List of presidents of the United States by other offices held

This is a list of presidents of the United States by other offices (either elected or appointed) held. Every president of the United States except Donald Trump has served as at least one of the following:

Federal government

Executive branch

Vice presidents
Vice President President served under Year(s) served Notes
John Adams George Washington 1789–1797
Thomas Jefferson John Adams 1797–1801
Martin Van Buren Andrew Jackson 1833–1837
John Tyler William Henry Harrison 1841 Became President after Harrison's death
Millard Fillmore Zachary Taylor 1849–1850 Became President after Taylor's death
Andrew Johnson Abraham Lincoln 1865 Became President after Lincoln's assassination
Chester A. Arthur James A. Garfield 1881 Became President after Garfield's assassination
Theodore Roosevelt William McKinley 1901 Became President after McKinley's assassination
Calvin Coolidge Warren G. Harding 1921–1923 Became President after Harding's death
Harry S. Truman Franklin D. Roosevelt 1945 Became President after Roosevelt's death
Richard Nixon Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961 Only former Vice President to become President after an intervening administration.
Lyndon B. Johnson John F. Kennedy 1961–1963 Became President after Kennedy's assassination
Gerald Ford Richard Nixon 1973–1974 Became President after Nixon's resignation
George H. W. Bush Ronald Reagan 1981–1989

In addition, George H. W. Bush served as acting president on one occasion under Ronald Reagan, as did Dick Cheney on two occasions under George W. Bush.

13 former vice presidents (R. Johnson, Breckinridge, Morton, Stevenson, Fairbanks, Garner, Wallace, Barkley, Nixon, Humphrey, Mondale, Quayle, and Gore) all made failed runs for the presidency. Nixon, Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore received their party's nomination. Nixon would later be elected in a second run for the presidency. In addition, Joe Biden is a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Cabinet secretaries
Secretary Office President served under Year(s) served
Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State George Washington 1790–1793
James Madison Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson 1801–1809
James Monroe Secretary of State James Madison 1811–1814
Secretary of War 1814–1815
Secretary of State 1815–1817
John Quincy Adams Secretary of State James Monroe 1817–1825
Martin Van Buren Secretary of State Andrew Jackson 1829–1831
James Buchanan Secretary of State James K. Polk 1845–1849
William Howard Taft Secretary of War Theodore Roosevelt 1904–1908
Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce Warren G. Harding 1921–1928
Calvin Coolidge

John Adams (as the vice president) and Thomas Jefferson both served in the Cabinet of George Washington. Calvin Coolidge (as the vice president) and Herbert Hoover both served in the Cabinet of Warren G. Harding.

Both Theodore (from 1897–1898) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (from 1913–1920) served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under presidents McKinley and Wilson, respectively. William Howard Taft served as Solicitor General from 1890 to 1892 under President Harrison.

Ambassadors
President Position President served under Year(s) served Notes
John Adams Minister to Britain Continental Congress 1785–1788
Thomas Jefferson Minister Plenipotentiary to France Continental Congress 1785–1789
James Monroe Minister Plenipotentiary to France George Washington 1794–1796
Minister to Britain Thomas Jefferson 1803–1807 Served under Secretary of State James Madison
John Quincy Adams Minister to the Netherlands George Washington
John Adams		 1794–1797
Minister to GermanyJohn Adams 1797–1801
Minister to Russia James Madison 1809–1814 Served under Secretary of State James Monroe
Minister to Britain James Madison 1815–1817
Martin Van Buren Minister to Britain Andrew Jackson 1831–1832
William Henry Harrison Minister to Gran Colombia John Quincy Adams 1828–1829
James Buchanan Minister to Britain Franklin Pierce 1853–1856
George H. W. Bush Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Nixon 1971–1973
Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing Gerald R. Ford 1974–1975 Head of U.S. mission in China

Other federal appointees
President Office President appointed by Year(s) served
Chester A. Arthur Collector of the Port of New York Ulysses S. Grant 1871–1878
George H. W. Bush Director of Central Intelligence Gerald Ford 1976–1977

Judicial branch

Chief Justice of the United States
President President nominated by Year(s) served Notes
William Howard Taft Warren G. Harding 1921–1930 Only President to serve on the Supreme Court.

