Among recent elected presidents, all but Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. had an only child or two children and only one president has been divorced.

When tracking how many children the last 10 elected presidents have had, the number is quite small. Will the trend continue? Like the general population, for almost 75 years our presidents have moved in the direction of smaller families. There is a pattern.

The Count

George W. Bush -2 children
Bill Clinton -1 child
George H. W. Bush -5 children (and a son who died as a child)
Ronald Reagan -2 + 3 children
Jimmy Carter -1 child
Gerald Ford -4 children (Ford was not an elected president)
Richard Nixon -2 children
Lyndon B. Johnson -2 children
John F. Kennedy -2 children
Dwight D. Eisenhower - 1 child (his other son died at age 3)
Harry S. Truman -1 child
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Franklin D. Roosevelt -5 children (and a son who died before his first birthday)

Of the last 10 elected presidents, only two had more than two children. Gerald Ford became president after Richard Nixon resigned and served out the remainder of what was Nixon's second term. He was not elected or re-elected. Ronald Reagan had two children with former first lady, Nancy Reagan and three with his first wife. With the exception of Geroge Bush, Sr. and Reagan, we have to go back to Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd President, elected in 1933, to find an elected president with many children. Roosevelt fathered six children; five were alive during his presidency.

Obama -2; McCain -4+3

Obama has two children. McCain has more children than any president among the last dozen. He has seven (four as the biological father and three adopted) including one with his first wife Carol and her two sons whom he adopted, the three children he fathered with Cindy McCain and a daughter they adopted.

If the remarried candidate becomes president, he will be the second ever divorced president-Ronald Reagan is the only divorced president thus far. And, if the candidate with fewer children becomes our president, can the number of children a presidential hopeful has become a factor worth noting in future elections?

The significance of this exercise is to be determined.