A few years ago, one of our writers (Griffin Kaye) had written an article going over every major US candidate that tried and failed to become president from the 1790’s until 1900.

Well now it’s time to finish where we left off, as we continue our look at all the men and women who never got elected to the highest office in the land.

Just to recap the rules for this list, candidates must have won at least 5% of the popular vote to be included. We will not consider candidates who would be or were at any point President of the United States.

This half of the list will focus on those from the 1904 election up to the election of 2024 .

Alton B. Parker (1904)

By 1904 the Democratic Party needed to find someone to take on the incumbent Republican President in the upcoming election and following the refusals of several key candidates, the Democrats Pro-Business wing decided to nominate a man by the name of Alton Brooks Parker who was a Chief Judge in his home state of New York and the protégé of former New York Governor David Hill.

Thanks to the conservatives in the party and the fact that Parker’s views on several issues were not well known, some believed that Alton Parker could be a good candidate to compete for the presidency…unfortunately for Parker, the president he ran against was Theodore Roosevelt whose charisma, energy and speaking skills were simply unmatched.

On top of this, Parker’s views on several issues were virtually similar to that of Roosevelt’s and his attempts to attack the president’s character and policy decisions were ill fated, plus the Democrats Progressive wing refused to support him…making it all too clear that the New York Judge was struggling to make any progress.

Roosevelt would defeat Parker in a landsilde come election day as he carried 32 out of 45 states, won 336 electoral votes and over 56% of the popular vote; Parker received 140 electoral votes and 37.6% of the popular vote.

Alton Parker would go back to judical life after the election but kept himself semi-active in politics as he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1912; He would pass away days before his 74th birthday after recovering from a bout of pneumonia.

Eugene Debs (1912)

Long-time union leader and activist, Eugene Victor Debs ran for the presidency as a Socialist from 1900 to 1920 with his last attempt seeing him win over 3% of the popular vote despite serving time in prison. However, will be focusing on his performance in the election of 1912 as one of four candidates in what some would call one of the craziest elections of the early 20^th century.

Debs became the nominee once again following a series of election wins for the Socialist Party of America both from the state and local level. Combined with the wealth inequality at the time and the harsh labor conditions many workers faced caused some to believe that the Socialists would continue their political dominance and even win a million votes in the up-and-coming election.

With his phenomenal skills as an orator, Debs talked trash about President Taft and his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt for being in the back pockets of the business community while also promoting ideas like collective ownership of the railroad and banking companies, benefits for unemployed workers, creating social programs to help the impoverish and reducing the influence of capitialism in America.

Sadly for Debs and the Socialists, they didn’t win any electoral votes but did receive 6% of the popular vote which is the best performance for the party in a presidential election.

Charles Evans Hughes (1916)

Following the split within the Republican Party during the 1912 election, the party bosses of the GOP tried to bring the Progressives back into the fold by nominating a moderate candidate in the form of former New York Governor and Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

Much like Alton Parker in 1904, Hughes views on certain issues were neutral and as the nominee for the Republicans in 1916, Hughes ran on a platform that supported progressive policies but also the idea of military preparedness as much of the world was engulfed in a conflict later known as World War One and many believed it would only be a matter of time before the U.S. would eventually get involved in the war.

Despite the endorsements of former presidents Taft and Roosevelt, Hughes was unable to garner support with many Progressives as his refusal to support the 16th Amendment and an act creating the eight hour work day made some wary him. Plus his campaign strategy of military readiness at a time when most of the country were against entering the war further soured him to votes.

Still newspapers like the Brown Daliy Herald, the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Portland Daily Press among others predicted a win for Hughes with even Wilson himself believing a new president would be elected. Come election day however Hughes lost narrowly, capturing 18 out 48 states, received 254 electoral votes and 46.1% of the popular vote.

Hughes was up for consideration come the 1920 election, but the sudden death of his daughter that same year prevented him from running. He would go on to serve as Secretary of State and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before passing away on August 27th 1948 at age 86.

James Cox (1920)

Going into 1920 it was unclear who the nominee would be for the Democratic Party as President Woodrow Wilson was both unpopular and medically unwell, leaving an open field for candidates to take the nomination.

After 44 ballots, former U.S. Representative turned Ohio Governor James Middleton Cox was selected. In addition to his work in politics, Cox was also a newspaper and business magnate with his family’s privately owned company (Cox Enterprises) being one of the biggest in American history.

