How many incumbent presidents have lost

At the time, Democrats were bitterly divided. Any candidate would face trouble securing widespread support. Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson ended up winning the Democratic Party nomination, but losing the general election to Eisenhower. Meanwhile, Truman would tie Richard Nixon for the dubious honor of the lowest approval ratings upon leaving office. While President Lyndon B. Johnson won the New Hampshire primary on March 12, , politicos thought he should have beaten radical anti-war Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota by a larger margin than the seven points with which he pulled it off.

Protesters took to the street during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to protest the fact that Humphrey won the nomination without campaigning in a primary, and Humphrey went on to lose the Presidential election to former Vice President Richard Nixon. President Gerald Ford — who was elected to the House of Representatives, but became first Vice President then President thanks to the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon — was vulnerable, thanks especially his unpopular decision to pardon Nixon.

In the general election, Democratic Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter ended up winning for, as pundits said , being the opposite of Nixon. Senator Ted Kennedy, the brother of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. That speech was also the launchpad for a new chapter in his Senate career. When he decided to challenge President George H. He believes in some Pax Universalis; we believe in the old Republic.

So just being challenged is not a good sign. Party leaders still hold critical sway behind the scenes and can discourage people from running altogether, and, adds Noel, fewer people may be interested in disagreeing with a President from within a party anyway. Write to Olivia B.

President Trump speaks at the White House yesterday. Former Presidents George H. Bush, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter answer questions at a news conference in Cleveland is the only president in US history to serve two discontinuous terms.

Share This Article. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! As president, Mr Taft said he would not appoint African Americans to federal jobs and removed a majority of Black office holders in the south. He is considered by most historians as an average president, as his four years in charge were unremarkable. He served as president from to and lost the presidential election to Woodrow Wilson.

Herbert Hoover was elected as US president in , and was faced with helping the country rebuild after the stock market crash of As president, Mr Hoover oversaw congress voting to repeal prohibition, despite pushing to make sure alcohol remained illegal in the US.

Gerald Ford not only failed to win re-election as the US president, but also never won a presidential election. Mr Ford, a Republican, became the president after Richard Nixon resigned, following the Watergate scandal. He served from to , when Jimmy Carter defeated him in the election. George H W Bush was the last president to fail to win re-election, when he was beaten by Democrat, Bill Clinton, in the election. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.

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