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Defeated Presidents Who Ran Again


vcczar

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This isn't a long list of president who lost reelection and then ran again:

  • Van Buren in 1844. He was #1 in the ballot at the Dem convention through first 4 ballots. He dropped out after ballot 8 and Polk got the nomination. 
  • Van Buren in 1848. He and his supporters bolted out of the convention before the 1st ballot when the Convention created a rule designed to weaken Van Buren's support within his own state, easily the largest state at the time. Van Buren ran 3rd party after that.
  • Cleveland in 1892. He defeated Pres. B Harrison who had defeated him the previous election. 
  • Hoover would get delegates in a couple (1936 and 1940) of Conventions after his 1932 defeat, and he expected to be a favorite for the nomination despite that never showing on the ballots. 
  • Trump in 2024. He will be the first to attempt in the era of nationwide primaries. The earlier guys were working with a ballot system. 

 

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4 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I didn’t watch the speech but most reactions I’m seeing is that it was low energy, like his heart isn’t in it or something. 

That's accurate. I didn't watch the whole thing but I saw some of it and it definitely wasn't Trump 2015-2016 energy or even 2020. 

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6 hours ago, vcczar said:

I think DeSantis beats Trump but Trump sinks any chance of DeSantis winning. 

Hence why my current thought is that DeSantis may be smart enough to sit this one out — he knows he can win but it would be a Pyrrhic victory. 

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1 hour ago, Cal said:

Hence why my current thought is that DeSantis may be smart enough to sit this one out — he knows he can win but it would be a Pyrrhic victory. 

On the other hand, though, you have to strike when the iron is hot, and Desantis' iron is scorching right now. You never know what the situation is gonna look like in 5 years, and I doubt DeSantis remains anywhere near the same level until then.

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3 hours ago, Rezi said:

On the other hand, though, you have to strike when the iron is hot, and Desantis' iron is scorching right now. You never know what the situation is gonna look like in 5 years, and I doubt DeSantis remains anywhere near the same level until then.

This is where I land exactly, trying to time a campaign for the perfect circumstances is always foolish because events intervene. Chris Christie was being begged by half the GOP to jump into the race in 2012, but Christie thought 2016 would be a better opportunity for him, and we saw how that turned out.

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3 hours ago, Rezi said:

On the other hand, though, you have to strike when the iron is hot, and Desantis' iron is scorching right now. You never know what the situation is gonna look like in 5 years, and I doubt DeSantis remains anywhere near the same level until then.

Also a good point. DeSantis would have an easier time if he could make the jump to Senate in 2026 after he is term limited as Governor. However, there is no Senate seat open in Florida at that time. He really would be in Christie territory. 

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18 hours ago, vcczar said:

This isn't a long list of president who lost reelection and then ran again:

  • Van Buren in 1844. He was #1 in the ballot at the Dem convention through first 4 ballots. He dropped out after ballot 8 and Polk got the nomination. 
  • Van Buren in 1848. He and his supporters bolted out of the convention before the 1st ballot when the Convention created a rule designed to weaken Van Buren's support within his own state, easily the largest state at the time. Van Buren ran 3rd party after that.
  • Cleveland in 1892. He defeated Pres. B Harrison who had defeated him the previous election. 
  • Hoover would get delegates in a couple (1936 and 1940) of Conventions after his 1932 defeat, and he expected to be a favorite for the nomination despite that never showing on the ballots. 
  • Trump in 2024. He will be the first to attempt in the era of nationwide primaries. The earlier guys were working with a ballot system. 

 

US Grant had the most delegates on the first ballot of the 1880 Republican convention; Grant at 304, James Blaine at 284, John Sherman at 93, and the rest to minor candidates.  After 35 ballots with little movement the convention settled on a compromise candidate, James Garfield.  

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2 minutes ago, pilight said:

US Grant had the most delegates on the first ballot of the 1880 Republican convention; Grant at 304, James Blaine at 284, John Sherman at 93, and the rest to minor candidates.  After 35 ballots with little movement the convention settled on a compromise candidate, James Garfield.  

Yeah, but he wasn't a defeated president. There's other presidents like Grant that attempted another term. 

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Also I agree with the consensus that he appeared low energy. Also he talks different. Maybe he took a public speaking class or something. 2016 Trump was an extraordinary speaker (if you hated his message, you still have to agree he was a master at getting it out). 2022 Trump is a different man. Old, even.

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