Had Wendell Willkie been elected or appointed to any public office before running for US president in 1940?

trial_by_error

Wendell Wilkie was a lawyer and utilities executive, but he had never held political office prior to gaining the Republican party nomination. I think the same thing happened with the Presidency of 1952 when General Dwight David Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson; neither one had held any type of office either. Jun 15 04, 5:56 AM

McGruff

Willkie become prominent for his opposition to the New Deal of President Roosevelt. He favoured many of its social reforms, but opposed its business regulations. He favoured removing controls and changing the tax system to encourage business expansion. He largely agreed with the administration's foreign policy. After the US entered WWII Willkie rallied his followers in a program of national unity. Roosevelt sent him on a number of visits to other countries as his unofficial envoy. The World Book Encyclopedia Jun 15 04, 7:21 AM

Rostov

Adlai E Stevenson was elected Governor of Illinois in 1948. Apr 22 07, 9:20 AM