History Time with Fizzzzle: The Times Presidents Failed to Win Their Own Party Noms

[Fizzzzle]

First off, in case you didn't know: When George Washington stepped down after his second term, that became a general decorum thing, though serving only two terms as President didn't become law until 1951. "What if the President dies and the Vice President takes over? Does that count?" I hear you asking. Yes, it does count, as long as it was before the halfway mark of their term. If Joe Biden stepped down today and Kamala Harris became president, it would not count as a term, she could serve 2 more terms. I'm pretty sure Truman was grandathered in.

 

The first president to not get their own party's nomination for reelection was John Tyler. In my opinion, that one doesn't count because he broke away from the party shortly into his term in office. That would be like saying Kyrsten Sinema failed the Democrat primary for her state. She's not trying.

 

Millard Fillmore was the first time a president REALLY didn't get nominated by his own party. However, there are also extenuating circumstances. Namely, he was a Whig, and the party was disintegrating. So I don't really count that one either.

 

Next on the docket we have Franklin Pierce - Here's the first guy who DEFINITELY did not get his party's nomination. The Democrats dropped him like a sack of potatoes like halfway into his term. He was persona non grata within the party. I feel like that means he doesn't count, either. He never got nominated again because he was never given a chance (also he was terrible).

 

Ulysses S. Grant actually did try to run for a third term, but he dropped out somewhat early. Relevant to today - Grant was actually the first President to appoint a "Special Counsel" to investigate corruption in his administration. Ironically, the Trump appointed courts have decided (for now) that the President (through the DOJ) does not have the power to do that.

 

Next we have Theodore Roosevelt. Technically, according to the law at the time, he only served 1 term as President. Infamously, after stepping down in 1908 to go hunting hippos or whatever in Africa, he ran again in 1912 because he didn't like Taft. He veeeeeeeerrrryy narrowly lost the vote at the RNC, and instead of dropping out, he started his own party and ran as a third candidate on the ballot. He almost assuredly meant we wound up with Woodrow Wilson, who was a racist shithead.

 

Next up is Truman. He initially did try to run for (what at time would legally be considered) a second term, but after the war and in the midst of the Korean War, which was very unpopular, he saw the writing on the wall and dropped out.

 

Lyndon Johnson... oooooh boy, he's either one of the best presidents or one of the worst depending on what you care about that day. He dropped out in March of 1968, paving the way for RFK who was killed shortly thereafter. Johnson knew he had no chance. Between the Civil Rights Act and Vietnam, damn near every person in the country had a reason to hate him.

 

So, if you're keeping score (TLDR)- 7 times has the sitting president not gotten the nomination from within their own party when they definitively WERE running (there are a few times a President has decided not to run again from jump - Polk, Hayes, Coolidge). I'd argue Tyler and Fillmore don't really count. So it's really 5 times it's ever happened.

[Bacon]

Neat. I won't remember any of this.

[mclumber1]

Great post!

[Fizzzzle]

Oh, I forgot about Chester Arthur! He's actually one of my favorites. He was the guy in charge of the Port of New York. In a time when there was no such thing as income tax and a significant amount of the money who went to the government came through the Port of New York, being the guy in charge of that was... lucrative.

 

He was put on the ticket with Garfield because Garfield was a progressive and Arthur was seen as a "good ol' boy" (otherwise known as a "Stalwart" Republican) at the time. Garfield gets shot, Arthur takes over, bankers from Yonkers to Jersey are rejoicing! and.... Arthur basically just acts like Garfield would have done throughout his presidency and pisses everyone off. It would be like if Donald Trump suddenly told billionaires they can't make more money.

 

Chester Arthur: One of the underrated ones - 8/10. Can't give anyone a 10 while they were still murdering indigenous people.

[Fizzzzle]

13 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Neat. I won't remember any of this.

I wish I didn't, we should switch brains for a day.

[Bacon]

3 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

I wish I didn't, we should switch brains for a day.

I'll gladly swap brains. Even for more than a day. No takebacks.

[Fizzzzle]

I suppose more relevant to the discussion today - the only times an incumbent president dropped out and their own party won were Pierce and Grant. Every other time, their party failed.

 

Edit: And when Grant dropped out (1876) and Hayes took over, he only won on essentially on a handshake. It was probably the closest election we've ever had.

[Jason]

22 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

I suppose more relevant to the discussion today - the only times an incumbent president dropped out and their own party won were Pierce and Grant. Every other time, their party failed.

 

Edit: And when Grant dropped out (1876) and Hayes took over, he only won on essentially on a handshake. It was probably the closest election we've ever had.

 

And then Hayes bequeathed us our modern hellscape by ending reconstruction prematurely. 

[Fizzzzle]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

 

And then Hayes bequeathed us our modern hellscape by ending reconstruction prematurely. 

Eh, I don't fault him for that. Hayes got elected on the promise that he would pull troops out of the south. On the other hand, if Tilden would have been elected (he probably did win the election, after all), guess what's one of the FIRST things he would have done?!

 

... pull troops out of the south.

 

The political will for reconstruction was over, unfortunately. After 1876, the southern states were left to their own devices. Most of the damage was done under the Johnson administration.