Politics is a very different case from other professions, because those who hold coveted positions in this field are hired by an enormous committee (we, the voters) consisting of members who, for the most part, know significantly less about what it takes to do the job than most employers do. That said, it’s worth taking a look, since there are a good number of teenagers who already think they might be interested in pursuing a career in this area.
First, let’s look at US senators. Only 33 of 100 attended MC25 colleges, which is comparable to the other professions we’ve looked at and lower than I would have guessed. Interesting to note is that 65 attended either an MC25 school or a school located in the state they represent (or both).
STATE
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
SENATOR #1 COLLEGE
U Alabama
Georgetown
Brigham Young
U Arkansas
Stanford
Wesleyan
Harvard
Ohio State
U Florida
Georgetown
Pomona College
Brigham Young
Georgetown
US Naval Academy
U Northern Iowa
Kansas State
U Louisville
Louisiana State
St. Lawrence U
U Pittsburgh
U Houston
Michigan State
Yale
U Mississippi
Southwest Baptist U
U Providence
U Nebraska–Lincoln
U Nevada–Reno
Shippensburg U
St. Peter’s U
New Mexico Highlands U
Harvard
Wake Forest
Dartmouth
Yale
U Tulsa
Stanford
College of the Holy Cross
US Military Academy
U South Carolina
Biola U
Vanderbilt
Trinity U
Brigham Young
St. Michael’s College
George Washington U
Washington State
West Virginia U
U Minnesota
U Wyoming
SENATOR #2 COLLEGE
Southern Arkansas U
Harvard
US Merchant Marine Academy
Harvard
MIT
Wesleyan
Williams College
Amherst College
U Missouri–Kansas City
Morehouse College
U Hawaii-Manoa
U Wisconsin–Milwaukee
U Hawaii–Manoa
Wabash College
Iowa State
U Kansas
Baylor U (dropped out)
Vanderbilt
Dartmouth
Swarthmore College
Boston College
Alma College
Stanford
U Southern Mississippi
Stanford
Montana State
Harvard
U Minnesota
Brown
Stanford
U Missouri
Dartmouth
U Maryland–University College
Concordia College
Dartmouth
U Texas–Austin
Stanford
Harvard
Yale
Charleston Southern U
South Dakota State
Mississippi State
Princeton
Brigham Young U
U Chicago
U Missouri
Miami U (Ohio)
Duke
Smith College
Georgetown
With state governors, the preference for those educated in-state or at an MC25 college is even more pronounced, with 37 of 50 (74%) meeting one or both of these criteria. Only 11 of these (22%) attended an MC25 school, which is again similar to what we find in other professions.
STATE
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
COLLEGE ATTENDED
Auburn U
Misericordia College
Arizona State
Bob Jones U
Santa Clara U
Princeton
Harvard
Dartmouth
Yale
U Georgia
U Hawaii–Manoa
U Idaho
Duke
Hanover College
Iowa State
Bradley U
Vanderbilt
US Military Academy
U Massachusetts–Boston
Florida State
Harvard
Michigan State
Chadron State
Millsaps College
No college degree
Stevens Institute of Technology
U Chicago
U Wisconsin–Milwaukee
MIT
Harvard
U New Mexico
Fordham U
U North Carolina–Chapel Hill
North Dakota State
Miami U (OH)
Oklahoma State–Stillwater
U Colorado–Boulder
Dartmouth
Assumption University
U South Carolina
South Dakota State
Auburn
U Texas–Austin
Utah State
U Vermont
Virginia Military Institute
U Washington
Marshall U
U Wisconsin–Madison
Middlebury College
Source: wikipedia
(both lists last updated 4/8/2021)