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)