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The question, which we put to you on Tuesday (and repeated during yesterday's Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation), was this:

Judd Gregg is currently the senior senator from New Hampshire. Prior to that, he was a U.S. representative and a governor. And now, assuming he is confirmed (or bar mitzvahed), he will be joining President Obama's Cabinet.

Before Gregg, who was the last person to serve as U.S. representative, governor, senator and Cabinet official?

Lots of guesses, and good ones too, came via e-mail.

Kris Schultz of Concord, N.H., and Bruce MacNeil of Arlington, Va., guessed Tom Carper of Delaware. Carper, the state's senior senator, indeed did previously serve as governor and representative. But he never served in the Cabinet.

Taylor Kay of South Portland, Maine, thought it might be Tommy Thompson. But Thompson served only as governor and in the Cabinet, not senator or representative. Taylor did add one fun fact: Gregg is the first major lottery winner in the Cabinet. (Already a millionaire, Gregg won $850,000 in the Powerball lottery in 2005.)

Both John Reuter of Sandpoint, Idaho, and Julia Klern of Encino, Calif., suggested Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho. But while Kempthorne was governor, senator and a Cabinet member, he never served in the House.

There were other guesses. Maine's Ed Muskie, Missouri's John Ashcroft, Nebraska's Mike Johanns, Rhode Island's John Chafee and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander all got one vote each. But while all served as governor, senator and Cabinet official, none of them were in the House.

Virginia's George Allen, Vermont's Robert Stafford, Arkansas' David Pryor and Delaware's J. Caleb Boggs also were mentioned. And all served as governor, senator, and representative. But none were in the Cabinet.

Lloyd Bentsen of Texas was representative, senator and Cabinet official. But not governor.

Christian Herter of Massachusetts was representative, governor and Cabinet official. But not senator.

The answer -- which two people did come up with on yesterday's TOTN -- is Abe Ribicoff. The Connecticut Democrat was elected to the House in 1948 for the first of two terms. In 1954 he was elected governor. President Kennedy named him HEW secretary in 1961. In 1962 he left the Cabinet to win the first of three Senate terms.

There was only one other person I could think of who also filled all those positions -- and Jerry Skurnik of New York City came up with it: James Byrnes. Byrnes, a South Carolina Democrat, filled all of those posts as well. But Ribicoff was the last, before Gregg.


categories: A Historical Look Back

1:18 - February 5, 2009

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