During the Election of 1920, Cox campaigned on lowering income and business taxes, supported America’s entry into the League of Nations as well as the enforcement of prohibition and other progressive policies at the time.

While Cox and his running mate Franklin Roosvelt crisscrossed all over the U.S. making speeches to fire up the people, the Republicans would end up winning in a landsilde with Warren Harding winning 60% of the popular vote and over 400 electoral votes. Cox only won eleven states whilst caputuring 127 electoral votes and got 34.1% of the popular vote.

The irony is that everyone on the presidential ticket in this election would go on to be president except for James Cox; That said he did support and even campaigned for FDR and the New Deal throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, plus he outlived Roosevelt and his 1920 Republican opponents before passing away in July of 1957.

John Davis (1924)

Following the previous election, the Democrats were still divided when it came to choosing a candidate to run for president and as such, they ended up choosing a compromise candidate in John William Davis who was a former Ambassador to the U.K. and a former Representative for West Virginia who actually ran for the nomination back in 1920.

Davis was an uninspired pick for president as his policies for a small/limited government, less regulations, less taxes and supporting prohibition mirrored that of incumbent President Calvin Coolidge therefore many progressives within the Democratic Party weren’t too excited to go out and vote for Davis despite his running mate, Charles Wayan Bryan being the brother of populist firebrand, William Jennings Bryan.

Come Election Day the results weren’t too surprising as John Davis only won 12 states (all in the South of course) and received 138 electoral votes plus 28.8% of the popular vote.

While Davis being a lackluster candidate could be seen as the reason why the Democrats didn’t do well in the election, it might also have something to do with a Progressive Third-Party Candidate running at the same time.

Robert La Follette Sr. (1924)

And that Progressive Third-Party Candidate who ran in the 1924 Election was none other than Robert La Follette Sr. the legendary former Governor and Senator from Wisconsin who spent the majority of his political career fighting for the poor and working class in the United States while also looking to regulate if not weakening the power of the corporations during his time.

Upon failing to secure the GOP’s nomination for president once again, La Follette decided to create his own Progressive Party which was completely different from the one Theodore Roosevelt created in 1912.

La Follette’s 1924 presidential bid called for the passing of child labor laws, government ownership of the railroad industry, a non-imperialist foreign policy as well as cracking down on corruption and cronyism in Washington.

With the Progressive Party’s platform appealing to both liberal blocs of the Republican and Democratic Party’s it’s easy to see why the Davis/Bryan campaign didn’t get votes outside the Solid South.

In the end however, La Follette only won 13 electoral votes from his home state of Wisconsin and received 16.6% of the popular vote which was the best performance for a third-party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt in 1912.

Al Smith (1928)

A multiple time Governor of New York and champion for major reforms that helped the poor and the middle class, Alfred ‘Al’ Smith became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president following his two failed attempts back in 1920 & 1924.

Smith attempted to use the same type of charm and energy he was known for as Governor in order to endear himself with the people throughout the campaign, unfortunately what worked in a Northeastern state like NY isn’t going to work in states located in the Midwest or even the South and neither will his policies opposing prohibition as well as his connections to Tammany Hall which was a New York political machine that was notorious for its numerous accounts of fraud and corruption.

Another issue that plagued Al Smith in this election was the fact that he was a Roman Catholic at a time when most Americans weren’t and most believed that if Smith was elected president he would take orders from the Pope when it came to making political decisions.

When the results finally came in, Al Smith only won 8 states (six of which were Southern States and the other two were Rhode Island and Massachusetts) he also received 87 electoral votes and 40.8% of the popular vote.

Alf Landon (1936)

Fast forward eight years to our next entry as Incumbent Democratic President, Franklin D. Roosevelt is looking for re-election following a dominant victory in the previous election against Herbert Hoover and FDR’s opponent in 1936 was a man by the name of Alfred ‘Alf’ Landon.

A progressive who supported many conservative policies, Landon was the then Governor of Kansas when he was chosen by the Republican Party Establishment to be their party’s nominee for president and to say that Alf was out of his depth when came to campaigning against the popular FDR would be an understatement as Landon barely made any appearances in public and most if not all of his speeches were written by others within his campaign team.

Landon’s poorly handled run for president coupled with FDR’s popularity and the support of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies made the election look like a walk in the park for the Democrats which is exactly what happened come Election Day.

Overall Alf Landon won, and I wish I was making this up…two states (Vermont and Maine), he got 8 electoral votes and 36.5% of the popular vote giving the Republican Party their worst defeat since 1912.

