Now that we have four mayors in the primary race, a question:

[MineralMan]

Has anyone who is best known for being a Mayor been elected as President?

In 2019 we have the former Mayor of NYC and the Mayor of South Bend, IN in the race. Bloomberg appears to be creeping up in the polls, perhaps cutting into Mayor Pete's progress.

But, will this country election someone who campaigns on being a Mayor? I don't know.

ETA: I forgot to mention Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, NJ, as well as Castro. They don't seem to be major contenders in the primary, though, so I didn't consider them. Sorry.

ETA: I should have added being elected when the highest office held was mayor. I didn't qualify the question properly. Being a US Senator or Governor sort of overrides being a Mayor as a qualifying position, it seems.

[Lulu KC]

1. And Cory Booker, Newark n/t

[MineralMan]

2. My error. Sorry.

Booker hasn't been polling well, so I forgot to mention him. I've edited the OP. But, the question remains.

[PatSeg]

9. Yes

but he went on to be a senator. Julian Castro was mayor of San Antonio, but he also served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. More diverse experience I'd think.

[MineralMan]

16. I guess I'm thinking about people whose most important office was Mayor.

If you've also served as a Senator or in a Cabinet position, that sort of overrides the Mayoral position, I think.

[PatSeg]

32. I agree

I'll give Mayor Pete points for serving in the military, but I still think a little more government experience would have served him well - maybe a senate or congressional run.

[hurl]

3. And Castro

[hlthe2b]

4. Two? Three, actually. Corey Booker remains in the race. Oh, make that four... Castro

[LongtimeAZDem]

5. Not a Bloomberg fan, but NYC has one of the top twenty economies in the world, and a

population bigger than almost 80% of the states.

So, it's arguably a big deal.

[MineralMan]

7. Nor am I, but I'd still like an answer to my question

about whether anyone primarily known as a Mayor has been elected as President.

[LongtimeAZDem]

10. Sorry, missed that. Grover Cleveland, with a stint as governor in between.

Can a Mayor Take the White House?

[MineralMan]

17. OH! Thanks for that link! I really appreciate it.

[PatSeg]

6. Interesting question

I've never heard of a mayor who became president, at least not someone who hasn't held other government positions.

[MineralMan]

11. Neither have I. I'm sure we have had people

who have served as a Mayor, but I don't know of anyone who didn't hold some other office, like Governor, Senator, or House Representative. Eisenhower was a General in WWII, and hadn't held any elective office that I know of. Trump never served in any elected public office, so there is that, as well.

[PatSeg]

30. Well

Trump never "served" anyone but Trump. We've never had anyone like that before.

[ritapria]

8. Bernie : The formr Mayor of Burlington , Vermont

[MineralMan]

13. Yes, but that is not what he is best known for.

He has also been a US Senator. That's more significant, I think.

[ritapria]

23. US News and World Report, no lefty publication , named Bernie

one of America's Best Mayors in 1987 .

[MineralMan]

25. OK. I wonder, though, how many people know about that honor, really.

He is far better known as an Independent US Senator. That is the foundation of his campaign, I think..

[ritapria]

28. He is not known for the oustanding job he did as Mayor of Burlington

His campaign should highlight this largely overlooked part of his public career .

[MineralMan]

46. I suspect that Bernie knows that being a US Senator

is more impressive than being Mayor of Burlington, population 43,000 approximately.

Really.

[targetpractice]

12. A mayor demonstrates executive and management experience, IMHO...

It takes skills to run a city large or small... Booker was a great mayor of Newark... Bernie of Burlington. And, Bloomberg oversaw the best city in the world for years... Pete managed a smaller city, but he dealt with all the things of bigger cities.

I would trust a mayor to be president over a career politician.. They were accountable to a population of real people.

Upon edit... Yes Castro was a great mayor of San Austin, too.

[MineralMan]

14. I still have the question, however.

[LongtimeAZDem]

15. Edited my reply above with a link to an answer

[MineralMan]

20. And for that, I thank you.

It appears that my thinking was on target.

[LongtimeAZDem]

39. Agreed, but I stand by my statement that being mayor of NYC is a different category

Given that it has a population more than five times that of all the other candidate's cities combined.

[MineralMan]

44. Perhaps so, although I doubt Bloomberg will end up as our nominee.

It seems very unlikely to me.

[LongtimeAZDem]

50. I sure as hell hope not

[PatSeg]

34. San Antonio!

Sorry, had to point that out, as I found it rather humorous, not being nitpicky.

[targetpractice]

38. Yes, thank you for doing so. No coffee yet. My bad. n/t

[PatSeg]

42. I know the feeling

Some days there isn't enough coffee! I can't believe some of the odd mistakes I make these days. Its either age or Trump overload. I'm going with the latter!

