{"id":368699,"date":"2026-08-11T20:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368699\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T20:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:22:13","slug":"how-carrie-meeks-grandson-is-campaigning-to-win-her-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368699\/","title":{"rendered":"How Carrie Meek\u2019s grandson is campaigning to win her seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kendrick<\/p>\n

Kendrick Meek Jr., the grandson of late Congresswoman Carrie Meek and son of former Congressman Kendrick Meek, is campaigning in the Democratic primary for Florida\u2019s 24th Congressional District.<\/p>\n

Pedro Portal<\/p>\n

pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

When Congresswoman Carrie Meek suddenly called it quits nearly a quarter century ago, she did everything in her power, including announcing her retirement at the last minute, to put her son on a glide path to succeed her in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s calling in all her chits, she\u2019s calling all her friends for the campaign,\u201d Kendrick Meek said en route to a 2002 campaign he won automatically when only a write-in candidate ran against him.<\/p>\n

And now that the job is open once again \u2014 with retiring U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson declaring \u201cthis is Carrie Meek\u2019s seat<\/a>\u201d on her way out the door \u2014 Kendrick Meek is putting all his weight into electing Kendrick Meek.<\/p>\n

Kendrick Meek Jr., that is.<\/p>\n

To win what may be the most competitive Democratic primary race in South Florida, the Meek dynasty is pulling out all the stops to elect the 29-year-old scion<\/a>, who unlike his father must cut through a crowded field of established candidates if he wants to continue the family\u2019s legacy in D.C..<\/p>\n

Meek Jr. \u2014 who appears on the ballot without the suffix \u2014 launched his campaign from his late grandmother\u2019s old home in central Miami-Dade, with her portrait looking over his shoulder. He features her prominently in his campaign material and is leaning on his father\u2019s counsel and connections. He is using his father\u2019s one-time press aide<\/a> \u2014 the former deputy chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi \u2014 to wrangle the media, and has benefitted from political ads tied to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which his father advises.<\/p>\n

\"View Kendrick Meek Jr.’s campaign bus includes his image, as well as his father\u2019s and his late grandmother\u2019s. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Neither Meek is bashful about the family effort. Quite the opposite. It\u2019s part of their pitch, with the son saying he\u2019d lean on his 59-year-old father to help him in Washington if elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an incredible resource,\u201d said Meek Jr., \u201cand it would be unwise for anybody not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Meek Sr.: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to, not only as a father but as a person of goodwill in our community, the opportunity \u2014 if he\u2019s fortunate enough to be elected \u2014 to work with him and to utilize my relationships as I\u2019m utilizing my relationships in this campaign to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kendrick Kendrick Meek looks on as his son announces his candidacy for Congress at the home where his grandmother lived in central Miami-Dade, on June 12, 2026. Photo by Marra X. Finkelstein mfinkelstein@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Even so, the partnership raises questions about who would wield more power \u2014 the freshman representative or the veteran D.C. lobbyist who raised him \u2014 and opens the door for opponents to cast Meek Jr. as a silver-spoon politician looking to capitalize on his family name.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis relevant experience is his internships and his genes,\u201d said Miami-Dade Commissioner and former Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert, 53, who is polling ahead<\/a> of Meek Jr. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s being cited right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Miami-Dade Miami-Dade Comissioner Oliver Gilbert, III speaks during Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s 2026 budget proposal meeting at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, September 4, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com Building his own legacy<\/p>\n

Kendrick Meek Jr. does not have the same credentials that Meek Sr. boasted in 2002 when he ran as a state senator to succeed his retiring mother. At that point, the elder Meek had spent eight years in the Florida Legislature and served as a captain with the Florida Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n

But the younger Meek isn\u2019t emerging out of nowhere, either, having interned for congressional committees and the Executive office of the President, according to his LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

That work, and his father\u2019s career, meant more time in the nation\u2019s capitol and less in South Florida, where he was born. \u201cI couldn\u2019t control where I lived when I was a kid,\u201d he said. \u201cWe moved to D.C. and it\u2019s frankly because I wanted to be with my dad when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Meek Jr., who is now residing at his grandmother\u2019s house, eventually moved back home and earned his law degree from the University of Miami. In recent years, he was a legal assistant with the Human Rights Campaign and sat on the board for SAVE<\/a>, the LGBTQ advocacy organization.<\/p>\n

\"Kendrick Kendrick Meek Jr. talks with state Rep. Felicia Robinson (left) and Carlota Sullivan during the South Florida HBCU Picnic at the Rolling Oaks Park in Miami Gardens on July 25, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

He most recently worked for LSN Partners as an associate attorney before resigning the six-figure job<\/a> to run for Congress, LSN Managing Partner Alex Heckler confirmed, noting the firm threw a fundraiser for Gilbert early in the campaign.<\/p>\n

Meek Jr., who bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, dismisses talk that his opportunity is inherited and not earned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I hear comments like that, I just kind of brush it off the shoulder,\u201d he told the Herald. \u201cI\u2019m going to hear that when I get to D.C. Kendrick Sr. heard it when he ran the first time. That\u2019s going to happen regardless. But he ultimately became an incredible legislator and built a legacy of his own, and I expect to do the exact same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