Other federal judges
President Court President nominated by Year(s) served
William Howard Taft United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Benjamin Harrison 1892–1900

Legislative branch

Senators
State President Year(s) served Notes
California Richard Nixon 1950–1953
Indiana Benjamin Harrison 1881–1887
Illinois Barack Obama 2005–2008 Third sitting Senator elected to the presidency
Massachusetts John Quincy Adams 1803–1808
John F. Kennedy 1953–1960 Second sitting Senator elected to the presidency
Missouri Harry S. Truman 1935–1945
New Hampshire Franklin Pierce 1837–1842
New York Martin Van Buren 1821–1828
Ohio William Henry Harrison 1825–1828
Warren G. Harding 1915–1921 First sitting Senator elected to the presidency
Pennsylvania James Buchanan 1834–1845
Tennessee Andrew Jackson 1797–1798
1823–1825
Andrew Johnson 1857–1862
1875 Only former President in the Senate
TexasLyndon B. Johnson 1949–1961 Senate Minority Leader 1953-1955
Senate Majority Leader 1955-1961
Virginia James Monroe 1790–1794 First former Senator to become President
John Tyler 1827–1836 Only former President pro tempore to become President

A number of future presidents served together while in the Senate:

  • Monroe served under Vice President Adams (1790–1794)
  • Jackson served under Vice President Jefferson (1797–1798). Jackson later served with Van Buren (1823–1825). Van Buren also served with W.H. Harrison (1825–1828) and Tyler (1827–1828). Buchanan also served with Tyler (1834–1836) and later served with Pierce (1837–1842). Both Buchanan and Tyler served under Vice President Van Buren (1833–1837), while Pierce later served under Vice President Tyler (1841).
  • B. Harrison briefly served under Vice President Arthur (1881).
  • L. Johnson served with both Nixon (1950–1953) and Kennedy (1953–1960). L. Johnson and Kennedy both served under Vice President Nixon (1953–1961).

James A. Garfield was elected senator for Ohio in 1880, but he did not take up the office due to being elected President later that year.

Seven former senators (Monroe, Adams, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Pierce, Buchanan, and B. Harrison) were elected to the presidency without ever serving as the vice president between their departure from the Senate and the beginning of their presidencies.

Members of the House of Representatives
State President Year(s) served Notes
California Richard Nixon 1947–1950 Later elected to the Senate
Illinois Abraham Lincoln 1847–1849
Massachusetts John Quincy Adams 1831–1848 Only former president in the House of Representatives
John F. Kennedy 1947–1953 Later elected to the Senate
MichiganGerald Ford 1949–1973 House Minority Leader 1965-1973
New Hampshire Franklin Pierce 1833–1837 Later elected to the Senate
New York Millard Fillmore 1833–1835
1837–1843
Northwest Territory William Henry Harrison 1799–1800 Served as a non-voting delegate
Ohio William Henry Harrison 1816–1819 Later elected to the Senate
Rutherford B. Hayes 1865–1867 Later elected Governor of Ohio
James A. Garfield 1863–1881 Republican Floor Leader
Only sitting Representative elected to the presidency
William McKinley 1877–1883 Later elected Governor of Ohio
1885–1891
Pennsylvania James Buchanan 1821–1831 Later elected to the Senate
Tennessee Andrew Jackson 1796–1797 Later elected to the Senate
James K. Polk 1825–1839 Only former speaker to become President
later elected Governor of Tennessee
Andrew Johnson 1843–1853 Later elected to the Senate
Texas Lyndon B. Johnson 1937–1949 Later elected to the Senate
George H. W. Bush 1967–1971 Later elected Vice President of the United States
Virginia James Madison 1789–1797 First former representative to become President
John Tyler 1816–1821 Later elected to the Senate

A number of future presidents served in the House together:

Continental Congress
President State Year(s) served Body served
George Washington Virginia 1774–1775 First Continental Congress
John Adams Massachusetts 1774–1778 First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress
Thomas Jefferson Virginia 1775–1776
1783–1784		 Second Continental Congress
Congress of the Confederation
James Madison Virginia 1780–1783 Second Continental Congress, Congress of the Confederation
James Monroe Virginia 1783–1786 Congress of the Confederation

State and territorial government

Governors
State / Territory President Year(s) served Notes
Arkansas Bill Clinton 1979–1981
1983–1992
California Ronald Reagan 1967–1975
Cuba William Howard Taft 1906 Provisional Governor
Florida Territory Andrew Jackson 1821 Military Governor
Georgia Jimmy Carter 1971–1975
Indiana Territory William Henry Harrison 1801–1813
Louisiana District William Henry Harrison 1804–1805 Interim Authority
Massachusetts Calvin Coolidge 1919–1921
New Jersey Woodrow Wilson 1911–1913
New York Martin Van Buren 1829
Grover Cleveland 1883–1885
Theodore Roosevelt 1899–1900
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1929–1932
Northwest Territory William Henry Harrison 1798–1799 Acting Governor
Ohio Rutherford B. Hayes 1868–1872
1876–1877
William McKinley 1892–1896
Philippines William Howard Taft 1901–1904 Governor-General
Tennessee James K. Polk 1839–1841
Andrew Johnson 1853–1857
1862–1865 Military Governor
Texas George W. Bush 1995–2000
Virginia Thomas Jefferson 1779–1781
James Monroe 1799–1802
1811
John Tyler 1825–1827

