Members of Congress running for row offices

[JMT]

With Rep. Dan Bishop announcing his run for Attorney General today, it got me thinking: what other members of Congress have run for row offices? In 2022, I believe there were three: Anthony Brown (MD-AG), Louie Gohmert (TX-AG), and Jody Hice (GA-Sec of State), but I know there have been other examples in recent election cycles.

[Gracile]

Denny Heck running for WA-LG is another recent example.

[JMT]

Denny Heck running for WA-LG is another recent example.

True! The House member to Lt. Governor move is an interesting one. In addition to Denny Heck, I recall a few others: Tim Griffin (AR), Rick Nolan (MN) and Rob Bishop (UT). And interestingly, NY currently has Antonio Delgado (who was appointed to the position) and Kathy Hochul (was a former House member when she was elected Lt Gov in 2014).

[Tekken_Guy]

Denny Heck running for WA-LG is another recent example.

True! The House member to Lt. Governor move is an interesting one. In addition to Denny Heck, I recall a few others: Tim Griffin (AR), Rick Nolan (MN) and Rob Bishop (UT). And interestingly, NY currently has Antonio Delgado (who was appointed to the position) and Kathy Hochul (was a former House member when she was elected Lt Gov in 2014).

Lt. Governor to house is an interesting pipeline too. It gave us Don Beyer, John Garamendi, Anthony Brown, Tracey Mann, and Michelle Fischbach.

[MargieCat]

Keith Ellison is another one that comes to mind.

Mike DeWine from senate to AG after a loss.

[MargieCat]

Came up with several more and they are from Florida.

Adam Putnam (from congress to AG Commissioner)

Buddy McKay

Bill McCollum

[Roll Roons]

Came up with several more and they are from Florida.

Adam Putnam (from congress to AG Commissioner)

Buddy McKay

Bill McCollum

And Bill Nelson.

[MargieCat]

Came up with several more and they are from Florida.

Adam Putnam (from congress to AG Commissioner)

Buddy McKay

Bill McCollum

And Bill Nelson.

I knew I was missing one.

[JMT]

Denny Heck running for WA-LG is another recent example.

True! The House member to Lt. Governor move is an interesting one. In addition to Denny Heck, I recall a few others: Tim Griffin (AR), Rick Nolan (MN) and Rob Bishop (UT). And interestingly, NY currently has Antonio Delgado (who was appointed to the position) and Kathy Hochul (was a former House member when she was elected Lt Gov in 2014).

Lt. Governor to house is an interesting pipeline too. It gave us Don Beyer, John Garamendi, Anthony Brown, Tracey Mann, and Michelle Fischbach.

Good point! This article is interesting. It talks about how there have been quite a few members of Congress that ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor before arriving to Congress:

 https://rollcall.com/2020/06/17/failing-up-losing-a-race-for-lieutenant-governor-as-a-launch-pad-to-congress/

[JMT]

Keith Ellison is another one that comes to mind.

Mike DeWine from senate to AG after a loss.

DeWine went from Congress to a row office twice! From Senate to AG (as you mentioned above), and earlier in his career he gave up his House seat to run for Lieutenant Governor (in 1990).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I think it is a bit different if the person already lost their old office (ex: DeWine loses his 2006 Senate race and runs for OH AG in 2010 in an ultimately successful Hail Mary to try to save his political career) than it is if they just give up their current congressional seat to run for a statewide row office (ex: DeWine giving up his Safe Republican House seat to accept Voinovich’s offer of the OH LG slot on the Ohio Republican ticket).  Only the latter should really count imo, because tons of politicians run for row office after losing their House seat (ex: Zach Space was elected in 2006 and served two terms before losing in 2010, but he didn’t run for OH Auditor until 2018).

[Sir Mohamed]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

[JMT]

I think it is a bit different if the person already lost their old office (ex: DeWine loses his 2006 Senate race and runs for OH AG in 2010 in an ultimately successful Hail Mary to try to save his political career) than it is if they just give up their current congressional seat to run for a statewide row office (ex: DeWine giving up his Safe Republican House seat to accept Voinovich’s offer of the OH LG slot on the Ohio Republican ticket).  Only the latter should really count imo, because tons of politicians run for row office after losing their House seat (ex: Zach Space was elected in 2006 and served two terms before losing in 2010, but he didn’t run for OH Auditor until 2018).

Yeah that’s fair, I was thinking about that as well. I agree that it’s definitely different if someone already lost their old office. In that example, the person is probably trying to revive their political career after a loss, and I imagine this is more common. Whereas if someone gives up their current seat in Congress to run for a row office, it’s probably because they are tired of Washington, want to live closer to home, and/or their seat is getting altered and becomes challenging to win due to redistricting (as might happen with Jeff Jackson, if he runs for NC-AG).

Regardless, it’s still interesting to see if any current or former member of congress ends up in a row office.

[Roll Roons]

I think it is a bit different if the person already lost their old office (ex: DeWine loses his 2006 Senate race and runs for OH AG in 2010 in an ultimately successful Hail Mary to try to save his political career) than it is if they just give up their current congressional seat to run for a statewide row office (ex: DeWine giving up his Safe Republican House seat to accept Voinovich’s offer of the OH LG slot on the Ohio Republican ticket).  Only the latter should really count imo, because tons of politicians run for row office after losing their House seat (ex: Zach Space was elected in 2006 and served two terms before losing in 2010, but he didn’t run for OH Auditor until 2018).

