http://www.heptune.com/preslist.html#Pre-Presidential
Mayor
Andrew Johnson - Greenville, Tennessee
Grover Cleveland - Buffalo, New York
Calvin Coolidge - Northampton, Massachusetts
Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
James Madison - Virginia
Andrew Jackson - Tennessee
William Henry Harrison - Northwest Territory, Ohio
John Tyler - Virginia
James Polk - Tennessee
Millard Fillmore - New York
Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
Abraham Lincoln - Illinois
Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
Rutherford Hayes - Ohio
James Garfield - Ohio
William McKinley - Ohio
John F. Kennedy - Massachusetts
Lyndon Johnson - Texas
Richard Nixon - California
Gerald Ford - Michigan
George Bush - Texas
(Note: This site doesn’t say which ones were sitting members of Congeress, but I’m thinking you’ve got to back to at least McKinley before you find a sitting member winning the Whitehouse)
Thank you. The three mayors....did they hold any other offices other than mayor before becoming president. I know Johnson was a VP, and I think, but not sure, Cleveland was too.
Greenville, TN, that is an impressive one.
Grover Cleveland was Governor of New York for a very short time (1882-1884) before running for President in 1884. He wasn’t even mayor of Buffalo for very long (1881-1882). He was better known for being Sheriff of Erie County for 10 years.
Based on your list, I think James Garfield was the only sitting Congressman ever elected President. Of the others on your list:
James Madison - was Jefferson’s Secretary of State before becoming President
Andrew Jackson - was also a Senator from Tennessee until 1825, and not in elective office when elected in 1828
William Henry Harrison - was also a Senator from Ohio until 1828, and not in elective office when elected in 1840
John Tyler - was William Henry Harrison’s Vice President
James Polk - was governor from Tennessee immediately before the election
Millard Fillmore - was Zachary Taylor’s Vice President
Franklin Pierce - was Senator from New Hampshire until 1842 and a lawyer before his election in 1852.
James Buchanan - was a Senator and Secretary of State in the Polk administration, and a lawyer in private practice immediately before his election in 1856.
Abraham Lincoln - unsuccessful Senate candidate in 1858 and a lawyer before his election in 1860
Andrew Johnson - was Abraham Lincoln’s Vice President
Rutherford Hayes - was governor of Ohio
William McKinley - was governor of Ohio before running for election
John F. Kennedy - was a sitting Senator
Lyndon Johnson - was John Kennedy’s Vice President
Richard Nixon - was Dwight Eisenhower’s Vice President and in private legal practice before his election
Gerald Ford - was Richard Nixon’s Vice President
George Bush - was Ronald Reagan’s Vice President