State legislators
See below for information about pre-1776 colonial offices held.
State Legislature President Year(s)served Notes
Georgia State Senate Jimmy Carter 1963–1967
Illinois House of Representatives Abraham Lincoln 1834–1842
Illinois Senate Barack Obama 1997–2004
Massachusetts House of Representatives Calvin Coolidge 1907–1909
Massachusetts Senate John Quincy Adams 1802
Calvin Coolidge 1912–1915
New Hampshire House of Representatives Franklin Pierce 1829–1833 Speaker of the House 1832-1833
New York Senate Martin Van Buren 1812–1820
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1911–1913
New York State Assembly Millard Fillmore 1829–1831
Theodore Roosevelt 1882–1884 Assembly Minority Leader 1883
Ohio Senate William Henry Harrison 1819–1821
James A. Garfield 1859–1861
Warren G. Harding 1899–1903
Pennsylvania House of Representatives James Buchanan 1814–1816
Tennessee House of Representatives James K. Polk 1823–1825
Andrew Johnson 1835–1837
Tennessee Senate Andrew Johnson 1841–1843
Virginia House of Delegates Thomas Jefferson 1776–1779
James Madison 1776–1777
James Monroe 1782–1783
John Tyler 1811–1816
1823–1825

Other statewide offices
President Office and Jurisdiction Year(s) served
Martin Van Buren Attorney General of New York 1815–1819
Millard Fillmore New York State Comptroller 1847–1849
Warren G. Harding Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1904–1906
Calvin Coolidge Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1916–1919
Bill Clinton Attorney General of Arkansas 1977–1979

Municipal government
President Office and jurisdiction Year(s) served
George Washington County surveyor in Mount Vernon 1749-1751
Martin Van Buren Surrogate of Columbia County, New York 1808–1812
Abraham Lincoln Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois 1832–1833
County Surveyor for Sangamon County, Illinois 1833–1834
Andrew Johnson Alderman, Greeneville, Tennessee 1828–1830
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee 1834–1835
Grover Cleveland Sheriff of Erie County, New York 1871–1873
Mayor of Buffalo, New York 1882–1883
William Howard Taft Judge on the Superior Court of Cincinnati 1887-1890
Theodore Roosevelt Superintendent of the New York Board of Police Commissioners 1895–1897
Calvin Coolidge Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts 1910–1911
Harry S. Truman Judge of Jackson County, Missouri's Eastern District 1923-1925
Presiding Judge of Jackson County, Missouri 1927-1935

Presidents who had not previously held elective office

With previous experience in government
President Term of office Position(s)
Zachary Taylor 1849–1850 Major general in the United States Army
Ulysses S. Grant 1869–1877 General of the Army of the United States (served as Secretary of War ad interim)
Herbert Hoover 1929–1933 Secretary of Commerce
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961 General of the Army of the United States

Without previous experience in government
President Term of office Notes
Donald Trump 2017–present Chairman of The Trump Organization

Colonial governments

Colonial and confederate legislators
Legislature President Year(s) served Notes
Confederate Congress John Tyler 1861–1862 Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress and elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, but died before entering office
Massachusetts House of Representatives John Adams 1768–1774 All served as regular members of their colonial legislature under the Kingdom of Great Britain before 1776.
Virginia House of Burgesses George Washington 1758–1774
Thomas Jefferson 1769–1774

Lost races

Not including presidential re-election attempts made while in office.

