Who is the highest-profile candidate in the United States who actually lived up to these words, i.e. won an election but refused to be seated in the office? How about in other countries besides the U.S.?
I take it we’re not counting Mel Carnahan, who was elected after he died and for obvious reasons was not seated?
Neither of them won an election following making the announcement and so do not answer the OP.
Oh mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
Pardon me for bringing the usual usage of the full phrase into the thread.
Congratulation on your perspicaciousness.
Do you have anything else to add?
Yes. I’m specifically only interested in cases where the winner wasn’t seated because of his principles, not his incapacity. So death, criminal conviction, or having to choose between multiple offices doesn’t count.
I’m well aware of the origin of the phrase. I’m interested in cases where it has actually come true.
You have got to be kidding.
I’m going to that a WAG and say this it has never happened in a national or statewide, or even moderately sized citywide election.
It is remotely possible that someone was elected to some county road commission or other obscure board or other and said, “Screw you, I ani’t a gonna do it.”
I am inclined to agree with this assessment. In national and state elections, the sheer investment of time and money required to get nominated and then elected would weed out anyone who didn’t want the job way before the election.
The only scenario I can envision would be someone who, after having secured the nomination and having passed the deadline for ballot changes, would change their mind due to some major personal or family reason, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Are we in the Pit? Then, no.
Garret D. Wall was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1829, and declined to serve. However, it should be noted that the Governor of NJ at that time was elected by the Legislature, not by the people.
A number of Representatives and Senators elected in 1860 never took their seats because of secession. This probably falls into the category of exceptions indicated by the OP.
Adam Clayton Powell won a special election to the House in 1967 and never took his seat in the ensuing Congress because it would have compromised his legal challenge to his exclusion from the House at the beginning of the session. Again, probably not what the OP is after.
I’m not aware of any person being popularly elected, either as a governor or member of Congress, and declining to serve without some reason such as scandal, appointment to a different office, or secession intervening. Since the advent of state-printed ballots in the late Nineteenth Century, this would be close to impossible. One usually must file some sort of declaration of candidacy to get on the ballot, and if not on the ballot it is all but impossible to get elected.
Actually, technically Lyndon Baines Johnson was elected Senator from the State of Texas in 1960, but declined to serve, preferring instead to serve as Vice President.
But as for someone who refused to serve without some higher office pulling them away? Can’t think of one.
Yes, but that election was from before he made the announcement. The OP also eliminated choosing between multiple offices as a criterion in his second post.
The closest I can recall is the curious case of Fred Tuttle.
He won the Republican primary for US Senator in Vermont just so the “carpetbagger” millionaire from Massachusetts couldn’t win. After winning the primary, he then endorsed incumbent (Democrat) senator Patrick Leahy, and said that if elected, he wouldn’t serve. Leahy won, but Tuttle still for 22% of the vote.
weren’t there instances where the College of Cardinals elected someone pope and the individual elected declined to serve?
Wasn’t there a preamble to Johnson’s statement where he said, “If nominated I will not run”, then added “if elected I will not serve.” He did serve. He served notice that he was serious about his decision.
Excuse me for this example, which is somewhat related to the OP but not an answer the question: In 5th century BC, a Roman farmer named Cincinnatus was named dictator ( the word had a specific legal meaning in Rome ) by the Senate when Rome was attacked by some neighbouring tribes. Cincinnatus took command of the army, defeated the invading army, and then promptly resigned and returned to his farm, even though legally he could have remained as dictator for six months.
Johnson’s precise words were, “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.” I’ve heard that the “will not accept” part was a late add to the speech – he originally wanted to at least keep open the possibility of a “Draft Johnson” movement, but his advisers convinced him that he needed to totally remove himself from consideration for the good of the Democratic Party.
Also not responsive to the OP, but James K. Polk agreed to run for President and serve one term. He turned out to be a businesslike and determined President who believed strongly inManifest Destiny. He succeeded in annexing Texas and Oregon together, thus avoiding a disturbance of the slave state-free state balance which was important at the time and annexed Californa for $20 million plus other considerations.
True to his original promise, he didn’t run for a second term. (It must be added that after the one term his health wasn’t good and he died not long after leaving office.)