Q 01/05

Which film star replaced Gray Davis as governor of California after winning the 2003 recall election?

A) Sylvester Stallone

B) Clint Eastwood

C) Arnold Schwarzenegger

D) Jean-Claude Van Damme

Answer · why

C) Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger topped a replacement ballot that listed 135 candidates. Davis became only the second governor in American history to be recalled...

Q 02/05

Which former pro wrestler beat both major parties to win the Minnesota governor's race for the Reform Party?

A) Jesse Ventura

B) Hulk Hogan

C) Sgt. Slaughter

D) Randy Savage

Answer · why

A) Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura ran a low-budget campaign built on unusual advertising, and he remains the only Reform Party candidate to win a major government office.

Q 03/05

Who is the only person ever elected governor of two different states, first Tennessee and later Texas?

A) Davy Crockett

B) Sam Houston

C) Andrew Jackson

D) James K. Polk

Answer · why

B) Sam Houston

Sam Houston also led the Republic of Texas as its president. He lost the Texas governorship in 1861 for refusing to swear loyalty to the Confederacy.

Q 04/05

Where did aides say South Carolina governor Mark Sanford was hiking in 2009 when he was really in Argentina?

A) Appalachian Trail

B) Palmetto Trail

C) Natchez Trace

D) Pacific Crest Trail

Answer · why

A) Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail story collapsed within days, when Sanford admitted he had been visiting a mistress. State lawmakers censured him.

Q 05/05

Which Illinois governor was impeached and removed in 2009 for trying to sell Barack Obama's old Senate seat?

A) George Ryan

B) James R. Thompson

C) Otto Kerner

D) Rod Blagojevich

Answer · why

D) Rod Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich served nearly eight years of a 14-year federal prison sentence before it was commuted in 2020.