List of United States political families

Three brothers from the Kennedy political family: John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy, pictured together in July 1960.

Many families in the United States have produced multiple generations of politicians who have had a significant influence on government and public policy in their communities, states, and nationally.

Geographic distribution

Many of these families moved to national prominence from a single state or region, for example: the Huntingtons of Connecticut, the Longs of Louisiana, the Harrisons and Lees of Virginia, the Roosevelts of New York, the Daleys and the Stevensons of Illinois, the Muhlenbergs of Pennsylvania, the Tafts of Ohio, the Frelinghuysens of New Jersey, the Lodges of Massachusetts and the DuPonts of Delaware.

The Adams family come prominently from Massachusetts and is one of the main political dynasties in United States history. It includes two presidents (the second and the sixth), a Secretary of the Navy, the ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Civil War and multiple other high profile functions.

Other families are or have been politically involved in multiple states. The Bush family includes two presidents (one a former Vice President, the other a former governor of Texas), a senator from Connecticut, and a governor of Florida.

The Kennedy family included a president, an attorney general, and a senator from Massachusetts in one generation. Other members have been elected to public office in New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, and California.

Bill Clinton served as governor of Arkansas before being elected the 42nd president; his wife, Hillary Clinton, was elected as a senator from New York before serving as secretary of State.

Members of the Rockefeller family have been elected to public office in New York, West Virginia and Arkansas.

The Udall family first became prominent in Arizona, but three cousins from the most recent generation simultaneously served in the U.S. Senate from Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon.

Partisan leanings

In 2000, Newsweek magazine observed that there as many, if not more, Democratic political families as there were Republican "dynasties".[1]

Alphabetical list

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Family Business". Newsweek. Vol. 136, no. 8. August 21, 2000. p. 52. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via EBSCOHost.