A Look at the Political History of Presidential Candidates and Nominees

With Barack Obama now our president, some may still comment about his lack of experience. So out of curiosity, I took a look at the political experience of previous presidential nominees and candidates at the time of their nomination by their respective party from the 1960 election onward. I looked at the presidential candidates prior legislative experience as well as what other political offices they previously held. For the most part I only looked at electable positions, such as state senate, state governor, or House and Senate service. I do also take into account diplomatic experience and judicial experience, such as that of an attorney general. But I do not include political party offices or appointments. I also make a note of the military experience of each candidate, assuming they served in the military.

I do not analyze my data or results here, I merely present what I have found. Also, I only included the candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties as they are the only ones with a realistic chance of winning the presidency.

As a final note, please contact me if I have made an error. I have tried to accurately present the experience of each presidential candidate but it is possible that an error can occur. And please rate my lens if you like it! Thanks!