That's true. Of the Florida guys who were mentioned, McCollum got elected State AG after losing a Senate race and Nelson got elected Treasurer after losing a primary for governor. Mackay also got picked as Lawton's LG after losing a Senate race. Only Putnam went straight from Congress to a row office.

[Lechasseur]

It does seem like this is becoming more common. To a large degree I suspect it's due to how gridlocked and frustrating politics in Washington have become at this point. I'm sure a lot of these legislators are tired of Congress, and no longer see it being worth their while.

At least in a row office you may be able to get stuff done, and they'd be closer to home as JMT said. These row offices are also a better springboard to the Governor's mansion.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

[JMT]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

[Roll Roons]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

They are pretty powerful, and it helps that county supervisors don't have to constantly commute between DC and California. Paul Cook also retired in 2020 to successfully run for the San Bernardino County Board.

[JMT]

I think it is a bit different if the person already lost their old office (ex: DeWine loses his 2006 Senate race and runs for OH AG in 2010 in an ultimately successful Hail Mary to try to save his political career) than it is if they just give up their current congressional seat to run for a statewide row office (ex: DeWine giving up his Safe Republican House seat to accept Voinovich’s offer of the OH LG slot on the Ohio Republican ticket).  Only the latter should really count imo, because tons of politicians run for row office after losing their House seat (ex: Zach Space was elected in 2006 and served two terms before losing in 2010, but he didn’t run for OH Auditor until 2018).

That's true. Of the Florida guys who were mentioned, McCollum got elected State AG after losing a Senate race and Nelson got elected Treasurer after losing a primary for governor. Mackay also got picked as Lawton's LG after losing a Senate race. Only Putnam went straight from Congress to a row office.

Yeah there’s a few other examples I could think of where former House members ran for row offices in an attempt to revive a political career. Some were successful, others were unsuccessful:

-Betsy Markey: unsuccessfully ran for CO State Treasurer in 2014.
-John Fleming: currently running for LA State Treasurer (2023).
-Raul Labrador: successfully ran for ID Attorney General in 2022.
-Frank Riggs: unsuccessfully ran for AZ Supt of Public Instruction in 2018.
-Todd Rokita: successfully ran for IN Attorney General in 2020.
-Evan Jenkins: not sure if this counts as a “row office” but after giving up his House seat to run unsuccessfully for Senate in 2018, Jenkins was appointed (and subsequently elected) to the WV Supreme Court of Appeals.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

I believe there was also an San Bernardino R who retired to run for that same body in 2020. Going from Supervisor to House is a downgrade.

[JMT]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

I believe there was also an San Bernardino R who retired to run for that same body in 2020. Going from Supervisor to House is a downgrade.

Yeah it sounds like going from Supervisor to House may be a downgrade. Michelle Steel did this in 2020, though. But, it looks like she would’ve been prevented from running again for the Orange County Board of Supervisors due to term limits, so I suppose it was a way for her to stay in office longer.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

I believe there was also an San Bernardino R who retired to run for that same body in 2020. Going from Supervisor to House is a downgrade.

I don’t know if I’d call it a downgrade as they’re two very different roles. Supervisors have great power in their county, yes, but no power outside it. House members may be small but you have access to more power and information on a national scale than a supervisor.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed CA AG in 2017 by Gov. Brown after Harris resigned to take her senate seat. Becerra was later elected in his own right before Biden named him HHS Secretary.

Hilda Solis is also kind of interesting. She was in congress before she became Labor Secretary during Obama's 1st term. After leaving the federal govt. in 2013, she was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and has remained there since.

Janice Hanh also retired to become an LA Supervisor.

I’m not an expert on CA politics, but it seems like these Board of Supervisor positions are pretty important/powerful, enough so that several members of Congress have left to run for them. Gloria Negrete McLeod retired from Congress to (unsuccessfully) run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

I believe there was also an San Bernardino R who retired to run for that same body in 2020. Going from Supervisor to House is a downgrade.

I don’t know if I’d call it a downgrade as they’re two very different roles. Supervisors have great power in their county, yes, but no power outside it. House members may be small but you have access to more power and information on a national scale than a supervisor.

Fair point, it's slightly apples and oranges...or apples and pears...of a comparison.

[President Johnson]

I long wanted a thread on all politicians running for lower office, so maybe I'll get that done some day.

Who additionally comes to mind is Gordon J. Humphrey of New Hampshire, who went from being a US senator to running for state senate instead of seeking reelection in 1990. I didn't know him before as a Republican he endorsed Biden's presidential campaign.

Also noteworthy is Claude Pepper of Florida, who was a senator and later ran for the House.

While he wasn't a member of congress, Eliot Spitzer also comes to mind. In 2013, he ran for New York City Comptroller and narrowly lost in the Democratic primary.

Going back further, Millard Fillmore was New York state comptroller after his service in the House. He then went on to be vice president and president.

[JMT]

I long wanted a thread on all politicians running for lower office, so maybe I'll get that done some day.

Who additionally comes to mind is Gordon J. Humphrey of New Hampshire, who went from being a US senator to running for state senate instead of seeking reelection in 1990. I didn't know him before as a Republican he endorsed Biden's presidential campaign.

Also noteworthy is Claude Pepper of Florida, who was a senator and later ran for the House.

While he wasn't a member of congress, Eliot Spitzer also comes to mind. In 2013, he ran for New York City Comptroller and narrowly lost in the Democratic primary.

Going back further, Millard Fillmore was New York state comptroller after his service in the House. He then went on to be vice president and president.

Ohhh, a thread of politicians running for lower office would be interesting! I have some examples in mind if you get around to creating it.