Who was the last Senator to be elected President? I recall many Governors

[Gin]

but can't think of a Senator.

[trotsky]

1. JFK?

I think...

[DFLforever]

5. And before him, Harding

... and that's the grand total for the last 100 years! Otherwise, senators have made it to President via the VP route, like Truman and Johnson.

[agingdem]

7. I think you're right!

Let's think...Johnson was VP when he became President, then came Nixon, Carter who was a governor, then Reagan, then Bush 1, Clinton was a gov, too, and then Little George...so JFK has it.

[agingdem]

8. I forgot...

Ford was VP to Nixon when Nixon resigned.

[benddem]

13. Besides Ford was Representative not a Senator

[birdman]

2. Only two sitting Senators ever elected

Harding in 1920 and Kennedy in 1960.

[RichM]

3. LBJ.

Indirectly. He was a Senator, then VP, became Pres when JFK was shot, then was elected in 1964 in his own right.

[birdman]

6. Nixon was also a former Senator

Elected in 1950. Elected VP in 1952.

[Sick of Bullshit]

15. Truman was also a Senator

before he became VP.

And three months after becoming VP, he became President.

[JI7]

4. john kennedy

i believe it was john kennedy.

[lancdem]

9. JFK was the last SITTING senator

to be elected president.

[Bombtrack]

10. JFK was also the last...

New Englander
Northeasterner
Northern democrat

i thought Dean's campaign dismissed all campaign history, you know like his striking similarities to every landslide loser in the last 40 years

[fishnfla]

11. zero for 29

29 sitting members of congress have tried in the last 40 years.

[mandyky]

12. Let's count RFK

He would have won, had they not killed him.

[Silverhair]

19. That is far from certain.

[QC]

14. Lyndon Johnson.

[fishnfla]

16. nope

he was VP, he was elected as VP, not sitting member of congress

[QC]

17. And was elected on his own right in 1964.

But I see your point.

Do we mean people elected directly from the Senate, or people who have served in the Senate at some point before being elected to the presidency. In the later case, I would also be wrong--that would be Nixon, who served in the senate years before becoming president.

[Gingergal]

18. I wondered the same things on what offices that most

U.S. Presidents had immediately before assuming office.
Here is my list and at the end I compile the results.

Offices held by Popular and/or Electoral Vote Winners for the U.S. Presidency back to 1860
U.S. Presidential Election:
2000-Disputed Election
Popular vote winner/winner of most votes in Florida-- Al Gore, Jr. -Vice President
Awarded Florida votes and the Electoral College Votes by 5-4 of Supreme Court--George W. Bush-Governor of Texas
1992-1996
Bill Clinton-Governor of Arkansas
1988
George H.W. Bush-Vice President
1980-1984
Ronald Reagan-Governor of California
1976
James Carter-Governor of Georgia
(1974)
(Gerald Ford named Vice President)
1968-1972
Richard Nixon-Vice President
1964
Lyndon Johnson-Vice President
1960
John F. Kennedy-Senator from Massachusetts
1952-1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower-WWII General and President of Columbia University
1948
Harry Truman-Vice President
1932-1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt-Governor of New York
1928
Herbert Hoover-Secretary of Commerce, administrator under Wilson/Harding, engineer
1924
Calvin Coolidge--Vice President
1920
Warren G. Harding-Senator from Ohio
1912-1916
Woodrow Wilson-Governor of New Jersey
1908
William Howard Taft-Governor of Philippines and former federal judge
1904
Theodore Roosevelt-Vice President
1896-1900
William McKinley-Governor of Ohio
1884,1892
Grover Cleveland-Governor of New York
1888
Benjamin Harrison-Senator from Indiana and Civil War general
(Lost popular vote; won electoral college over Cleveland)
(1881)
(Chester A. Arthur-after death of James Garfield)
1880
James Garfield-Congressman from Ohio and Civil War general
1876-Disputed Election
Republican Hayes awarded electoral victory over popular vote winner Samuel J. Tilden by special commission which awarded votes of 3 Southern states to Hayes; Democrats in South used widespread suppression of African-American voters; the winner in the 3 Southern states cannot be known.
Rutherford B. Hayes-Governor of Ohio
Samuel J. Tilden-Governor of New York
In either case, the actual winner was a governor.
1868-1872
Ulysses S. Grant-Civil War general
(1865)
(Andrew Johnson became president upon Lincoln's death}
1860-1864
Abraham Lincoln-Illinois lawyer, former Congressman
********
Tally of Offices held by U.S. Presidents-Elect since 1860:
Governor (counting G.W. Bush): 9
Vice President (counting Al Gore): 7
Generals: 4 (counting Harrison for both Senate and General and Garfield for both General and U.S. Congressman.)
U.S. Senator: 3--from 1960, 1920, 1888 (counting Harrison for both Senate and General)
U.S. Congressman: 1-in 1880-(but Garfield was also a former general)
Cabinet : 1 (Hoover)
Other: 1 (Lincoln)
You may choose to count them differently of course, but the top three jobs held by Electoral/Popular vote winners for the presidency are: Governor, Vice President, and General.
Only two came from the U.S. Senate who were not generals.
No one came from the House who was not also a general.
Since 1860, the odds are against someone who comes from the U.S. Senate or U.S. House to directly run for and win the presidency.
Now I know why Senator Kay Bailey Hutchins-Repuke from Texas-wants to leave the U.S. Senate and run for governor of Texas: she has presidential ambitions. Doesn't she know that the Bush Dynasty has other plans?

[caledesi]

20. JFK nt