Despite the varying ethnic origins of the American people, presidents of the US (before Barack Obama--and so far after him) seem overwhelmingly to have had ancestors from only a few lands--the British isles, the Netherlands, and Germany. We have discussed the possibility of African American presidents before Obama (Colin Powell being the most frequently mentioned) and of Jewish presidents (Joe Lieberman being the most obvious possibility before Bernie Sanders), but here are some other ethnic groups that might have been represented in the presidency. My choices range from obviously plausible to very long shots. In some cases, the only likely way for them to become president is to be elected vice-president and for the president then to die or resign. Anyway, here's my list:
(1) Albanian: Mayor Richard Caliguri of Pittsburgh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Caliguiri was of Arbëreshë ("Italo-Albanian") ancestry. But he didn't become mayor of Pittsburgh until the late 1970's and was dead by 1988, which leaves him little opportunity.
Of course John Belushi became a senator, but only in "Animal House."
(2) Arab: E. Spencer Abraham,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Abraham then Republican Senator from Michigan (narrowly defeated for re-election, he served as Secretary of Energy from 2001 to 2005) was a possbile, if not very likely, running mate for GW Bush in 2000. After all, he was from a large (and close) state. Ralph Nader obviously was never going to make it to the White House as Green party candidate, but could he ever have won a Sanders-like campaign for the Demcoratic nomination?
(NOTE: I had forgotten that George J. Mitchell was an Arab-American; his mother was Lebanese-born, his father, though Irish-American, was adopted by a Lebanese family, and he himself was raised a Maronite Catholic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_J._Mitchell Thanks to X_X for reminding me about Mitchell.)
(3) Armenian: George Deukmejian (R), Governor of California, 1983-1991.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Deukmejian At least conceivable as a running mate for GHW Bush in 1988.
(4) Assyrian: Maybe the Democrats put Anna Eshoo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Eshoo on a national ticket not only to attrract women but also to atttact money from her Silicon Valley congressional district? BTW, she's also part Armenian, so she could count under (3) as well.
(5) Basque: Paul Laxalt,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Laxalt Republican Governor and Senator, Nevada, sometimes mentioned as possible running mate for Reagan. (Nancy Reagan thought that her husband preferred Laxalt and only rejected him for geographical reasons--but if the Democrats could nominate two "New Democrats" from adjacent southern states in 1992, why couldn't the Republicans nominate two western conservatives in 1980?) John Garamendi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Garamendi could conceivably have been on the national Democratic ticket if he had ever succeeded in becoming governor of California.
(6) Chinese: Well, of course Andrew Yang is running, but any earlier possibilities? Hiram Fong "twice ran favorite son campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, in 1964 and 1968.[9] In 1964, he became the first Asian-American to receive votes for president at a major party convention, receiving the votes of the Hawaii and Alaska delegations..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Fong but I doubt that he ever had a serious chance of being on a national GOP ticket. OTOH, someone here once suggested the following:
"The simplest way is for Nixon to appoint Fong to replace Agnew, and then resign as in OTL. The 25th Amendment would have permitted that, and the House and Senate would not have rebelled against the choice.
"The POD is a train of thought that creeps into Nixon's head and lays paranoid eggs. He is already considering the possibility that he will be impeached, and he fears that Ford is too much of a goo-goo to issue a pardon, and might screw old Nixon in order to win himself a second full term. Conversely, a man like Fong would be a perfect caretaker president. In the first place, he's been a solid ally on Vietnam and Watergate. And since he would have an [expletive deleted]'s chance of being elected president in his own right, he would be free to make unpopular decisions while president. As a bonus, Nixon would enhance his legacy by appointing a Chinese-American to the vice-presidency."
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/ahc-president-hiram-fong.302053/#post-8559230
Elaine Chao is out because she was born in Taiwan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Chao
Maybe if Mike Woo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Woo had been elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1993, he could eventually have been on a national Democratic ticket?
(7) Croatian: John Kasich's mother was of Croatian descent (his father was Czech):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kasich
If the last Territorial Governor of Alaska, Mike Stepovich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Stepovich had won the rather close 1958 Senate race against Gruening
http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3275 could he be on Nixon's list of potential running mates if Nixon is looking for a Catholic? (Stepovich is not only a Catholic but relatively young, a World War II veteran, with a large, attractive family, etc.) Stepovich was half Serbian, half Croatian.