[targetpractice]

40. I also found it humorous when I read my post again... How did I come up with that?!? n/t

[PatSeg]

43. Okay, it wasn't just me then!

[unblock]

18. andrew johnson, grover cleveland, and calvin coolidge had all been mayors previously

though they all had other political office(s) before becoming president.

cleveland had the quickest jump, with only a 2-year stint as governor of new york in between being mayor of buffalo and becoming potus.

[targetpractice]

19. Interesting... Thanks! n/t

[MineralMan]

21. Now, I see that I should have further qualified my question.

The correct question would have been limited to being mayor as the highest elected position held. But, others have offered examples, for which I am very grateful.

[PatSeg]

35. That's what I took your question to mean

[unblock]

56. I think it was clear

I was just offering the nearest matches to the situation you describe. No one has yet gone directly from mayor to potus.

[brooklynite]

22. You left out Wayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, FL.

[MineralMan]

24. OK, but he doesn't seem to be in the running, really.

My real question is about Presidents who actually get elected, not people who run in primaries but do not become the nominee.

[Shrek]

27. Messam suspended his campaign a while back

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/20/politics/wayne-messam-suspends-2020-campaign/index.html

[nsd]

26. Being mayor of NYC is not like being mayor of smaller cities.

I'm not a Bloomberg fan -- and I'm not saying he was successful -- but a successful tenure as NYC mayor would count in my book as being better experience for a presidential candidate than being a US senator or the governor of a small state.

[targetpractice]

48. Yes, agreed, nsd...

He was, indeed, a decent mayor... NYC is so complex. It just seems like it takes so much to just keep everything working day-to-day in this city. I'm grateful to him for these past years. He is not my favorite candidate, but I would absolutely pull the lever for him and trust him.

Also, Rudy Giuliani was pitch perfect on 9/11... He handled communicating to us about what was happening in the moment... He was there and talked to us like fellow human beings.... I remember watching him live saying, "We've lost more firefighters than I think we can bear." I don't understand what happened to him since that time.

[Lucky Luciano]

29. Mayor of New York City is bigger than most governorships or senate in my opinion.

I’m not a Bloomberg supporter for president (though I like some of his policies very much, but hard to recover from all the illegal search and seizure under his administration).

New York has over 8 million people with tremendous diversity.

South Bend...on the other hand...

[targetpractice]

49. I agree....

Bloomberg is not my favorite primary candidate... But, he did run the single greatest city on our planet for three terms. I was frustrated that he made me step outside of a bar to smoke during his term... A white privilege complaint... Also, really frustrated that friends of mine were arrested for carrying weed or jumping the subway turnstyles. But, at the end of the day.... He left NYC a better place than when he started. I would gladly vote for him if he manages to scheme his way to be our candidate.

[Peacetrain]

31. Well that is an interesting question...and one that should make Bloomberg sit up and think

before he completely buries the competition with ads that only he can afford to buy. Maybe put some actual time into campaigning Mike.. We are now living with the odd duck candidate, and he is a disaster. I would not be prone to jumping on board with another odd duck.

I cannot for the life of me, think of someone whose claim to fame politically is mayor as their starting point... that went on to win the Presidency.

[MineralMan]

47. He doesn't seem inclined to do much personal campaigning, really.

Looks like he's going to rely on his ads. That's not going to work.

[TidalWave46]

33. It's like Governors have kicked the can down the road.

[tblue37]

36. Mayor of NYC is bigger, though, than mayor of anyplace else. NYC is huge. nt

[LongtimeAZDem]

41. With a GDP the size of Canada's

[tblue37]

37. I think, though, that to most Americans Bloomberg's main "office" is billionaire.

The same huge percentage of Americans who can't name the VP or their own senator probably don't know that Bloomberg was NYC's mayor.

But thanks to the media's worship of wealth and celebrity, a lot know or will learn that he is a multibillionaire and one of the richest people in the world.

Unfortunately, a lot of them will also think that is a qualification for president.

[Fresh_Start]

51. google

Andrew Johnson
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee 1834–1835

Grover Cleveland
Mayor of Buffalo, New York 1882–1883

Calvin Coolidge
Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts 1910–1911

[MineralMan]

54. Yes, but all held higher offices as well, so they weren't just mayors.

[Fresh_Start]

55. google again

Quick: When is the last time a sitting mayor was nominated for president by a major party?

If you said DeWitt Clinton in 1812, you nailed it. The New York City mayor lost to incumbent James Madison, becoming the first and last politician to vie for the White House directly from City Hall.

[saidsimplesimon]

52. Google whispers two names, Coolidge and Cleveland?

[MineralMan]

53. But both were also elected to higher offices, so they weren't only mayors.