List of United States presidential candidate firsts

This list lists achievements and distinctions of various presidential candidates. It does not include the accomplishments of vice presidential candidates nor distinctions achieved during presidencies, with the exception of those that directly relate to presidential elections. Records concerning party nominations go back to 1796, the first time that political parties nominated presidential tickets.[1] Records concerning the national popular vote only go back to the 1824 election, when the national popular vote began to be officially recorded.[2] Certain other records are noted as going back to the 1804 ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, which made significant alterations to the process of presidential elections.

1789

1796

1800

1808

1812

1816

  • First sitting U.S. senator and first sitting member of Congress to serve as a major party candidate: Rufus King[lower-alpha 6]

1824

1828

1832

1840

1844

1848

  • First sitting president to serve no more than one term and decline to seek another term: James K. Polk[20]
  • First major party nominee and first victorious candidate who had never previously held elective office: Zachary Taylor[21]
  • First former president to run for president as a third party nominee: Martin Van Buren[lower-alpha 9]
  • First third party candidate to win at least ten percent of the national popular vote: Martin Van Buren[11]

1856

1860

  • First victorious candidate born outside of the original thirteen states of the United States: Abraham Lincoln[28]
  • First victorious major party nominee to win less than 40 percent of the national popular vote: Abraham Lincoln[11]
  • First third party candidate to finish second in the electoral vote: John C. Breckinridge[lower-alpha 11]
  • First third party nominee to win at least ten percent of the national popular vote, but finish fourth in the national popular vote: John Bell[11]

1864

1872

1876

1880

1884

1892

  • First individual to run on a major party ticket with three different running mates during their career: Grover Cleveland[lower-alpha 14]
  • First individual to win two presidential elections without winning a majority of the national popular vote: Grover Cleveland[11]

1904

  • First individual to succeed to the presidency following the death or resignation of a predecessor, and then win election in his own right: Theodore Roosevelt[40]
  • First African American to run for president: George Edwin Taylor[41]

1912

1916

1928

1940

1944

1948

1960

1964

1972

1980

1984

  • First African-American man to seek a major party's presidential nomination: Jesse Jackson[51]

1988

1992

  • First independent candidate to win at least ten percent of the national popular vote: Ross Perot[11]

2008

2012

2016

2020

See also

Notes

  1. The modern United States Army traces its origins to the Continental Army, but did not become known as the United States Army until 1796. Washington had served in the Continental Army prior to the 1789 election, but did not serve in the United States Army until 1798.[3]
  2. In the 1796 election, the Democratic-Republicans may or may not have officially nominated Jefferson for president through a congressional nominating caucus, but Jefferson was widely regarded as the party's main presidential candidate. The Democratic-Republicans did not select an official vice presidential candidate, though Aaron Burr finished with the second-most electoral votes among individuals affiliated with the party. The Federalists informally nominated Adams for president and Thomas Pinckney for vice president.[5]
  3. In the 1800 election, the Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus nominated Thomas Jefferson for president and Aaron Burr for vice president. The Federalist congressional nominating caucus nominated a ticket of Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Though the party did not officially nominate either candidate for president or vice president, most Federalists favored Adams for president and Pinckney for vice president.[5]
  4. President George Washington was broadly sympathetic to the Federalist program, and Federalist John Adams won election during Washington's presidency. However, Washington remained officially non-partisan during his entire presidency.[7]
  5. Clinton was a Northern Democratic-Republican who challenged the incumbent Democratic-Republican president, James Madison, in the general election.[8] Clinton was nominated for president by a legislative caucus of New York Democratic-Republicans, and much of his support came from Democratic-Republicans dissatisfied with Madison's leadership in the War of 1812. The Federalist Party did not officially nominate Clinton, but most Federalist leaders tacitly supported Clinton's candidacy, making him the de facto Federalist candidate in the election.[9]
  6. The Federalists did not nominate a ticket in 1816, though some Federalists were elected to serve as presidential electors. A majority of the Federalist electors cast their presidential vote for King, making him the de facto Federalist candidate.[10]
  7. Adams's wife, Louisa Adams, was born in Great Britain.[12]
  8. The Democratic-Republican Party split into two factions during the 1820s, and these factions eventually coalesced into the Democratic Party and the National Republican Party. There is not a clear founding date for the Democratic Party or the National Republican Party, but Jackson is generally considered to be the founder of the Democratic Party[13] and supporters of Adams labeled themselves as the National Republicans during his presidency.[14]
  9. In 1844, John Tyler's followers formed a short-lived third party that nominated him for president. Before the election took place, Tyler dropped out of the race and endorsed Democrat James K. Polk.[19] In 1848, Martin Van Buren became the first individual who had served as president to run for president on a third party ticket and not drop out before the election.
  10. In 1856, the American Party, along with a rump convention of Whigs, nominated a presidential ticket led by former President Millard Fillmore.[22] By 1856, neither the Republican Party nor the American Party had truly supplanted the Whig Party as the second major political party in the United States.[23] Nonetheless, the American Party is frequently described as a third party.[24][25][26] After the 1856 election, the Republican Party firmly established itself as one of the two major parties alongside the Democratic Party, while the American Party collapsed.[27]
  11. The Democratic Party fractured along sectional lines in 1860 and held multiple national conventions. The Northern Democrats nominated Douglas and the Southern Democrats nominated Vice President John C. Breckinridge.[29][30] Many sources include Breckinridge as a third party candidate,[31][32] but other sources do not.[33][2]
  12. The electoral votes that Greeley would have won had he lived were distributed among several candidates, including Thomas A. Hendricks and Greeley's running mate, Benjamin Gratz Brown.
  13. Though other losing candidates have won a plurality of the national popular vote, Tilden is the only candidate in American history to lose a presidential election despite receiving a majority of the national popular vote.[36]
  14. Cleveland ran with Thomas A. Hendricks in 1884, Allen G. Thurman in 1888, and Adlai Stevenson I in 1892. Henry Clay had previously run for president three times, but he was not on a major party ticket in 1824 and may not have had an official running mate in that election (though Nathan Sanford served as his de facto running mate).[39]
  15. North Dakota held the first ever contested presidential primary on March 19, 1912. La Follette defeated President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt in that primary contest.[42][43]
  16. William Howard Taft also served on the Supreme Court, but did so only after winning the Republican presidential nomination in the elections of 1908 and 1912. Other individuals who served on the Supreme Court, including John Jay, have won electoral votes.
  17. Obama was born in Hawaii and McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.[54] Numerous earlier presidential candidates were born in parts of British America that later became part of the United States.