Landon would get the last laugh though as he more than outlived Roosevelt and five other U.S. presidents when Ronald Reagan and his wife came to visit him on his 100th birthday in Topeka with Reagan remarking: “You don’t know what a joy it is for a fella like me to go to a birthday party for someone who can, in all honesty, call me a kid.” 

Wendell Willkie (1940)

After the embarrassment of 1936 election, the Republican Party looked even more poised to take down FDR, who was running for an unprecedented third term in 1940.

While a number of contenders stood out in their bid for the GOP’s nomination, they were all outflanked by a businessman and former Democrat named Wendell Willkie who had a falling out with Roosevelt over his decision to create the Tennessee Valley Authority or TVA which would provide electricity in certain areas of the country which is something Willkie hated as his company was already doing that and felt that his business shouldn’t be competing with the government.

Due to his charm, media influence and ability to finesse on several issues allowed Willkie to become the Republican Party’s nominee in 1940; Unlike Hoover and Landon, Willkie aggressively went after Roosevelt for among other things running for a third term as President, a lack of preparedness when it came to the military fighting in the up-and-coming second world war and claimed that many of the New Deal work programs were hurting businesses.

Despite his vigorous campaign against FDR, it wasn’t enough for Willkie who only won 10 states and received 82 electoral votes and 44.8% of the popular vote. Wendell made another run for the GOP nomination in 1944 but was unsuccessful before dying on October 8th of that same year following multiple heart attacks as a result of a poor diet and Willkie’s known habit of smoking and drinking.

Thomas Dewey (1944 & 1948)

The first of two candidates on this list to lose in two consecutive elections, Thomas Dewey was a former District Attorney back when he ran in 1940 but now was the Governor of New York and decided to run for the nomination again in 1944 which he was able to win this time around.

Dewey ran against FDR who was running for an unprecedented fourth term as president during World War II but much like the aforementioned Landon and Willkie, Dewey was unsuccessful in beating Roosevelt with Dewey winning 12 states, 99 electoral votes and 45.9% of the popular vote.

Jump to 1948 and Dewey is once again the GOP’s nominee but this time his running against Harry S. Truman who became President following the death of FDR in 1945; With the economy in shambles and two different branches of the Democratic Party running in protest against Truman, Dewey’s chance for victory seemed much better compared to the previous election.

 For much of the election, the GOP and the media were so certain that Dewey would emerge the winner that newspapers with the title ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ were printed and distributed, only for the electoral results to return with Dewey winning 16 states, 145 electoral votes and 45.1 % of the popular vote.

Adlai Stevenson II (1952 & 1956)

From one Governor of a popular state losing two presidential elections in a row to another.

In 1952, Adlai Stevenson the Second was the Governor of Illinois and looked like a potential candidate for president despite numerous attempts at refusing the nomination. Stevenson eventually accepted the nomination, but things weren’t going to be easy for him.

In addition to being labeled an ‘Egghead’ for both his baldness and intellectual demeanor which made him come off as out of touch, Stevenson had the misfortune to run against the very popular former Military General of World War II, Dwight Eisenhower which led to the results of the 1952 election being a forgone conclusion with Stevenson winning 9 states, receiving 89 electoral votes and 44.3% of the popular vote.

Flash forward to 1956 and Stevenson again becomes the Democratic Party’s nominee against Dwight Eisenhower, however the outcome was much worse as Stevenson won seven states, 73 electoral votes and 42% of the popular vote.

Barry Goldwater (1964)

Seen by some as ‘The Father of Modern Conservatism’, Barry Goldwater initially wanted to run for president against his friend and Democratic President, John F. Kennedy but when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Goldwater lost any interest until an insurgent grassroots movement emerged to push the Arizona Senator into running.

After announcing his bid for nomination, Goldwater became the leader of the Conservative wing of the GOP as he took on a slew of liberal Republicans including the Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller to become the Republican Party’s nominee.

Because of Goldwater’s far right views and his declaration of “Extremism in the Defense of Liberty is No Vice.” made many liberal Republicans refuse to endorse him and instead went on to support Lyndon Johnson.

Add in the attack ads that Johnson used throughout the campaign, Goldwater’s political views and words being used against him and the fact he refused to support the recently signed Civil Rights Act of 1964 led to a crushing defeat for Goldwater who ended up getting six states, 52 electoral votes and 38.5% of the popular vote.