Presidential elections
President Office and jurisdiction Year Notes
Thomas Jefferson President of the United States 1796 Lost to John Adams. Won in 1800, 1804
Andrew Jackson President of the United States 1824 Lost to John Quincy Adams. Won in 1828, 1832
William Henry Harrison President of the United States 1836 Lost to Martin Van Buren. Defeated Van Buren in 1840.
Martin Van Buren Democratic nomination for
President of the United States		 1844 Received the most votes on the first ballot of the 1844 Democratic National Convention, but failed to win the required 2/3 majority. Lost to James K. Polk.
President of the United States 1848 Placed third behind Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass. Candidate of the Free Soil Party
James Buchanan Democratic nomination for
President of the United States		 1848 Received the third-most votes on the final ballot of the 1848 Democratic National Convention, finishing behind nominee Lewis Cass as well as Levi Woodbury.
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States		 1852 Led on several ballots at the 1852 Democratic National Convention; the nomination instead went to Franklin Pierce.
Millard Fillmore President of the United States 1856 Placed third behind James Buchanan and John C. Fremont. Candidate of the Know-Nothing Party.
Andrew Johnson Democratic nomination for
President of the United States		 1860 Lost to Stephen A. Douglas
Ulysses S. Grant Republican nomination for
President of the United States		 1880 Lost in bid for a third term to James Garfield at the 1880 Republican National Convention.
Theodore Roosevelt Republican nomination for
President of the United States		 1912 Lost in bid for at third term to William Howard Taft at the 1912 Republican National Convention, but ran in the general election as a third-party candidate.
President of the United States 1912 Placed distant second to Woodrow Wilson in both the popular and electoral vote. Candidate of the Progressive Party. Only third-party candidate to place second in an election.
Herbert Hoover Republican nomination for
President of the United States		 1920 Lost to Warren G. Harding at the 1920 Republican National Convention. Won in 1928.
Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic nomination for
President of the United States		 1960 Placed second to John F. Kennedy after failing to contest any state primaries. Later made Kennedy's running mate and was elected Vice President. He assumed the presidency upon Kennedy's assassination in 1963. He subsequently won the Democratic nomination (and the presidency) in 1964.
Richard Nixon President of the United States 1960 Lost to John F. Kennedy. Won in 1968, 1972
Ronald Reagan Republican nomination for
President of the United States		 1968, 1976 Lost to Richard Nixon in 1968 and Gerald Ford in 1976. Later won in 1980, 1984
George H. W. Bush Republican nomination for
President of the United States		 1980 Lost to Ronald Reagan. Later made Reagan's running mate and elected Vice President. Won presidency in 1988 but lost re-election in 1992 to Bill Clinton
Donald Trump Reform Party's nomination for President of the United States 2000 Withdrew. Nomination won by Pat Buchanan. Later won Republican nomination and presidency in 2016.

Congressional and gubernatorial elections
President Office and jurisdiction Year Notes
William Henry Harrison Governor of Ohio 1820 Lost to Ethan Allen Brown
United States Representative 1822 Lost to James W. Gazlay. Elected to the Senate in 1824.
John Quincy Adams Governor of Massachusetts 1833 Lost to John Davis
James K. Polk Governor of Tennessee 1841, 1843 Lost re-election to James C. Jones in 1841 and lost to Jones again in 1843.
Abraham Lincoln United States Senator from Illinois 1854 Lost to Lyman Trumbull
United States Senator from Illinois 1858 Lost to Stephen Douglas
Andrew Johnson United States Senator from Tennessee 1869 Lost to Henry Cooper
United States Representative 1872 Came in third behind Horace Maynard and Benjamin F. Cheatham
Rutherford B. Hayes United States Representative 1872 Lost to Henry B. Banning. Later elected Governor of Ohio.
Benjamin Harrison Governor of Indiana 1876 Lost to James D. Williams.
United States Senator from Indiana 1887 Lost to David Turpie.
William McKinley United States Representative 1890 Lost to John G. Warwick. Later elected Governor of Ohio.
Warren G. Harding Governor of Ohio 1910 Lost to Judson Harmon.
Lyndon B. Johnson United States Senator from Texas 1941 Lost to W. Lee O'Daniel. Later elected Senator in 1948.
Richard Nixon Governor of California 1962 Lost to Pat Brown.
George H. W. Bush United States Senator from Texas 1964, 1970 Lost to Ralph Yarborough in 1964 and Lloyd Bentsen in 1970
Jimmy Carter Governor of Georgia 1966 Lost Democratic nomination to Lester Maddox. Later won the office in 1970, Won presidency in 1976, but lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan.
Bill Clinton United States Representative 1974 Lost to John Paul Hammerschmidt in 1974. Elected as Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976.
Governor of Arkansas 1980 Lost re-election to Frank White in 1980, but won in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990
George W. Bush United States Representative 1978 Lost to Kent Hance in 1978. Elected as Governor of Texas in 1994.
Barack Obama United States Representative 2000 Lost Democratic nomination to Bobby Rush in 2000

Other elections
President Office and jurisdiction Year Notes
John Tyler Vice President of the United States 1836 One of two Whig vice presidential candidates. Came in third behind Richard Mentor Johnson and Francis Granger. Later elected in 1840.
Millard Fillmore Whig nomination for
Vice President of the United States		 1844 Lost to Theodore Frelinghuysen. Later won in 1848.
Abraham Lincoln Republican nomination for
Vice President of the United States		 1856 Lost to William L. Dayton
Grover Cleveland District Attorney for Erie County, New York 1865 Lost to Lyman K. Bass
Theodore Roosevelt Mayor of New York City 1886 Placed in distant third behind Abram S. Hewitt and Henry George.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Vice President of the United States 1920 Lost to Calvin Coolidge. Later became Governor of New York (1929–1933)
Harry S. Truman Judge of Jackson County, Missouri 1924 Lost to Henry Rummel
John F. Kennedy Democratic nomination for
Vice President of the United States		 1956 Lost to Estes Kefauver. Won presidency in 1960
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