Many of these families have moved to national prominence from a state or regional power base. The Kennedys, for example, are particularly associated with Massachusetts; the Long family is identified with Louisiana, the Lees with Virginia, and the Tafts with Ohio. Other political families are less connected with a specific state; the Bush family began in Connecticut, but is now more closely identified with Texas, and a member of the family is the governor of Florida. Kennedy family member Maria Shriver's husband Arnold Schwarzenegger is now governor of California.
See also Political families of the world.
Here are some of the more notable families visible on a national level:
Two members of the Bush family have served as President of the United States and a number of Bush family members have served in other high offices:
Two members of the Daley family served as Mayor of Chicago, between them ruling the city for more than a third of a century.
Several members of the Dulles family served in important positions, including:
The du Pont immigrant to the United States, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was deputy of the Third Estate to the Estates-General for the region of Nemours in France. The du Pont political dynasty is based on the family's manufacturing empire in Delaware.
Several members of the Gore family of Tennessee have held important national political offices, including
William Henry Harrison, the 9th President, was grandfather of the 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison. William Henry's father, Benjamin Harrison V, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Some commentators in the early 1960s made predictions that President John F. Kennedy would be first of a dynasty in the White House, but these predictions were not borne out, and the idea largely dropped off the public's radar after Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 and Edward Kennedy was involved in a drunk-driving incident (in which a passenger in his car was killed) in 1969. However, a number of Kennedy family members have held high office since then.
The Lees of Virginia have produced many prominent national figures, including:
The Longs of Louisiana have produced a number of important political leaders, including:
The Stevensons of Illinois have produced a number of important political figures:
The Tafts of Ohio have produced a number of leaders on the national stage, including:
Families
The Adamses
Main article: Adams family
The Browns
Main article: Brown family
The Bushes
Main article: Bush familyThe Churches and Clarks
The Clintons
The Daleys
Main article: Daley familyThe Dulleses
Main article: Dulles familyThe du Ponts
Main ariticle: du Pont familyThe Gores
Main article: Gore family
There is also a tenuous connection between the Gore family and the Kennedy family. Thomas Gore's daughter, Nina (mother of author Gore Vidal) married Hugh Auchincloss, the stepfather of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy. Gore Vidal is also a distant cousin of Jimmy Carter.The Harrisons
Main article: Harrison familyThe Johnsons
The Kennedys
Main article: Kennedy family
The Kennedys have also made marriages with political figures:
The Lees
Main article: Lee familyThe Longs
Main article: Long familyThe Rockefellers
Main article: Rockefeller familyThe Roosevelts
Main article: Roosevelt familyThe Stevensons
Main article: Stevenson familyThe Tafts
Main article: Taft familyExternal references
The Bushes
Leading Political families