The Taft family

Four generations of Ohio Tafts: a president and chief justice, “Mr. Republican,” and two more in the Senate and the governor’s office.
Ohio · President · Senate · Governor · House
Combined career popular votes
27,957,640
Combined electoral votes
329
Members on the ballot
5
Combined W–L
10–4
Years on the ballot
1908–2002

William Howard Taft is the only person to serve as both president and chief justice of the United States. His son Robert A. Taft, known as “Mr. Republican,” was a towering Senate leader; grandson Robert Taft Jr. also reached the Senate; and great-grandson Bob Taft was elected governor of Ohio, extending the family’s public service across a full century.

The Taft family members, ranked by career popular votes
MemberOfficesYearsCareer popular votesRecord
Bob TaftRGovernor1998–20023,543,72820
Charles P. Taft IIRGovernor19521,590,05801
Robert Taft Jr.RSenate · House1962–19767,254,84042
Robert A. TaftRSenate1938–19504,403,86430
William Howard TaftRPresident1908–191211,165,15011

How this is measured

Combined career popular votes are summed across the 5 family members we track, each counted once across every presidential, U.S. Senate, governor, and U.S. House election in our data. Family membership is hand-curated and verified against primary sources, never matched by surname alone, so unrelated namesakes are never folded in. A vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and the vice-presidential candidate, matching how each profile reports its own totals.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources.