Who can run for both president and a statewide office?

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

I know that only a few states allow his favorite sons and daughters to seek election to both a statewide office and the White House. Biden's double election was a rare exception, whereas Rand Paul, e.g., couldn't go both ways and thus initiated a caucus for his home state Kentucky, which went a bit awry for him.

The following politicians are reported to be potential candidates for the White House.
Which of them can run for both president and senator/governor?

Bullock, Castro, Collins, Cooper, Cotton, Greitens, Hickenlooper, Inslee, Justice, Martinez, Merkley, Sasse, Shaheen, Warner

[mvd10]

Cotton probably would have tried if Clinton had won. Arkansas lawmakers already were trying the change the rules, and I think Cotton would have been the perfect candidate for 2020 (on paper). The establishment would take him over another Trump, he has some populist credentials (supported a minimum wage hike and most importantly he was a rather vocal Trump supporter in the general election), and he also is a Tea Party darling. But he could also just be a paper tiger. On paper Rubio was supposed to be the solution to all Republican problems and that didn't work out too well.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Cotton probably would have tried if Clinton had won. Arkansas lawmakers already were trying the change the rules, and I think Cotton would have been the perfect candidate for 2020 (on paper). The establishment would take him over another Trump, he has some populist credentials (supported a minimum wage hike and most importantly he was a rather vocal Trump supporter in the general election), and he also is a Tea Party darling. But he could also just be a paper tiger. On paper Rubio was supposed to be the solution to all Republican problems and that didn't work out too well.

Thanks for your answer.

Does anybody know a map about where a governor/congressman can run for both offices (like Biden did)?

[MarkD]

I can't find a source that lists all of the states which currently allow it.
Besides, it doesn't matter, because state laws on this kind of subject can usually be changed pretty quickly.
The so-called "LBJ law," adopted in 1960, allowed LBJ to run for re-election to his seat in the U.S. Senate simultaneously as he ran on the national ticket too. The law was changed when he asked the Texas legislature to change it. According to some articles I've found by searching which the words "Which states can you run for President and Congress at the same time?" a number of other states have adopted "LBJ laws" too, but there is no comprehensive reference to which are all of them that have done so.
Texas, Delaware, Connecticut, and Wisconsin seem to be the only ones which we can confirm that, currently, the law allows the appearing-on-the-ballot-twice gimmick. Lyndon B. Johnson and Lloyd Bentsen both took advantage of the Texas law -- 1960 and 1988, respectively; Joe Lieberman did in Connecticut, 2000; Joe Biden did in Delaware in 2008; and Paul Ryan did in Wisconsin in 2012. There probably are other states that also allow it, but I can't yet find a method of determining which states, currently, allow it.
And, as I said, even if Missouri law does not currently allow it, if Rep. Jason Smith wanted to run on the national ticket in 2020, he could probably convince the state legislature to change the law some time in 2019 or early 2020.

[muon2]

You are correct that state laws change quickly when needed to support a favorite son. In 2008 the Obama campaign was worried that Super Tuesday would give Clinton such a large lead that she would lock in too many superdelegates. They got the legislature to move the primary from the third week in Mar to the first week in Feb. That gave Obama enough delegates that he could build his lead through the Feb and Mar caucus states and leave Clinton scrambling in the spring.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

You are correct that state laws change quickly when needed to support a favorite son. In 2008 the Obama campaign was worried that Super Tuesday would give Clinton such a large lead that she would lock in too many superdelegates. They got the legislature to move the primary from the third week in Mar to the first week in Feb. That gave Obama enough delegates that he could build his lead through the Feb and Mar caucus states and leave Clinton scrambling in the spring.

Why didn't the Kentucky legislature change the rules for Rand Paul.
Do the KY Republicans not like him?

And what about Rubio? Was he able to run for both offices last year?

[RogueBeaver]

KY House was Dem controlled until 2016, so KYGOP organized a caucus. Rubio wasn't allowed. AR has already amended the law explicitly for Cotton, but the cycles won't coincide again till 2032.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

KY House was Dem controlled until 2016, so KYGOP organized a caucus. Rubio wasn't allowed. AR has already amended the law explicitly for Cotton, but the cycles won't coincide again till 2032.

Wut? How did the Dems manage to do that?

[Mr. Morden]

Rubio wasn't allowed.

But he did run for both offices last year, just not at the same time.  He ran for president, including in the Florida presidential primary, but then dropped out of the presidential race and ran for Senate (both primary and general) in the same year.  So Florida law didn't stop him from being on the *primary* ballot for two offices whose general election dates are the same, yet whose primary dates are different.

Similarly, Rand Paul's "caucus fix" only allowed him to run in the primaries for both Senate and President in the same year, but wouldn't have allowed him to run for both in the general election.  Presumably, if he'd won the presidential nomination, he would have dropped out of the Senate race rather than the other way around.

While VP nominees will often want to hedge their bets in the general election, in case their ticket loses, I don't think that's really the case for presidential nominees.  Anyone who wins the presidential nomination of one of the two major parties is just going to drop out of any other races that year once the presidential nomination is locked up.  What they're really trying to hedge against is that they won't win the nomination in the first place.

So the issue isn't just state law on whether they can be on the ballot for two offices at once, but whether the primaries for Senate and President are on the same date or not, and when are the filing deadlines for the Senate primary.  Is the filing deadline late enough in presidential primary season that you might already have a good idea of whether you're going to win the presidential nomination or not?  In Rubio's case, he was actually able to run in the Florida presidential primary, then drop out of the race, then file for the Senate primary that same year, because the Senate filing deadline was late enough.  But it's not late enough in every state.

I know, for example, that Minnesota has passed a presidential primary for 2020 (was previously a caucus state).  Does it still have a separate primary for state offices, including Senate?  And is the filing deadline late enough that Franken could run for president, get far enough along in the primary season to see whether he's going to win the nomination or not, and then if necessary drop out and run for Senate?

[jimrtex]

The so-called "LBJ law," adopted in 1960, allowed LBJ to run for re-election to his seat in the U.S. Senate simultaneously as he ran on the national ticket too. The law was changed when he asked the Texas legislature to change it.

John Nance Garner was simultaneously re-elected to Congress, and elected as Vice President. He was the House Speaker, and became President of the Senate on the same day (this was prior to the 20th Amendment).

In 1952, Allan Shivers was elected governor as both a Republican and Democrat, along with all the other state officers. This permitted voters to vote for favorite son Dwight Eisenhower, against Adlai Stevenson  without risking having Democrats lose other offices (or alternatively, having the Texas Democratic party not following the national party). The progressive wing of the Democratic Party then changed the law, with the simple expedient of making it illegal for a candidate to appear on the ballot twice.

It was this law that was amended a few years later to permit LBJ to be re-elected to the Senate and as Vice President. This was a return to previous practice, and reversed a somewhat clumsy change.