Hubert Humphrey (1968)

1968 was truly a chaotic year in American History as race riots, the assassinations of political figures, a cultural divide between the older and younger generations and the ongoing Vietnam War led to a polarizing presidential election in its wake.

Vice President and former Senator of Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey got his party’s nomination for president despite not competing in the primaries and by all tense and purposes being handed the nomination by the party’s establishment wing.

Because of his association with President Lyndon Johnson and his refusal to oppose the ongoing war in Vietnam, Humphrey’s polling numbers plummeted for much of the election until he decided to announce that he would indeed stop the bombing in Vietnam if he was elected president which soon began a reversal of fortune for the VP.

While the race went back-and-forth going into the final weeks of the election, things changed dramatically when peace talks between North Vietnam and the United States broke down thanks in no small part to Nixon and his associates undermining the proceedings.

In the end, Humphrey won 13 states and the District of Columbia, plus he received 191 electoral votes and 42.7% of the popular vote.

George Wallace (1968)

A former Governor of Alabama and supporter of ‘State’s Rights’, George Wallace decided to leave the Democratic Party in order to run as part of the newly created American Independence Party in the 1968 election.

Although his rhetoric appealed to many within the South, Wallace also spoke in a way that made him popular to blue collar workers in Midwestern states and this as well as discontent with the Democrats and even some Republicans made Wallace’s third-party candidacy look like a serious threat throughout the early goings of the election.

Things quickly began to fall apart however as African Americans and Anti-War protestors were targeted by Wallace supporters during rallies which as you can imagine led to disorder and only made Wallace’s calls for ending this type of chaos sound humorous as he was the one that was causing it.

Wallace’s running mate Curtis LeMay and his incoherent support of using nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War turned many voters away and by the end of the election, Wallace won five Southern states, he received 46 electoral votes and 13.5% of the popular vote. Wallace became (as of the writing of this piece) the last third-party candidate to win electoral votes in a general election.

George McGovern (1972)

South Dakota Senator and member of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, George McGovern secured his party’s nomination for president in 1972, however his win became less of a holy grail and more of a cup of poison as things quickly fell apart.

From giving his acceptance speech way too early in the morning to supporting and then dropping his running mate following reports of him having mental health problems to asking six different people to be his new running mate only for them to turn him down…McGovern’s campaign quickly became toxic and laughable.

Things weren’t certainly helped by the fact that many establishment Democrats refused to support him and actually produced ads supporting Republican President, Richard Nixon; Combined with McGovern’s policies like a guaranteed income for the poor and Nixon portraying him as an indecisive politician with views out of touch with what the people wanted made the outcome all the more obvious.

By Election Day, McGovern only won the state of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia; He ended with 17 electoral votes and 37.5% of the popular vote.

John B. Anderson (1980)

In his attempt to win the Republican Party’s Presidential Nomination in 1980, U.S. Representative John B. Anderson stood out from the rest of his fellow Republicans with his support for the Equal Rights Amendment, Abortion, LGBTQ rights and opposing the Military Draft.

Although he did fairly well in the primaries, he quickly decided to run as an independent candidate in the up-and-coming election with his campaign being seen as a more moderate choice compared to Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter.

Throughout the majority of his campaign Anderson was pulling around 22-26% in the national polls and his policies appealed to not only Republicans and Democrats, but also moderates and independent voters as well, in fact Anderson became the first third party candidate to participate in the Presidential Debates.

By the end of the election, John Anderson received no electoral votes but did pull in 6.6% of the popular vote.

Walter Mondale (1984)

In 1984, Walter Mondale the former Vice President to Jimmy Carter decided to run for his party’s nomination for president alongside Colorado Senator Gary Hart and Civil Rights Activist, Jesse Jackson.

After winning the nomination, Mondale was set to do battle with President Ronald Reagan in a series of debates with the first one seeing Mondale surprisingly emerge victorious following an underwhelming performance by Reagan.

By the second debate, Reagan was on his game even responding to question about his age with the following: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign, I’m not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” This led to everyone including Mondale to bust out laughing, but it also meant the end for Mondale with the former VP even mentioning in later interviews that he felt that he lost the election soon after that…And he was absolutely right.

When the results were in, Mondale only won his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia leading to him getting 13 electoral votes and 40.6% of the popular vote.

Michael Dukakis (1988)

Following a long primary race, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis became the nominee for the Democrats in the 1988 election against incumbent Vice President, George H.W. Bush but things when south for Dukakis once election season began.

