JOHN CURLEY

Are you sizing up the GOP presidential candidates?

Oct 28, 2015, 1:39 PM | Updated: 2:23 pm

Tom Tangney notes that taller presidential candidates win two-thirds of the time. (AP)...

Tom Tangney notes that taller presidential candidates win two-thirds of the time. (AP)

(AP)

Do you know the most Googled question about Jeb Bush?
It’s not his economic plan or his record in Florida. It’s also not his family connections or what the name “Jeb” means.

Rather, the most searched question about one of the leading men vying for the Republican nomination is: “How tall is Jeb Bush?”

“Vote for Jeb, he’s 6-foot-4,” said KIRO Radio’s John Curley.

It turns out that height may play a role, perhaps subconsciously, in presidential races. Taller candidates win more often than not.

“As a rule, taller candidates tend to do better,” co-host Tom Tangney said. “Most of the candidates for the presidency tend to be taller than the average man or woman. About two-thirds of the time, the taller candidate wins.”

With that said, there always some exceptions.

“You know who is also 6-foot-4?” Tom asked. “George Pataki.”

Pataki is also running for the presidential nomination from the GOP. Both Pataki and Bush are slated to take part in a GOP debate tonight on CNBC. However, since Pataki is among the four lowest polling candidates, he will be joining Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal and Lindsey Graham at 3 p.m. Bush, meanwhile, will face nine other candidates at 5 p.m., including current front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

Much like Bush, Trump, who claims a lot of headlines, is 6 feet 3 inches tall.

“You know who the shortest ones are?” Tom asked. “Lindsey Graham is really short, at 5 foot 6 or 5 foot 7, and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are 5 foot 8 and 5 foot 10,” he said.

Just to add a little useless trivia to the mix, Curley noted that the shortest president was James Maddison, at 5 feet 5 inches tall. Of course, it was a lot more difficult to gauge a candidate’s height in 1809.

John Curley on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to tom and curleyTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for The John Curley Show.

John Curley

John Curley

plague...

John Curley Show

‘No need to worry, everybody’: Curley skeptical of Russian assurances after lab worker’s suspected plague death

A lab worker's mysterious death raises concerns about Russia's handling of plague threats and public health safety.

2 hours ago

ferry (1)...

John Curley Show

‘This shouldn’t have come as a surprise’: Transportation analyst ties ferry staffing crisis to COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Washington Policy Center transportation director Charles Prestrud argued that Washington’s ferry disruptions were years in the making.

20 hours ago

millionaire's tax I-645...

John Curley Show

Curley urges listeners to vote to repeal ‘millionaire’s tax’: ‘They’re not going to keep it just for millionaires’

Washington voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to repeal the state's new 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million, and KIRO host John Curley is urging listeners to vote yes.

1 day ago

Follow @https://twitter.com/jcurleyshow...

John Curley Show

‘America needs to start waking up’: Former USS Cole commander warns U.S. infrastructure needs better protection against drone threats

Former USS Cole commander urges better protection for U.S. infrastructure against increasing drone threats to ensure national security.

3 days ago

millionaires' tax (1)...

John Curley Show

‘It’s incredibly out of touch’: Senator rejects expanding WA’s millionaires’ tax to $250K earners

Washington Sen. Jesse Salomon defended his support for the millionaires' tax but pushed back against his Democratic opponent.

4 days ago

daycare...

John Curley Show

‘They basically pled the Fifth to us’: WA Rep. Travis Couture rips state’s response to alleged daycare fraud

Rep. Travis Couture accused state officials of dodging questions about childcare subsidy payments, arguing that taxpayers deserve investigations.

6 days ago

Are you sizing up the GOP presidential candidates?