Theories of Relativity

From Ken Rudin's Collection

America wants to know what "Jeb" stands for.

From Ken Rudin's Collection

Ohio Republicans Frances and Oliver Bolton represent the only instance of a mother and son serving together in Congress.

From Ken Rudin's Collection

On this date in history, Sen. Al Gore Jr. suspended his 1988 presidential campaign.

Q: Regarding Florida Gov. Jeb Bush… I know "Jeb" comes from J.E.B. - John Ellis Bush. But what family member was an Ellis? - Gregg Ellis, Raleigh, N.C.

A: Nancy Bush, the sister of former President George H.W. Bush (Jeb's aunt), married Alexander "Sandy" Ellis Jr. He died in 1989. They had four children, including John Ellis, who may be best remembered for his involvement in an election night 2000 controversy: as a consultant for Fox News, he was accused of relaying exit poll numbers to Bush headquarters in Austin.

Q: Are there any other cases in the Senate -- like Bob and Elizabeth Dole -- in which a senator retires and his wife later becomes a senator as well? I know there have been many cases where the wife replaced a dead husband, but I’m wondering if the Dole example is unique. -- Evelyn Record, Oklahoma City, Okla.

A: This is the only time it's happened in the Senate. Sen. Bob Dole represented Kansas from 1969 to 1996, and his wife Elizabeth was elected in North Carolina in 2002. There was a similar occurrence in the House, though it didn't involve a voluntary retirement. U.S. Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, an Iowa Democrat, served from 1973 until his defeat in 1976. His wife, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, also a Democrat, was elected from a Pennsylvania district in 1992 but was defeated after one term.

There's also one instance of a husband following his wife in Congress: Emily Taft Douglas served in the House for one term (D-IL, 1945-47); her husband, Paul Douglas, was elected to the Senate in Illinois in 1948 and served 18 years.

Besides the Doles, the only other marriage between two senators occurred in 1996, when Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) wed former senator Howard Baker (R-TN). While the two did serve together, they weren't married until a dozen years after Baker retired.

Q: Who were the only father and son to serve in the Senate at the same time from different states? -- Johnnie Westerfield

A: They were Democrats Henry Dodge of Wisconsin, and his son Augustus Dodge, who represented Iowa. Both were first elected in 1848 and served together until the younger Dodge's resignation in 1855.

Q: Who are the mother and son that served in Congress together? What state were they from? -- Patricia Williams

A: That would be Frances and Oliver Bolton, Republicans from Cleveland. Frances Bolton became Ohio's first female member of the House when she was elected in February 1940, succeeding her husband, Rep. Chester Bolton, who died four months prior. In 1952, she helped her son Oliver capture a newly created congressional seat. He served from 1953 to 1957, and again from 1963 until his defeat in 1964, all concurrently with his mother. Frances Bolton continued to serve until her own defeat in 1968.

Q: My 16-year-old stepson, born in Britain, has political ambitions now that he is here in the U.S. I know he will be eligible to run for Congress. If he were to make it as far as speaker of the House, or the president's cabinet, could he become president by succession? -- Brenda Bowen, Ijamsville, Md.

A: No, he cannot. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states that a president, in addition to being at least 35 years of age and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years, must be a natural-born citizen (or, though this has never been tested in court, one born to American parents abroad). Assuming your stepson was not born to American parents, he could not succeed to the presidency as speaker of the House, which follows only the vice president in terms of succession.

The same rules apply to the cabinet. When Madeleine Albright was secretary of state under President Clinton -- a position fourth in line to the presidency -- she was not eligible under the line of succession because she was born in Prague to Czechoslovakian parents.

I wish your son luck in his political career. If he does run for Congress, make sure to send me a campaign button.

OOPS: A correction to the April 7 column. Harvey Hudson of Eden Prairie, Minn., points out that Adlai Stevenson, who was vice president under Grover Cleveland, was the grandfather -- not the father -- of 1952 and '56 Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson II.

This Day in Campaign History: Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr., off a disastrous finish two days prior in the New York Democratic primary, suspends his presidential campaign. Though he earlier carried six states -- all in his native South -- on Super Tuesday, he had hoped that a strong showing in the Empire State would indicate national appeal. But the 40-year-old Gore, a first-term senator, got only 10 percent of the vote in New York, finishing well behind Jesse Jackson and winner Michael Dukakis (April 21, 1988).