Speaking of Alaskans: I have a hard time seeing Mark Begich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Begich on a national Democratic ticket even if he won his 2014 Seante or 2018 gubernatorial race. The same is true of his father, even had he survived:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Begich
Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaigns never had much of a chance:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kucinich
Rudy Perpich also seems unlikely, but: "Newsweek brought Perpich national attention by bestowing on him the nickname "Governor Goofy", crystallizing the combination of affection and resentment his habits elicited.[4] During his last years in office, commentators wondered whether he would *shoot to stardom as a presidential hopeful* [my emphasis--DT] or, as governor, sour Minnesota voters on the DFL party with questionable public relations. But Perpich's activist vision of the governor's role was later cited as an important contribution to the Minnesota economy, even by such unlikely admirers as his 1990 rival and successor Arne Carlson, who said in 2005 that Perpich "was the first person that I was aware of to focus on the international role that states are going to have to play.""
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Perpich
(8) Czech: As already mentioned, Kasich is half Czech.
Governor Otto Kerner (D) of Illinois
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Kerner_Jr. --maybe as a running mate for LBJ in 1964. Later on the Kerner Report made him nationally famous but probably too controversial (and then of course eventually he landed in jail, but that's another story...)
Harold Stassen was part Czech: "Stassen, the third of five children, was born in West St. Paul, Minnesota, to Elsie Emma (née Mueller) and William Andrew Stassen, a farmer and several-times mayor of West St. Paul. His mother was German and his father was born in Minnesota, to German and Czech parents."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stassen
A surprising number of potential presidential candidates were descended from Augustine Herman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_Herman
("Even beyond his numerous accomplishments during his lifetime, part of Augustine Herman's legacy have been the numerous distinguished descendants he left. Some of them are listed below. Richard Bassett, Daniel Brewster, James A. Bayard, James A. Bayard, Jr., Richard H. Bayard, Thomas F. Bayard, Thomas F. Bayard, Jr., Francis Beverley Biddle, James Bouldin, Thomas Bouldin, John B. Breckinridge, Lloyd Bryce, Ezekiel F. Chambers, Thomas Clayton, Henry W. Collier, Albert Constable, Robert Daniel, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, William B. Lamar, George E. Mitchell, Edmund Randolph, David Ross, and Joseph Tydings.")
(9) Danish--Lloyd Bentsen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Bentsen
(10) French: John Fremont:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Frémont
Robert M. La Follette (and of course Bob, Jr. and Phil...):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_M._La_Follette
I suppose you could also include Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton: "His paternal grandparents, Mary Elizabeth (Robinette) and Joseph H. Biden, an oil businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, were of English, French, and Irish ancestry..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish and Welsh descent."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton
Also, had he lived, JFK, Jr. via his mother...
And George Washington had a French great-great-great grandfather:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Martiau
(11) Greek: Spiro Agnew (if his having taken bribes isn't discovered, or at least not discovered in time), Paul Tsongas (if Clinton falters in 1992 primaries), and yes, Michael Dukakis...
BTW, we could have had a Lesbian-American president in 1988: "On the Aegean island of Mytilene, also known as Lesbos, the name Dukakis is mentioned with special pride. Dukakis' deceased father, Panos, emigrated from Pelopi Mytilene as a boy of 15 to Boston, where he worked his way through medical school...."
http://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0418/oduk.html (I even remember Johnny Carson joking about Dukakis's father being from Lesbos: "I was stationed in Lesbos during the War. Kind of hard to get a date there...")
One other possibility: North Carolina Congressman Nick Galifiankis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Galifianakis_(politician) if he had defeated Jesse Helms for the Senate. (He liked to tell North Carolinians wondering how to pronounce his name, "It starts with a gal and ends with a kiss...")
(12) Hispanic (admittedly not strictly an "ethnic group"): Bill Richardson (despite his Anglo name):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Richardson He could have been Gore's rnning mate if not for the security problems at the Department of Energy.
Ted Cruz and Julian Castro are current politics and AOC isn't eligible until 2024...
(13) (East) Indian--Bobby Jindal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Jindal Nikki Haley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Haley and (on her mother's side) Kamala Harris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris
(14) Italian: We've discussed this recently. Mario Cuomo (could have gotten the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992 and would probably have beaten GHW Bush, though losing a few southern states Clinton carried in OTL), John Volpe (if named as Nixon's running mate in 1968). Al Smith was part-Italian. La Guardia is another possibility, as is Geraldine Ferraro. And Rudy Giuliani--except that even if nominated in 2008, it's hard to see a Republican winning that year.
There was talk of having Peter Rodino as Carter's running mate in 1976:
"In 1976, Jimmy Carter considered Mr. Rodino as a running mate. ''Tippy called me all excited, saying I was at the top of the list,'' Mr. Rodino said. ''I said, 'No, I'm not. I like what I'm doing and you need me where I am, as chairman of Judiciary.' Tippy was surprised. So was Carter.'"
