Meet the potential future first ladies or gentlemen

While they do not have any special powers under the U.S. Constitution, the spouses of presidents certainly have the power of influence.

During her husband’s time in office, Eleanor Roosevelt held regular press conferences and lobbied for civil rights.

When Betty Ford talked publicly about her mastectomy, she prompted a jump in breast cancer diagnoses from women self-examining.

Nancy Reagan is well-known for starting the “Just Say No” campaign against drug use, while Barbara Bush championed literacy.

Earlier this year, we looked at the most popular presidential candidate search terms and found that some of the most popular Google searches focused on the candidates’ wives and husbands.

Here’s a rundown of all the possible first ladies and gentlemen of 2020, and how they might use their power as first spouse:

John Bessler

John Bessler, the husband of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, is an attorney and law professor. While he has been lauded for his books on the history of the death penalty, he has also enthusiastically taken over many household duties to support his wife in the Senate. Klobuchar says Bessler is “the first man to be active in the Senate spouse club.” (Image: Yahoo)

Jill Biden

Jill Biden, the wife of former Vice President Joe Biden, already has experience as Second Lady of the United States. She also worked as an English Professor at Northern Virginia Community College throughout her husband's time in office.

Lisa Bullock

Lisa Bullock, the wife of Montana Governor Steve Bullock, has worked for various technology companies and has taught high school math and computer science.  According to her bio on Montana.gov, she has worked to expand school breakfast programs to fight child hunger. (Image: Montana.gov)

Chasten Buttigieg

Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Mayor Pete Buttigieg, wouldn’t just be the first gentleman in the White House – he’d be the first gay spouse. Chasten is a junior high humanities teacher at a Montessori school, but he’s on a leave of absence during his husband’s campaign. He’s gained attention for humorous tweets, from revealing his Hogwarts house (Hufflepuff) to narrating his dogs’ lives. (Image: Ted Eytan)

Erica Lira Castro

Erica Lira Castro, the wife of Julián Castro, is a first-generation college student. After working as a math teacher for over a decade, she transitioned to education consulting. She also teamed up with Jill Biden – the wife of Vice President Joe Biden – to encourage more Hispanic Americans to become teachers. (Image: Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Susan Daggett

Like some other couples on this list, Susan Daggett met her husband Sen. Michael Bennet on a blind date.  After they had been dating six weeks, Bennet followed Daggett to Montana where she worked as an environmental lawyer. (Image: DRCOGorg)

Rosario Dawson (maybe)

Right now, Rosario Dawson is just dating Sen. Cory Booker. While she is most well-known for her career in Hollywood, she is involved in a wide array of political and philanthropic causes, from the Lower East Side Girls Club to Amnesty International. She’s been arrested more than once during political protests. (Image: Gage Skidmore)

April Delaney

April Delaney, the wife of Rep. John Delaney, is the Washington Director and a Board Member of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that recommends safe technology and media for parents and children. According to Rep. John Delaney’s campaign website, “Her policy work centers on digital citizenship issues (including tech addiction, privacy, and teen anxiety concerns).” (Image: Edward Kimmel)

Douglas Emhoff

Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Sen. Kamala Harris, describes himself on Twitter as, “dad, hubby, lawyer, wannabe golfer.” He specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law. Emhoff met his wife Kamala Harris on a blind date. (Image: Thomas Hawk)

Jonathan Gillibrand

Jonathan Gillibrand, husband of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, would be the first spouse in the White House with a British accent (unless you count Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams) – he is a British-American venture capitalist. He met Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on a blind date while he was getting his MBA at Columbia University. (Image: Financial Times)

Trudi Inslee

Trudi Inslee, wife of Gov. Jay Inslee, has spent her entire life in Washington state; she raised their two sons on an alfalfa farm. According to the governor’s website, “Trudi continues to support social service programs and organizations that provide services for women and children who are victims of sexual assault, homelessness, and hunger while also supporting early learning programs and health care for all.” (Image: Jay Inslee)

Bruce Mann

Bruce Mann, husband of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is a Harvard Law School professor. He never expected the transition from academia to politics but shares her political views. According to a post she made on Facebook, Warren was the one to propose marriage. (Image: Mike Ball)

Leslie Marshall

Leslie Marshall, wife of former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, is a magazine writer and novelist. Marshall seemed to embrace the political campaign lifestyle in 2016, when her husband, Bill Weld, was the Libertarian nominee for vice president. (Image: Ronald Woan)

Chirlane McCray

Chirlane McCray met her husband, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, while they both were working for Mayor David Dinkins.  She is a writer, poet, and activist.  (Image: UN Women/Ryan Brown)

Elizabeth Moulton

Elizabeth Moulton, wife of Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, is a recruiter with Spencer Stuart’s Sports Business Practice.  She has a focus on recruiting women to executive positions in sports. 

Robin Pringle

Robin Pringle married Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2016. She is a vice president at Liberty Media, which owns QVC, SiriusXM, Barnes and Noble, and several other well-known brands. She says she voted Republican in the past and now identifies as an independent. She has a BA in Public Policy, so she would probably be an active first lady.

Andrea Zetts Ryan

Andrea Zetts Ryan, the wife of Rep. Tim Ryan, is an elementary school teacher, putting her in the company of several other spouses on this list who teach. Her husband credits Andrea and her children (from a previous marriage) for helping his work on mindfulness. (Image: Phil Roeder)

Amy Hoover Sanders

Amy Hoover Sanders met her husband, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, on a blind date. She is currently the director of the nonprofit CREEED which works to improve education in El Paso. She is an heiress, thanks to her father’s $500 million real estate fortune. (Image: Beto O'Rourke)

Jane O’Meara Sanders

Jane O’Meara Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has worked in education, community organizing, and her husband Bernie’s office. She wrote dozens of bills for Sen. Sanders. In 2017 she founded the Sanders Institute, a progressive think tank. (Image: Gage Skidmore)

Melania Trump

The current first lady, Melania Trump, is just the second to be born outside the United States, and the first born as a non-native English speaker (in Slovenia). She started working as a model at the age of 5. She has used her position as first lady to draw attention to the issue of cyberbullying. (Image: Marc Nozell)

Brittany Watts

Brittany Watts married Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2016, and they now have two small children. In their wedding announcement, she is listed as the director of sales for the Ritz-Carlton resort in Half Moon Bay, California. There is not much other public information about Swalwell’s partner.

Abraham Williams

Abraham Williams, a freelance cinematographer and editor married Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in 2015. He volunteered to shoot her campaign ad when she first ran for Congress. They share a love of surfing. So far Williams has mostly stayed out of the spotlight – in fact, Gabbard did not share his name publicly until shortly before their marriage. (Image: Matt Johnson)

Evelyn Yang

Evelyn Yang met her husband, Andrew Yang, at Columbia University. After working as a marketing executive, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom to two sons. One of their sons is on the autism spectrum, which is why funding for autism intervention is part of Yang’s campaign platform.

Oprah Winfrey?

Marianne Williamson was briefly married but is not currently attached. The last president to remain single throughout his term was James Buchanan; his niece acted as hostess at the White House. Perhaps Williamson would similarly choose a family member or friend to fulfill the role. Is there a chance Williamson would select her friend Oprah Winfrey? (Image: Mark Mathosian)

Who would you like to see as first lady or first gentleman? Share your opinion in the comments below.