# Who was the last mayor to be a major presidential candidate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305 "2007-02-15T03:19:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/1 "2007-02-15T03:19:08Z")
Before Rudy Guiliani, who was the last mayor to be a major presidential candidate without having experience as a senator or governor? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/2 "2007-02-15T03:27:15Z")
Not sure. But I think the last MAJOR party candidate who never held elected office at all was Wendell Willkie. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/3 "2007-02-15T03:36:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Not sure. But I think the last MAJOR party candidate who never held elected office at all was Wendell Willkie. I think. No, Eisenhower had never held a political office before being elected President. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/4 "2007-02-15T03:39:57Z")
I would have thought it was Eisenhower. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/5 "2007-02-15T03:44:18Z")
Gee, I thought we were looking for the “Mayor” who was a presidential cadidate. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/6 "2007-02-15T03:46:17Z")
George H. W. Bush had served in the House of Representatives and as Vice President. But he had never been a Senator or Governor (or a Mayor). ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/7 "2007-02-15T03:46:29Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_political_occupation) shows that Calvin Coolidge was the last mayor to become president. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/8 "2007-02-15T03:50:37Z")
I think the question is more interesting if we choose Presidential candidates that were once mayors. Who ran from US President and was once a mayor? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/9 "2007-02-15T03:51:30Z")
John Lindsay ran in some of the Democratic primaries in 1972. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/10 "2007-02-15T03:51:45Z")
[QUOTE=DaveRaver] Before Rudy Guiliani, who was the last mayor to be a major presidential candidate without having experience as a senator or governor? [/QUOTE] John Lindsay from NYC briefly ran for the 1972 Democratic nomination after switching parties. But I don’t think any sitting mayor has ever won a party’s nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-mayor-to-be-a-major-presidential-candidate/392305/11 "2007-02-15T04:05:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Wikipedia shows that Calvin Coolidge was the last mayor to become president. Coolidge was a former mayor, but he was also the Governor of Massachusetts.