Eleven governors (past or present) sought a major party presidential nomination for the 2016 election, but eight of them have either dropped out or stopped trying to get on presidential primary ballots. By contrast, eight U.S. Senators (past or present) sought a major party presidential nomination, and only three have dropped out. Four Senators (past or present) are doing very well.
The eight governors who declared, and then dropped out or stopped trying to get on ballots, are governors or ex-governors of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Maryland, and New York. The only governors or ex-governors still in the race for a major party nomination are those from Florida, New Jersey, and Ohio (and none of them are doing very well).
The only U.S. Senators who have dropped out are Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, and Jim Webb. Senators or ex-Senators still in the race are Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Rick Santorum.
Among the three major party presidential candidates who have never held elective office but who are prominent enough to have been included in debates, all three are still running (Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina).
Another ex-Governor who is still running, but who is not seeking a major party nomination, is Gary Johnson, seeking the Libertarian nomination.
Jim Webb was also a former senator who was running for the Democratic party nomination but has dropped out of the race.
Good point. I’ll amend the post.
This is also the opposite of the historical trend. A roughly equal number of ex-Senators (16) as ex-Governors (17) have been elected, but most of those Governors were elected with Gov. as their primary and most recent experience, whereas only 3 of the Senators were elected directly from the Senate. (5 of them had also been Governors). Most of them, either before or after their time in the Senate, also checked one of the other major experience boxes by being Vice President, Secretary of State, or a wartime General.
For a President to be elected with their primary/highest previous experience being solely as a Senator happens, but it’s relatively rare. I wouldn’t count Hillary in that, as a former First Lady and Secretary of State. That leaves Cruz, Rubio, Sanders to fit the JFK/Obama mold, because Santorum announced today he’s dropping out.