How Many Presidents Have Been Mayors? [MAP]
Has leading a city been a pathway to the presidency? Detroit By The Numbers finds out.
As WDET looks to answer the question of how the next president could affect communities in southeast Michigan, we wondered:
How many of the current presidential candidates have worked in local government?
And then we thought:
In history, how many mayors have become presidents? (The answer is in the interactive graphic below.)
Among the current candidates, just two have been elected to local offices. Republican Marco Rubio was a city commissioner in West Miami, Florida from 1998 to 2000. Democrat Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981 to 1989.
Brady Baybeck, associate professor of political science, believes being a mayor is not a natural pathway to the presidency for several reasons.
Which U.S. Presidents Were Mayors?
Check them out in this graphic:
This feature was produced in partnership with the Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Learn more about this special project and explore all the content here.
- THE PROJECT TEAM
- Sandra Svoboda, special assignments manager
- Melissa Mason, research assistant and graphics designer
- Jessica McInchak, digital architect
- Matthew Morley, videographer and photographer
