Duke the dog elected mayor for a record third term

As politicians go, does it get any better than this?

This guy loves people, and they love him back.

He’s never taken a bribe, though he’d probably do anything for a treat.

He’s quite fetching with all that snow-white hair.

And he appears to be in good health, though honestly we haven’t seen a letter from his vet.

Yes, Duke the dog is the perfect pol, so it’s no surprise that over the weekend his hometown of Cormorant, Minn., elected him mayor for the third straight year.

Only about 1,000 live in the township, surrounded by lakes about 180 miles northwest of Minneapolis. People paid $1 to vote for him at the town’s annual Cormorant Daze festival over the weekend.

The fix was definitely in for the 9-year-old Great Pyrenees. He’s got sky-high approval ratings, and his face shows up on billboards around town.

“I don’t know who would run against him,” resident Karen Nelson told WDAY 6 in Fargo, N.D. “He’s done such great things for the community.”

Duke was elected sort of by accident by write-in vote at the festival two years ago, according to his owner, David Rick. That year he beat out local store owner Richard Sherbrook, who had no hard feelings losing to a dog, Sherbrook told ABC News. He even voted for Duke.

Duke is not the first animal to hold office. Others have gone before, including Stubbs the cat in Alaska and a famous beer-swilling billy goat named Henry in Texas.

Duke won in a landslide this year. “Everybody voted for Duke, except for one vote for his girlfriend, Lassie,” Rick told WDAY.

Lucky for him the job is ceremonial only. But this year it seems that Duke missed out on a particularly timely campaign slogan.

It would have looked great on a red cap.

Make America Great Pyrenees Again.

This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Duke the dog elected mayor for a record third term."