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/27/nyregion/after-40-years-making-the-law-rodino-now-teaches-it.html
I like the idea of Ferdinand Pecora, but he was born in Sicily...
(15) Japanese: Can anyone see Daniel Inouye as vice-president on the Democratic ticket in 1976? (He got a lot of sympathy during the Watergate hearings when John Ehrlichman's lawyer called him "that little Jap.")
S. I. Hayakawa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._I._Hayakawa would make an interesting choice for a GOP national ticket--except that he was born in Canada.
(16) Lithuanian: Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois was mentioned as a possible running mate for Gore in 2000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Durbin
(17) Maltese: Mayor Pete is of course current politics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Buttigieg
Anyone earlier is a stretch but maybe if Joseph Borg had run for governor or senator from Alabama or had become Secretary of the Treasury in someone's administration...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Borg_(regulator)
(18) Native American: Have Herbert Hoover die in office, and vice-president Charles Curtis, who is part Kaw Indian, becomes POTUS.
Lesser-known than Curtis today but a real power in the Democratic Party in his time: Robert L. Owen
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OW003
Maybe the Republicans reward Ben Nighthorse Campbell for party-switching?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Nighthorse_Campbell
(19) Norwegian: Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale. Also Earl Warren (who with the change of a few votes in California, Illinois, and Ohio could have been elected vice-president in 1948, and then we can have a handy Puerto Rican nationalist/terrorist take care of President Dewey...) was half-Norwegian, half-Swedish.
(20) Polish: Edmund Muskie. Two ways he could have become president: (1) Had Humphrey been elected in 1968 and died in office, or (2) in his own right in 1972 if he had won the Democratic nomination (certainly he would have been the underdog against Nixon, though he would have done a lot better than McGovern--but maybe if Wallace had not been shot, and had run as a third party candidate again and badly cut into Nixon's OTL vote, Muskie would have a chance).
Also, I did a post long ago in soc.history-what-if where Ben Adamowski,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Adamowski a former Democrat who switched to the GOP, is re-elected Cook County States Atorney in 1960 (he had a far better claim than Richard Nixon to have been cheated out of office by the Daley machine that year), defeats Daley for mayor of Chicago in 1963 (even in OTL Adamowski gave Daley a surprisingly competitive race) is reelected in 1967, and is named as Nixon's running mate in 1968.
(21) Portuguese: I already mentioned Ben Nighthorse Campbell under Native Americans, but his mother was an immigrant from Portugal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Nighthorse_Campbell
(22) Rusyn (or "Carpatho-Rusyn"): Tom Ridge,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ridge entioned as a running mate for Bush in 2000, is partly descended from Carpatho-Rusyns from Slovakia.
(23) Serbian: A scandal-free Rod Blagojevich? (Yeah, I know, sounds unlikely...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagojevich
Ohio governor George Voinovich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Voinovich was Serbian on his father's side, Slovene on his mother's.
As mentioned above, Mike Stepovich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Stepovich was part Serbian, part Croatian.
(24) Slovak: As noted, Tom Ridge is partly descended from Carpthato-Rusyns from Slovakia, and is often listed as a Slovak-American. Also, If Joe Sestak had won his US Senate race from PA, he would be mentioned for a Democratic national ticket.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Sestak
(25) Slovene: Frank Lausche, Democratic Governor and then Senator from Ohio, was one of the most conservative northern Democrats. I could (just barely) see him named for "ticket-balancing" purposes during the 1950's or 1960 if the top spot went to a liberal Protestant. There was even talk that Ike might name him as a vice-presidential candidate in 1956 (afer persuading Nixon to take a Cabinet post) to appeal to Catholic voters.
Also, to get into current politics, Amy Klobuchar's father is of Slovene descent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar
(26) Swedish: Governor John Johnson of Minnesota was seriously mentioned as an alternative to Bryan for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1908.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/president-john-a-johnson.455264/ Also, I've already mentioned that Earl Warren was part Swedish.
(27) Swiss: Albert Gallatin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gallatin (Also ISTR that Hoover characterized himself as being of Swiss rather than German ancestry).
And again to mention a current candidate, Amy Klobuchar's maternal grandparents were from Switzerland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar
(28) Ukrainian: David Bonior "grew up in Hamtramck and East Detroit as the grandson of Polish and Ukrainian immigrants..."
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/e...troit-memoir-east-side-kid-congress/70108312/ DIfficult to see him on a national ticket, though.
Can't think of any plausible Bulgarians, Finns (*pace* Gus Hall), Koreans, Romanians, Turks, or any number of other groups--at least not yet.
