Only 1 in 22 People Can Match These Famous People to the Offices They Held. Can You?

By: J.P. Naomi

6 Min Quiz

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons /Public domain via Wikimedia Commons / By United States Congress via Wikimedia Commons

About This Quiz

Ready to put your best vote forward with this quiz? It's time to see how well you know some of the most famous elected officials in United States history.

From the Founding Fathers to the political bigwigs of today, one thing's for sure ... careers in politics don't just come out of the blue. OK, maybe for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump they do ... But for the most part, most politicians have politics in their blood - some more literally than others. Perhaps their father was Speaker of the House, or their grandfather a Senator. Maybe their brother was President, or their husband was Governor ... AND President! No matter how they came to act on their passion for politics, they have all made their mark on government - be it in their home state, or in Washington DC., - be it for better or for worse!

Well, we always hope for the better, right!? We hope that their motivations are genuine and that their campaign promises are attainable. We look not just to their popularity but to their accomplishments and progress. We hold them accountable and only when they meet our standards do we re-elect or promote! 

So, think you have the votes to win this election? Get your talking points ready, it's time to take this campaign on the road!

Which office was held by George W. Bush?

Not only was George W. Bush President of the United States, he was also the Governor of Texas. He is the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush and grandson of former Senator from Connecticut, Prescott Bush.

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Which office was held by Marco Rubio?

Marco Rubio ran for President in 2016, but lost the Republican primary to Donald Trump. He has been a US Senator from his home state of Florida since 2011.

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Which office was held by Nancy Pelosi?

Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro was born on March 26, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. She served as Speaker of the House from 2007 - 2011 at which time she became House Minority Leader.

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Which office was held by Bernie Sanders?

Did you know that Bernie Sanders was first elected to office as the 37th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont? He then became a member of the US House of Representatives in 1991 and US Senator in 2007.

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Which office was held by Thomas Jefferson?

Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States. He served in office from 1801 - 1809! Prior to that, he was the 2nd Vice President of the US, and the 1st Secretary of State.

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Which office was held by Al Gore?

Al Gore served as the 45th Vice President of the United States alongside Bill Clinton. He was in office from 1993 - 2001 and was succeeded by Dick Cheney.

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Which office was held by Sam Brownback?

Sam Brownback served as Governor of Kansas from 2011 - 2018. Prior to that he held three other political positions including Secretary of Agriculture of Kansas, US Representative from Kansas' 2nd district, and US Senator from Kansas.

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Which office was held by Joe Kennedy?

Joe Kennedy III filled the congressional seat left vacant by Barney Frank in 2013. Kennedy is a graduate of Stanford University and received his law degree from Harvard University.

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Which office was held by Bob Casey?

Bob Casey Jr. has been a member of the US Senate since January 3, 2007. As a Democrat, he defeated the incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum in the 2006 election.

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Which office was held by Paul Ryan?

Paul Davis Ryan Jr. was born on January 29, 1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin. He assumed office as a US Representatives from Wisconsin in 1999 and became Speaker of the House in 2015.

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Which office was held by Michael Bloomberg?

Though born in Boston, Massachusetts, Michael Bloomberg became the 108th Mayor of New York City from 2002 - 2013. This was the only political office he ever held.

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Which office was held by John Boehner?

John Andrew Boehner was born on Nov. 17, 1949 in Reading, Ohio. He spent much of his career representing Ohio residents, both on the state and federal level, becoming the Speaker of the House from 2011 - 2015.

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Which office was held by Bill Clinton?

Bill Clinton was not only President of the United States, he also served as the Attorney General of Arkansas as well as Governor of Arkansas. He was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946.

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Which office was held by Rahm Emanuel?

Rahm Israel Emanuel has been Mayor of Chicago since May 16, 2011. Prior to that he served as Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He was also a Senior Advisor to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

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Which office was held by Tim Kaine?

Tim Kaine has held numerous political positions in his lifetime. Beginning in 1994, he was elected to the Richmond City Council. He then became Mayor of Richmond, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, Governor of Virginia, Chair of the Democratic National Committee and finally US Senator from Virginia.

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Which office was held by Newt Gingrich?

Newt Gingrich was born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943. Did you know he is really Dr. Gingrich? He received his PhD in European history from Tulane University in 1971.

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Which office was held by Chris Christie?

Chris Christie was the 55th Governor of New Jersey from 2010 - 2018. He was succeeded by Phil Murphy, and is now a contributor to ABC News.

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Which office was held by Benjamin Franklin?

Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States as well as the 6th President of Pennsylvania. Did you know he was actually the 1st Postmaster General of the US?

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Which office was held by Rand Paul?

Rand Paul was elected US Senator from Kentucky in the 2010 election cycle. Outside his political career, he is an ophthalmologist who specializes in cataract and glaucoma surgeries.

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Which office was held by Nelson Rockefeller?

Nelson Rockefeller served as the 41st Vice President of the United States from 1974 to 1977 alongside President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th Governor of New York from 1959 - 1973.

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Which office was held by John McCain?

John McCain was the Republican nominee for President in the 2008 election, though he lost to Barack Obama. He has been one of the US Senators from Arizona since 1987.

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Which office was held by Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin began her political career as a member of the Wasilla City Council. She then became Mayor of Wasilla and eventually Governor of Alaska. On July 3, 2009, Palin announced that she would not run for reelection in the 2010 Alaska gubernatorial election and would resign before the end of the month.

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Which office was held by Barack Obama?

Barack Obama became a member of the Illinois Senate in 1997. Just 12 years later, he was sworn in as President of the United States! He served alongside Joe Biden for two terms in office.

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Which office was held by Rick Perry?

After serving as Gov. George W. Bush's Lieutenant Governor from 1999 - 2000, Rick Perry became the Governor of Texas from 2000 - 2015. He now serves as the 14th US Secretary of Energy under Donald Trump.

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Which office was held by Aaron Burr?

Aaron Burr was the 3rd Vice President of the United States. He served alongside Thomas Jefferson during his first term from 1801 - 1805.

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Which office was held by Rutherford B. Hayes?

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born on October 4, 1822. He represented Ohio's 2nd district in the House of Representatives before becoming the 29th and 32nd Governor of Ohio. He was later elected the 19th President of the United States in 1877.

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Which office was held by Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Whig Party from 1834 until it dissolved in 1854, and there began the Republican Party. He served as the 16th President from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

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Which office was held by Andrew Cuomo?

Andrew Cuomo was a member of Bill Clinton's Cabinet, having served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He later became Attorney General of New York and since 2011 has been the 55th Governor of New York.

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Which office was held by Robert F. Kennedy?

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy served as a United States Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was the younger brother of John F. Kennedy, who was also assassinated 2 years prior.

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Which office was held by Elizabeth Warren?

Elizabeth Warren has been a US Senator from Massachusetts since 2013. She serves in the same seat once held by Senator Ted Kennedy.

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Which office was held by Dan Quayle ?

Dan Quayle was the 44th Vice President of the United States, having served with President George H. W. Bush from 1989 - 1993. Prior to that role, he was a US Senator from Indiana and US Representative from Indiana's 4th district.

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Which office was held by Martin O'Malley?

Martin O'Malley served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. Shortly thereafter, he announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential nomination, however lost out to Hillary Clinton.

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Which office was held by Ted Cruz?

Ted Cruz was born Rafael Edward Cruz in Canada. After serving as the Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 - 2008, he became a US Senator from Texas in 2013. He currently serves with Senator John Cornyn.

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Which office was held by Hillary Clinton?

Not only was Hillary Clinton a US Senator from New York from 2001 - 2009, she also served as the 67th US Secretary of State from 2009 - 2013. She also served as First Lady of both Arkansas and the United States - though those positions are not elected!

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Which office was held by Joe Biden?

Though he ran for President in 2008, he accepted Barack Obama's invitation to join him on the Democratic ticket as Vice President. Together they served in office from 2009 - 2017.

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Which office was held by Mike Pence?

Mike Pence is the 48th and current Vice President of the United States. Pence was going to run for re-election as Governor of Indiana but withdrew his papers upon joining the Republican ticket with Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

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Which office was held by Kirsten Gillibrand ?

Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand was elected United States Senator from New York in the 2008 election cycle. She ran for this seat which was vacated by then Senator Hillary Clinton upon her nomination for Secretary of State.

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Which office was held by Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Austria. After winning Mr. Universe at age 20, and seven consecutive Mr. Olympia contests, Schwarzenegger was elected to two terms as Governor of California. He served in this office from 2003 - 2011.

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Which office was held by Dick Cheney?

Dick Cheney was the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 - 2009. Did you know this wasn't his first time in the White House? He was actually the 7th White House Chief of Staff under the Ford Administration.

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Which office was held by Ted Kennedy?

Ted Kennedy was born Edward Moore Kennedy in 1932. He held the seat of US Senator from Massachusetts from 1962 - 2009 - the fourth-longest continuously serving member of the Senate.

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