An afternoon with the candidate shows that he began doing that long ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has always been dear to us, giving back to the community from a young age. I knew him when he was a young boy,\u201d Sharhonda Ford said after releasing Meek from a warm embrace on a hot July afternoon as the campaign made its way through Rolling Oaks Park in Miami Gardens. \u201cI worked beside his grandmother at my university. I want to see him make a difference in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Johnson, who attends the same church as the Meeks, calls him a \u201cthoroughbred.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that we have people that represent us and know our story and know what\u2019s needed in our community,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s been taught by the generations of what our needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meek, the only Gen Z candidate in the race, is running a progressive platform that focuses on increasing the minimum wage to $17, cracking down on private equity firms purchasing homes, and stricter regulations on Immigration and Customs Enforcement \u2014 and if push comes to shove, abolishing it. His bravado in attacking opponents\u2019 campaign donors has earned him the moniker Meek Mill, likening his attacks to the rapper\u2019s\u2019 spitfire energy fueled from his time as a battle rapper.<\/p>\n

He says the district needs fresh leadership, someone who is not catering to corporate donor dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like politicians will say whatever they think needs to be said just to get elected, but when they get to office they collapse,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to happen in my case, and I want people to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family Connections<\/p>\n

On social media over the weekend, as voters in Miami arrived at early voting centers and mail ballots trickled in, Meek\u2019s campaign posted clips of District 24 residents reminiscing about working with his grandmother, praying for him and promising to vote for him.<\/p>\n

He included a message: \u201cMy opponents say I\u2019m running on my family\u2019s connections. They\u2019re exactly right. I\u2019m running on my connections to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Meek family connections run deep in Miami, and in Washington. No fewer than two dozen sitting members of Congress have endorsed the young scion\u2019s campaign, including political kingmaker Jim Clyburn in South Carolina and former Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford.<\/p>\n

Last month, a virtual fundraiser<\/a> featuring 20 U.S. representatives, including nine who served with Meek Sr., brought in $100,000, spokesperson Drew Hammill told the Herald.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about the future and the next generation of leaders, and I believe that we need young, strong, thoughtful, committed public servants who understand what it means to fight for people,\u201d said Horsford, describing Meek Jr\u2019s candidacy as a change from the status quo.<\/p>\n

\"From From the archives: U.S. Representative Carrie P. Meek and son Kendrick Meek celebrate on election night with his wife Leslie Meek and one-year-old son Kendrick Meek Jr., on Sept. 1, 1998. JON KRAL HERALD STAFF <\/p>\n

Last week, as early voting began, a pro-cryptocurrency political committee called Protect Progress began airing ads on local television attacking Gilbert\u2019s record as a commissioner and his donors. The money trail and paperwork on the committee lead back to Coinbase<\/a>, which two years ago placed Meek Sr. on its Global Advisory Board<\/a> to help advise its executive team.<\/p>\n

A campaign spokesman said neither Meek had anything to do with the ads. Meek Sr.\u2019s role with Coinbase, he said, \u201cis explicitly advisory in a policy capacity,\u201d and the council \u201cis not involved in any decisions concerning political spending or political activity by that or any other entity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Gilbert, the only candidate who boasts Wilson\u2019s endorsement, said the ads look like another example of Meek Sr. calling in favors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of fits with the narrative of his father getting his old clients and his friends and his old buddy congresspersons to actually fund his son\u2019s campaign,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t surprise me because it\u2019s what he\u2019s been doing the whole time, but no one\u2019s actually ever called him on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meek Sr. said all candidates lean on their advantages, including connections in Tallahassee and at County Hall. He said his involvement in his son\u2019s campaign doesn\u2019t mean he is pulling the strings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust his instincts in this process,\u201d he said. \u201cKendrick is being guided by his own intake of information and his experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kendrick Kendrick Meek Jr. (center) talks with former Florida Sen. Oscar Braynon II and his wife Melissa Braynon. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Meek Sr.\u2019s clients in Washington<\/a> have included healthcare companies, Amazon, Bethune-Cookman University, Comcast, Padr\u00f3n Cigars and the city of Miami, according to government documents. He has also been listed as a lobbyist for Honduras Pr\u00f3spera Inc., the Delaware company behind the private start-up city<\/a> on Roat\u00e1n island in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

Meek\u2019s campaign, which initially made the candidate and his father available for interviews for this story, asked that the Herald submit questions about Meek Sr.\u2019s lobbying and their relationship in writing. In a statement, Meek Jr. said that his father will not lobby him if he\u2019s elected to Congress. Nor will the former congressman serve on his staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will maintain a strict and absolute boundary between family relationships and professional public service,\u201d said Meek, who locally has registered to lobby in Miami, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County. \u201cMy policy priorities are driven completely by the everyday working families living in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Raisa Habersham<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Raisa Habersham is the race and culture reporter for the Miami Herald. She previously covered Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale for the Herald with a focus on housing and affordability. Habersham is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She joined the Herald in 2022.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kendrick Meek Jr., the grandson of late Congresswoman Carrie Meek and son of former Congressman Kendrick Meek, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-368699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}