List of animals in political office
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There have been several instances of non-human animal candidates holding political office. In the United States, these candidates often hold honorary positions won through unofficial elections, typically in unincorporated areas with no official local government, although there have been cases of animals being elected to legitimate offices.
List
| Name | Species | Political office | Time in office | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bode Ioiô | Goat | City councilor of Fortaleza, Brazil | c. 1922 | Bode Ioiô (lit. Yoyo Goat) never ran for office, but won via write-in votes. | [1] |
| Bosco Ramos | Dog | Mayor of Sunol, California | 1981—1994 | Bosco won the mayoral election in 1981 and served until his death in 1994. A bronze statue of him was erected in Sunol in 2008. | [2] |
| Boston Curtis | Mule | Republican precinct captain of Milton, Washington | c. 1938 | Boston Curtis ran unopposed. His campaign was created as a prank by mayor Kenneth Simmons. | [3][4] |
| Clay Henry | Goat | Mayor of Lajitas, Texas | c. late 1980s—c. 1995 | He frequently drank excessive amounts of beer and was killed in a fight by his son, Clay Henry Jr., who succeeded him in office. All mayors of Lajitas have since been part of the Clay Henry political family. His successor, Clay Henry III won an election against a cigar store Indian and a dog. | [5][6] |
| Duke | Dog | Mayor of Cormorant, Minnesota | 2015—2018 | Duke was elected in 2015, winning a majority of the votes of the 12 people that lived in Cormorant at the time. He retired in 2018 before dying in 2019. In 2024, Duke was succeeded by Khaleesi Sherbrooke, another dog. | [7][8] |
| Goofy Borneman-Calhoun | Dog | Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky | 1998—2001 | Goofy was the first mayor of Rabbit Hash and died in office. Rabbit Hash's mayoral elections are unofficial, and all of its elected mayors have been dogs. | [9][10] |
| Max II | Dog | Mayor-for-life of Idyllwild–Pine Cove, California | 2013—2022 | Idyllwild's first mayor, Max, served from 2012 until 2013 when he died, and Max II completed his term. When he won reelection, he was declared mayor-for-life. After dying in 2022, Max II was succeeded by his cousin, Max III. | [11][12] |
| Minerva | Cat | Mayor of the Somerville Community Path in Massachusetts | 2025— | An election for mayor of the Sommerville Community Path was informally held in September 2025 between many pets and animals. Over 90 candidate lawn signs were placed on the side of the path by animal owners, and the ballot listed over 70 candidate animals. A cat named Minerva won the election, which attracted widespread news coverage. Minerva's campaign platform was simply the word "crime". | [13] |
| Murfee | Dog | Mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont | 2020—2021 | Murfee the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a certified therapy dog that succeeded Lincoln the goat, who served as mayor in 2019. Murfee won reelection in 2021. | [14][15] |
| Parker the Snow Dog | Dog | Mayor of Georgetown, Colorado | 2020—2025 | Parker, a Bernese Mountain Dog, was elected mayor in 2020. He was also the official mascot of the Loveland Ski Area and worked as a therapy dog. He died in 2025. | [16][17][18] |
| Stubbs | Cat | Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska | 1997—2017 | Stubbs won the 1997 mayoral election as a write-in candidate and remained in office until his death in 2017. He was succeeded by another cat named Aurora. | [19][20][21] |
| Tucker Joyce | Dog | Mayor of Omena, Michigan | 2009—2012 | Tucker Joyce was Omena's first mayor. The town holds triennial mayoral elections, and all of its elected mayors have been animals. | [22] |