From President Reagan’s off hand comment of the governor being a ‘invalid’ to Bush Sr. calling him a ‘Liberal’ in order to paint him as a far left politician, Dukakis was under heavy fire throughout the campaign as the GOP’s attack ads brought up everything from his failure to deal with environmental issues in Massachusetts to a furlough prison program which led to the rise of the infamous ‘Willie Horton Ad’ which among other things portrayed him as being ‘Soft on Crime’.

That said, Dukakis didn’t help himself either as evidence by his head scratching decision to ride inside a tank in order to demonstrate his knowledge of the military which was used as fodder for the Republicans; Combined with ads that didn’t effectively go after the Bush campaign to his performances in the presidential debates being lackluster at best, made it clear to the American people who would win the race.

Dukakis ended up winning 10 states (as well as DC), pulled in 111 electoral votes and 45.7% of the popular vote.

Ross Perot (1992 & 1996)

As the 1992 election began looming, a Texas billionaire and founder of various technology service companies opened himself to the possibility of running as an independent candidate for president as a way to give the American people a third option to vote for in the campaign.

His name was Ross Perot and unlike most third-party candidates today, Perot’s presidential bid showed signs of success at first as he was even leading in the polls ahead of Bush Sr. and Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton until he bizarrely dropped out of the race only to re-enter it after he officially was on the ballot in all 50 states.

Perot was so popular that he joined the presidential debates alongside his Republican and Democratic opponents making it the first and only time something like this happened; In the end, he received no electoral votes but received an impressive 18.9% of the popular vote.

Perot begrudgingly ran again in the 1996 election this time under the Reform Party, but the rules for presidential debates had changed since the previous election and this not only prevented Perot from getting into the debates, but his poll numbers were also hurt as he ended the ’96 election getting 8.4% of the popular vote.

Bob Dole (1996)

Following the success of the 1994 midterm elections which saw the Republican Party crushed the Democrats to win seats both in the Senate and the House of Representatives, the GOP looked determined to win the White House in the ’96 election and their candidate for president was Bob Dole, a former World War II veteran who became a Senator of his home state of Kansas before eventually being the Senate Minority and later Majority Leader.

Despite the ’94 midterm results, the GOP and then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich were unpopular with the American people following a government shutdown for which they got most of the blame and this became one of a few obstacles that Dole had a hard time getting past.

Bill Clinton’s popularity coupled with his strategy to paint Dole and his policies to the unpopular Republican Congress as well as Dole’s age as a 73-year-old politician made it difficult for the Kansas native to really leave an impression on younger voters or any voters who weren’t already supporting the GOP.

When the results came, Dole ended up getting 19 states, 159 electoral votes and a poultry 40.7% of the popular vote.

Al Gore (2000)

Bill Clinton’s former Vice President and former Senator of Tennessee, Al Gore became his party’s nominee in the 2000 presidential election where he faced off against Texas Governor and son of a president, George Walker Bush.

Despite the domestic success the Clinton Administration achieved heading into the new century, the sex scandal and later impeachment of President Bill Clinton did cast a shadow over the Gore campaign which led to the VP distancing himself from the president with many thinking that this might’ve actually hurt his chances.

By election day it appeared that Gore was on his way to victory until the election was called for Bush with the race being one of the closest since 1916; Long story short, Florida became the deciding state with the votes there making it too close to call in this election and this led to the Supreme Court getting involved and in a very close partisan decision by the court, Bush was given all of Florida’s electoral votes.

In the end Al Gore ended the race winning twenty states and the District of Columbia; He received 266 electoral votes and 48.4% of the popular vote which was 543,895 more than Bush making this the first election since 1888 where the winner of a presidential election did not win the popular vote.

John Kerry (2004)

Following the horrific attacks on September 11^th, 2001, and declaring a global War on Terror, many Americans were uncertain about President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq with no evidence linking their dictator, Saddam Hussein with the leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden and especially with the revelations of no weapons of mass destruction located in the area as predicted.

This led to the Democrats nominating John Kerry, a Senator of Massachusetts and war hero during the Vietnam War as their candidate who promised to deal with the Iraq War much differently than Bush as he planned on using diplomacy than nation building in the area.

Much like what his father did to Governor Dukakis in 1988, George W. Bush attempted to paint Kerry as another liberal from Massachusetts and considering Kerry’s inconsistent stances on certain issues plus the attack ads created by the GOP helped to portray the War Hero as a flip flopper.

