'Kean's Son to Run for Assembly.' When my grandfather first ran for Congress, it was 'Kean's son to run for Congress.'",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Kean, Jr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembly-the-headline-said-kean-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assembly"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembly-the-headline-said-kean-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/thomas-kean-jr-63680_assembly_when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembl_2107978.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When my father ran for the state Assembly, the headline said, 'Kean's Son to Run for Assembly.' When my…” — Thomas Kean, Jr",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas Kean, Jr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When my father ran for the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembly-the-headline-said-kean-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/when-my-father-ran-for-the-state-assembly-the-headline-said-kean-s/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
