In April of this year, the 1940 census was released after the usual 72-year privacy-restriction period. On the cusp of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, I thought it might be interesting to take a peek into the past of the families of the candidates for highest office. None of them had been born yet, so what follows are entries for a mix of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I've opted to share them alphabetically - Biden, Obama, Romney and Ryan - and all records were located using the index created by the all-volunteer 1940 U.S. Census Community Project.
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| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
