It has been 25 years since the U.S. elevated a state governor to the White House. But since George W. Bush of Texas won that election and re-election, governors have continued to make their pitch for the nation’s top political job.
Now, on President’s Day, more than two years away from our next presidential election, some of the governors rumored to be considering a run have made their last “State of the State” speeches in the places they governed for the last few years. And some who can still seek another term while they ponder a White House future also made their annual speeches to the legislature.
All praised their own accomplishments, all looked to the future, and all tried to look statesmanlike as they made their case. So how much can we tell from those speeches? And how well do you know them already?
CPR News chose five of those governors who are rumored to be mulling a presidential run, including Colorado’s own Jared Polis. There are far more than five who may be thinking about it, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, but you may have already heard plenty from them. We tried to tilt the list here to focus a little more on possible contenders from the Mountain West, and those you might not know as well.
