Kean for Veep?

One of the few white faces to be seen in the predominantly black central ward of Newark, New Jersey, during the last ten years was that of Republican Governor Tom Kean. In 1985, Kean went there seeking votes. He talked about getting people off welfare and into jobs, he talked about putting repeat offenders behind bars, and he talked about improving the city’s failed schools. When the ballots were counted that November, Tom Kean wound up with 60 per cent of the black vote.

It’s performances like these that have set off a Kean-for-Veep boomlet in 1988. With the race for the GOP nomination all but over, Governor Kean’s name has begun to pop up prominently on short lists of possible GOP running-mates. And why not? Kean is the head of a large—and largely Democratic—Northeastern industrial state that is experiencing an economic boom. He has the ear of several prominent conservatives, including George Will. And, unlike most Republican politicians, Kean has the support of the black community—even Coretta Scott King endorsed him in his last race.

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Henry Klingeman

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Presidential Election

One of the few white faces to be seen in the predominantly black central ward of Newark, New Jersey, during the last ten years was that of Republican Governor Tom Kean. In 1985, Kean went there seeking votes. He talked about getting people off welfare and into jobs, he talked about putting repeat offenders behind bars, and he talked about improving the city’s failed schools. When the ballots were counted that November, Tom Kean wound up with 60 per cent of the black vote.

It’s performances like these that have set off a Kean-for-Veep boomlet in 1988. With the race for the GOP nomination all but over, Governor Kean’s name has begun to pop up prominently on short lists of possible GOP running-mates. And why not? Kean is the head of a large—and largely Democratic—Northeastern industrial state that is experiencing an economic boom. He has the ear of several prominent conservatives, including George Will. And, unlike most Republican politicians, Kean has the support of the black community—even Coretta Scott King endorsed him in his last race.