The slow fade-out of dynastic politics in the U.S. is continuing in 2022. Just in the last few weeks, Nick Begich III was defeated for the Alaska House seat his grandfather once held; his uncle was also a senator from Alaska. And in New York, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, whose grandfather served in the U.S. House, failed to win a House seat.
Yet the most high-profile development this year is the apparent political demise of the Bush family, with Texas Land Commissioner George P. attempting to move up to state attorney general and getting squashed by a better than 2-to-1 margin in the Republican primary. It’s possible that George P. or another 4th-generation Bush will have a robust political future, but given the family’s opposition to former President Donald Trump, that isn’t so likely (George P. Bush himself supported Trump and tried to get his endorsement, but few were surprised when that didn’t happen.)
This follows the 2020 defeat of Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy, in a Massachusetts Senate primary, potentially ending the storied family’s reign in politics. Two years ago, there was a Cuomo as governor of New York and a Cheney in the House leadership. Not anymore. Nancy Pelsoi, whose father was mayor of Baltimore, is still speaker of the House and remains the most prominent legacy politician in the U.S., but she probably won’t hold that position for too much longer.