While the election appeared to be a close race going into election day, the results proved that to be the case, but it wasn’t as close as the 2000 election with Kerry winning nineteen states and DC, where he ended up with 253 electoral votes and 48.3% of the popular vote.

John McCain (2008)

Ten years before his death in 2018, Arizona Senator and War Hero during the Vietnam War John McCain won the Republican Party’s nomination for president going up against the Democratic Party’s pick in the form of young Illinois Senator, Barack Obama.

To say McCain was having a tough time going into the election would be putting it likely as the country was almost soundly against the GOP following the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq not to mention the financial crisis known as the Great Recession which affective everyone.

On top of this, Senator McCain’s pick of Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin as his running mate, media bias in favor of Obama and McCain’s response to various questions on the campaign trail made it clear to many that the election wasn’t going to be close like the last two…and they were right.

When Election Day came around, McCain won twenty-two states, received 173 electoral votes and 45.7% of the popular vote.

Mitt Romney (2012)

In 2012, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney became the Republican Party’s nominee and the first Mormon to become a major party’s candidate for president in U.S. History as he ran against Barack Obama for the White House

Similar to Bob Dole in 1996, Romney was a seasoned politician challenging a popular incumbent Democratic president following a sweeping success for the GOP in the midterm elections and while President Obama wasn’t able to deal with the economy as successfully as Bill Clinton did in his first term, he was able to use much of Romney’s own views on Obamacare and dealing with the Great Recession against him.

To that end, Romney also struggled to really connect with voters who weren’t already voting for the Republicans and his gaffes like saying he had a “Binders Full of Women” when it came to choosing ladies for his cabinet during his governorship and his comment on how 47 percent of people are dependent on the government and wouldn’t support him no matter what…didn’t resonate well with voters.

When it was all said and done, Mitt Romney won twenty-four states and received 206 electoral votes and ironically 47.2% of the popular vote.

Hillary Clinton (2016)

Former First Lady, Senator of New York and Secretary of State ran for the presidency once again in 2016 where she battled the GOP’s nominee in businessman and TV personality, Donald Trump.

Throughout much of the campaign, many expected Clinton to win compared to the politically inexperience Trump who previous business dealings and a video tape where he mentioned doing inappropriate things to women because of his celebrity status did hurt his chances, but not as bad as Clinton compared to her scandals.

From alleged shady actions with the Clinton Foundation to securing the nomination in a equally shady fashion to her email server scandal and being too much of an insider politician made things hard for Hillary especially when the majority of Americans were looking for an outsider/populists kind of change after not getting that from former President Obama.

While some expected a Hillary Clinton victory come Election Day, that certainly wasn’t the case as Clinton won twenty states and DC, received 227 electoral votes and 48.2% of the popular vote which was more than Trump’s popular vote percentage by 2.1%.

Kamala Harris (2024)

Finally, we come to the most recent entry on this list as former Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s nominee despite not competing in the primaries after President Biden dropped out due to a woefully bad performance on the debate stage.

Before this, Harris served in California’s legal system until she became the state’s Senator around the same time Donald Trump began his first term in office. Following an uneventful presidential run in 2020, Kamala would be selected as Joe Biden’s running mate and soon became the 49th Vice President and the first female VP in U.S. History.

Kamala’s 2024 campaign talked about expanding healthcare, reducing prescription drug prices and protecting the rights of the transgender community while also railing against the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned abortion rights for women.

Harris both looked and sounded presidential compared to the former president in the second debate, but it ultimately proved futile as Trump shocked the world once again as he not only won the popular vote (the first time his ever done that), but he also carried 31 states and won 312 electoral votes compared to Harris getting 19 states and 229 electoral votes.

Some have speculated that Kamala’s defeat was due to her moving to the right when it came to her rhetoric, others claim she didn’t distance herself from the unpopular Biden administration and some believe varying accounts of voter suppression prevented the results from being much closer.

Whatever the case may be, Harris looks keen to run again for the presidency, but only time will tell if it goes much better for her a third time.

And there you have it…Every failed major presidential candidate listed from top to bottom. What are your thoughts on these candidates, and which one would you’ve liked to have seen become President? Leave your thoughts below.

Make sure to follow Lace ‘Em Up on X @laceemupoffice and on Bluesky Social @laceemupmedia.bsky.social. You can follow me on X @hakeemfullerton and Bluesky Social @hakeem96.bsky.social for wrestling related articles like this and I’ll see you next time.