Which Sitting Senators Have Run for Prez?

01.24.08 -- 9:36AM
By David Kurtz

Here's the list of 16 current senators who have run for President:


John Kerry
Ted Kennedy
Joe Lieberman
Chris Dodd
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
Joe Biden
Arlen Specter
Sam Brownback
John McCain
Elizabeth Dole
Lamar Alexander
Tom Harkin
Dick Lugar
Evan Bayh
Orrin Hatch

I was missing Specter and Bayh, whose candidacies ended before they really started. Eric Kleefeld, who helped me fill in my gaps, was lacking Hatch (another campaign aborted early).

Late Update: TPM Reader AG notes an omission:

I notice you're missing Sen. Byrd among your list of 16 current Senators who have run for President. His 1976 "favorite son" campaign where he actually won a state (if only West Virginia and not remotely outcome determinative at the convention) is at least as notable as Specter's run.

We wondered whether Byrd was on the WaPo list. He probably deserves mention.

Later Update
: Warren Harding joins JFK as the only two (then-serving) senators elected President.

Still Later Update: TPM Reader DG flags one twist to this that Eric had noted as well:

I might be wrong, but I think Lamar Alexander ran for President prior to being elected to the Senate (no?), so I'm not sure he counts as being affected by the curse...

Same thing with Libby Dole.

Later Yet: Another twist. Andrew Johnson returned to the Senate briefly after his Presidency.

And Again: Eagle-eyed TPM Reader LN points me to the WaPo list. It's a chart accompanying the story, and I had missed it. They do have Byrd listed, but not Bayh.

The Will It Ever End? Update: Eric Kleefeld points out that in early 1880, then-U.S. Rep. James Garfield was elected to the Senate by the Ohio Legislature, for a term to begin in 1881. But he never took office as senator, because he was elected President before taking his Senate seat.

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