Kevin Hern Bio
Kevin Ray Hern (born December 4, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he has held the seat since 2018 after winning a special election to fill the vacancy left by Jim Bridenstine. Before entering politics, Hern built a business career operating McDonald’s franchises, eventually owning 18 restaurants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, which earned him the nickname “McCongressman.”
Born in Missouri and raised in Arkansas, Hern earned a Bachelor of Science from Arkansas Tech University and later completed an MBA at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. He has also been active in House Republican leadership, including a campaign for Speaker of the House in 2023 and a bid for House Majority Leader the same year.
Early Life and Background
Kevin Ray Hern was born on December 4, 1961, on an Air Force base in western Missouri, in the city of Belton. After his parents separated, Hern moved with his mother, Freda Flansburg, and his younger brother to Pope County, Arkansas, where he spent much of his childhood. He grew up in a household shaped by his mother’s influence and the values of a small-town Southern community.
Hern graduated from Dover High School in 1980 and went on to attend Arkansas Tech University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1986. During this period, he developed an interest in engineering and aerospace, briefly pursuing a PhD in astronautical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He left that program without completing his degree following the Challenger disaster in 1986.
After leaving graduate school, Hern worked for Rockwell International before deciding to shift toward business. He later returned to school and earned an MBA from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, in 1999, completing the degree while already building his franchise career.
Path to US Politics
Hern’s entry into the business world began in 1987, when he moved to Arkansas and went to work for McDonald’s. Within a few years, he had risen to operations manager for several franchises in the Little Rock area. In January 1997, he purchased his first McDonald’s restaurant in North Little Rock, and two years later he sold that franchise to relocate to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he acquired two more locations.
Over the following two decades, Hern expanded his restaurant holdings to 18 McDonald’s franchises across the Tulsa metropolitan area, becoming one of the most prominent franchise owners in the region. In 2018, during his first campaign for public office, the local news outlet The Frontier coined the nickname “McCongressman” for Hern, a label that was later adopted by national media. He sold his last McDonald’s franchise in 2021.
Hern’s decision to run for Congress came in 2018, after U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine resigned from Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district to become Administrator of NASA. Hern saw an opening to bring his business experience to Washington and entered the race as a Republican candidate focused on economic growth and limited government.
Kevin Hern Career
Early Career (1986–2017)
After completing his undergraduate degree at Arkansas Tech University in 1986, Hern worked in the defense and aerospace industry at Rockwell International. He then transitioned into the fast-food industry, joining McDonald’s in 1987 and steadily advancing through the company’s operations ranks in Arkansas. His early career was defined by a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn every level of the business.
By the mid-1990s, Hern had saved enough to purchase his own franchise, and by the 2000s he had become a major McDonald’s operator in Oklahoma. In addition to his restaurant holdings, he started a number of other business enterprises in Oklahoma, including a hog farm, a community bank, and several high-school sports publications. By 2019, he owned a company that manufactured decor and furniture for some of the largest U.S. fast-food restaurant chains.
U.S. House of Representatives Breakthrough (2018–2020)
Hern launched his first campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, running to succeed Jim Bridenstine in Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district. He advanced to a primary runoff, where he defeated Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris, and then went on to win the general election against Democratic nominee Tim Gilpin. Governor Mary Fallin appointed Hern to serve the remainder of Bridenstine’s term, and he was sworn into office on November 13, 2018.
In December 2020, Hern was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution. He was also among 147 congressional Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results.
Hern won re-election in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Kojo Asamoa-Caesar and Independent Evelyn L. Rogers in the November general election. His early tenure established him as a reliable conservative voice on economic and regulatory issues.
House Leadership Era (2021–Present)
In 2022, Hern was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package aimed at cracking down on anti-competitive corporate behavior. The following year, he was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days. He was also among 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
Hern became chair of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative House Republicans, in 2023. During the January 2023 Speaker of the House election, he was nominated as a protest candidate against Kevin McCarthy, receiving votes on multiple ballots. After McCarthy was removed by a motion to vacate in October 2023, Hern announced his candidacy for Speaker but suspended his campaign three days later, citing concerns that a three-way race was not in the party’s interest.
He then announced a bid for House Majority Leader, vacated by Steve Scalise, but suspended that campaign and endorsed Jim Jordan. After Jordan failed to win the speakership, Hern re-entered the race but lost the conference vote to Tom Emmer. He later endorsed Mike Johnson in the speaker’s race.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most talked-about moments of Hern’s early congressional career came in 2018, when The Frontier gave him the nickname “McCongressman,” which quickly spread to national outlets and became a defining feature of his public image. His active role in the 2020 election challenges and his multiple bids for House leadership positions in 2023 also marked him as a prominent figure within the House Republican Conference.
Kevin Hern Family
Family Background and Personal Lineage
Hern was raised primarily by his mother, Freda Flansburg, in Pope County, Arkansas, after his parents separated. He has a younger brother, and the family settled in a small-town Arkansas community where Hern attended local public schools.
Personal Life
Hern is married to Tammy Hankens, his second wife, and the couple has three children and four grandchildren. Hern and his family practice the Protestant faith, and he has often cited his business and family background as central to his political outlook. As of October 2025, Hern’s net worth was estimated to be over $108 million, making him one of the wealthiest members of Congress.