Peter Hernandez opened a small business in New England more than a decade ago. He devotes the overwhelming majority of his time to his profession, but politics is always in the back of his mind. Even though he works “upwards of 70 hours a week,” Hernandez thinks about running for office “all the time. It's percolating seven days a week.” This is not surprising given that he was raised in a highly political home; his parents never ran for office, but according to Hernandez, “They might as well have. They were always hosting candidate events and attending political meetings.” Indeed, he credits his parents with encouraging him to seek elective positions in both high school and college. He is not sure when he will run for office, but it is likely only a matter of time. Convinced that his political connections, business experiences, and lifelong passion for politics would make him a “solid candidate” and an “excellent politician,” Hernandez is never surprised when clients and business associates urge him to run for the city council or the state legislature. He also knows he would have support should he enter a race; the state legislators who do business with his firm have already pledged their help, as have his family, friends, and colleagues.

Texas attorney David Robinson reports that he, too, has considered running for office, although he no longer thinks about it very often. Raised in a fairly political home – his parents spoke about politics regularly and he remembers accompanying his parents to the polls on Election Day –Robinson recalls being encouraged to develop strong beliefs about a host of national and foreign policy issues. By the time he completed college and law school, he had contributed financially to “more candidates and issue campaigns than [he] can remember.” Now a partner in a law firm that handles the business of many elected officials, Robinson acknowledges that he is “closer to politics than ever before.” But he explains that he has also become “frustrated, disgusted, and increasingly turned off” by politicians and government: “I used to think – very naively – that if you got the right guys in there, then we’d see positive change. But that never happens. It doesn't matter who we elect. The system changes them for the worse. I know people who started out with the right intentions and are now unrecognizable.” Because of his increasing cynicism toward politics, as well as the fact that “the job doesn't pay enough to make the trade-offs worthwhile,” Robinson no longer has any interest in running for office.