Another fun fact about the 1956 election, those two were like 10 when it happened
Roosevelt ran for president on his own Progressive ticket, which became known as the Bull Moose Party after the former president joked that he felt “as strong as bull moose.” Democrat Woodrow Wilson won that November’s election, but Roosevelt came in second, winning 88 electoral votes compared to just 8 for Taft, the incumbent.
Ok, imagine being so unpopular that you not only lose the vote as an incumbent, but you also lost to a third party candidate, and only got 8 votes in the electoral college
I knew Taft had been widely regarded as one of the worst presidents, but I had no idea he only managed to collect 8 electoral votes when running as the incumbent. That is really extreme!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The last presidential rematch came in 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower again defeated Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic opponent he had four years prior.
After serving two terms until 1877, Ulysses S. Grant sought the Republican nomination again during the 1880 election but lost after a convention fight to James A. Garfield.
Three former presidents tried unsuccessfully to reclaim the White House with parties different from those they were part of when they won it — with Teddy Roosevelt getting closest.
When that failed, Roosevelt ran for president on his own Progressive ticket, which became known as the Bull Moose Party after the former president joked that he felt “as strong as bull moose.” Democrat Woodrow Wilson won that November’s election, but Roosevelt came in second, winning 88 electoral votes compared to just 8 for Taft, the incumbent.
Democrat Martin Van Buren was president from 1837 to 1841 and lost his reelection bid to Whig Party nominee William Henry Harrison.
Eight years later, Van Buren attempted a comeback with the Free Soil Party but failed to garner any electoral votes.
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