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Experience Would President ____ Bring?
What Experience Would President ____
Bring?
Experience of
Current and Former 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates
Former Vice President
Former Cabinet Secretary
Governors (Current and Former)
U.S. Senators
And J.Biden served more than three decades in the Senate.
U.S Representatives (Current and Former)
K.Gillibrand
J.Inslee
B.Sanders
have served in the House.
Mayors
C.Booker (Newark, NJ)
J.Castro (San Antonio, TX)
B.Sanders (Burlington, VT)
have served as Mayors.
State Legislator
Private Sector
M.Bennet
P.Buttigieg
J.Delaney
J.Hickenlooper
D.Patrick
also have significant (non-attorney) private sector experience.
The 2020 Democratic candidates for the Oval Office bring a wealth of experience, including service in the executive branch, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, the governor's office, the state legislature, local government and the private sector. Governors have the advantage of executive experience. Senate and House members grapple with national and international problems. Officials in local government have hands on experience in dealing close up with people's needs. Achieving success in the private sector requires a set of skills which may or may not be transferable to service in governnment. A fair number of the 2020 candidates, but less than half, have law degrees. Many prospects have combination of experiences. Traditional paths are to start in local government, then work one's way up to positions in state or federal government, or to use success in the business world as a springboard to public office. Seventeen people who served as governor (+), 16 people who served in the U.S. Senate (+), and 19 people who served in the U.S. House (+) served as President. Three Senators have been elected directly to the White House, most recently Barack Obama in 2008; the last House Member elected directly to the the White House was James Garfield in 1880.
Finally there is an important distinction between current and former officials; when an individual served is relevant. If the candidate left office a number of years ago, he or she may have difficulty establishing a footholld with voters, depending what he or she has been doing since. On the flip side, serving in office and running for president concurrently can be a real challenge; inevitably there will be reports that the candidate is neglecting his or her day job.
 |
| J.Biden |
Former Cabinet Secretary
|
| J.Castro/
HUD |
Governors (Current and Former)
 |
 |
 |
 |
| S.Bullock (MT) |
J.Hickenlooper (CO) |
J.Inslee (WA) |
D.Patrick (MA) |
U.S. Senators
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| M.Bennet (CO) | C.Booker (NJ) | K.Gillibrand (NY) | K.Harris (CA) | A.Klobuchar (MN) | B.Sanders (VT) | E.Warren (MA) |
U.S Representatives (Current and Former)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| J.Delaney
(MD) |
T.Gabbard (HI) | S.Moulton (MA) |
B.O'Rourke (TX) |
T.Ryan (OH) | E.Swalwell (CA) |
J.Inslee
B.Sanders
have served in the House.
Mayors
|
 |
 |
| P.Buttigieg (IN) | B.de Blasio (NY) |
W.Messam (FL) |
J.Castro (San Antonio, TX)
B.Sanders (Burlington, VT)
have served as Mayors.
State Legislator
 |
| R.Ojeda |
Private Sector
 |
 |
 |
| M.Williamson |
A.Yang | T.Steyer |
P.Buttigieg
J.Delaney
J.Hickenlooper
D.Patrick
also have significant (non-attorney) private sector experience.
Experience Matters
A major consideration for voters is whether a presidential
candidate
has held elective office. An individual's prior service in public
office gives a sense of how he or she might govern and provides
credibility to his or her candidacy. In 2016 Donald Trump was
able to best 16 challengers, some with considerable government
experience, in the primaries and defeat Hillary Clinton, who had served
as First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, in the general
election despite his lack of public or military service. Voters
were fed up with the status quo and Clinton proved to be a lackluster
opponent. The results of electing a business promoter with no
experience in elective office have proved decidely mixed.The 2020 Democratic candidates for the Oval Office bring a wealth of experience, including service in the executive branch, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, the governor's office, the state legislature, local government and the private sector. Governors have the advantage of executive experience. Senate and House members grapple with national and international problems. Officials in local government have hands on experience in dealing close up with people's needs. Achieving success in the private sector requires a set of skills which may or may not be transferable to service in governnment. A fair number of the 2020 candidates, but less than half, have law degrees. Many prospects have combination of experiences. Traditional paths are to start in local government, then work one's way up to positions in state or federal government, or to use success in the business world as a springboard to public office. Seventeen people who served as governor (+), 16 people who served in the U.S. Senate (+), and 19 people who served in the U.S. House (+) served as President. Three Senators have been elected directly to the White House, most recently Barack Obama in 2008; the last House Member elected directly to the the White House was James Garfield in 1880.
Finally there is an important distinction between current and former officials; when an individual served is relevant. If the candidate left office a number of years ago, he or she may have difficulty establishing a footholld with voters, depending what he or she has been doing since. On the flip side, serving in office and running for president concurrently can be a real challenge; inevitably there will be reports that the candidate is neglecting his or her day job.
_________
Not Running
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| A.Cuomo |
D.Patrick) |
M.O'Malley |
T.Steyer |
E.Garcetti |
E.Holder |
J.Merkley |
M.Bloomberg | S.Brown |
T.McAuliffe |
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