References

  1. Southwick (1998), pp. 12–13
  2. "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. Akers 2002, pp. 29-30.
  4. Regions are listed as defined by the United States Census Bureau.
    "United States Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
    "Electoral Votes, by State". U.S. Electoral College. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  5. Morgan (1969), pp. 185–186
  6. "Faithless Electors". FairVote. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  7. Chambers, William Nisbet (1963). Political Parties in a New Nation.
  8. Morgan (1969), pp. 191–193
  9. Siry (1985), pp. 457–460
  10. Deskins et al. (2010), pp. 65
  11. Cook, Rhodes (October 27, 2016). "AN HISTORICAL RARITY: A FOUR-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION". Sabato's Crystal Ball.
  12. Rudner, Jordan (November 8, 2016). "All the ways the 2016 campaign made history". The Dallas Morning News.
  13. Feller, Daniel. "Andrew Jackson". Miller Center. University of Virginia. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  14. Remini 2002, pp. 84–85.
  15. "Presidential Firsts, Mosts and Almosts; Who was the first U.S. President? Herewith, a collection of facts and figures about the Presidency, Presidents, Presidential contenders and campaigns". New York Times. May 24, 1964.
  16. "James K. Polk: Campaigns and Elections". Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  17. Theisen (1971), p. 383
  18. Rudin, Ken (22 July 2009). "When Has A President Been Denied His Party's Nomination?". NPR. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  19. Freehling, William. "John Tyler: Campaigns and Elections". Miller Center. University of Virginia. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  20. Jividen, Jason (May 7, 2012). "Ask a Scholar: Declining the Second Term". National Association of Scholars.
  21. "Ranking past presidents from least to most experienced". Northwest Indiana Times. December 2, 2017.
  22. Holt (2010), pp. 91–94
  23. McPherson (1988), pp. 140–144, 153–154
  24. Cooper, William. "James Buchanan: Campaigns and Elections". Miller Center. University of Virginia. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  25. Boissoneault, Lorraine (January 26, 2017). "How the 19th-Century Know Nothing Party Reshaped American Politics". Smithsonian. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  26. Hicks (1933), p. 10
  27. Gienapp (1985), p. 547
  28. "FACTBOX: Presidential firsts, past and present". Reuters. February 4, 2008.
  29. Smith (1975), pp. 106–113
  30. VandeCreek, Drew E. "Campaign of 1860". Northern Illinois University Libraries. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  31. Patch, B. W. (1936). "Third Party Movements in American Politics". CQPress. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  32. Rosenstone et al. (2018), pp. 59–63
  33. Hicks (1933), pp. 3–28
  34. Burlingame, Michael. "Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections". Miller Center. University of Virginia.
  35. "Women Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates: A Selected List". Center for Women and American Politics. Rutgers University. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  36. Faber & Bedford (2008), p. 81
  37. "The Third Term Tradition in American Politics". CQ Press. March 19, 1927.
  38. Rakich, Nathaniel (February 11, 2019). "Which Offices Are Good Stepping Stones To The Presidency?". FiveThirtyEight.
  39. Southwick (1998), pp. 102–103
  40. Brands 1997, pp. 513–14.
  41. Weeks, Linton (December 1, 2015). "A Forgotten Presidential Candidate From 1904". NPR.
  42. Huebner, Robin (February 1, 2016). "A place in history: In 1912, ND held nation's first ever presidential primary". The Dickinson Press.
  43. Haga, Chuck (March 10, 2008). "While no bellwether, N. Dakota once led in primary fever". MinnPost.
  44. Simon 2012, pp. 95–99
  45. Burner 1996, p. 4.
  46. Beschloss, Michael (August 29, 2015). "Before Trump or Fiorina, There Was Wendell Willkie". New York Times.
  47. Smith (1982), pp. 401–425
  48. Eckstein, Megan (March 9, 2015). "From Ensign to Commander-in-Chief: A Look at the Presidents Who Served in the U.S. Navy Reserve". USNI News.
  49. "2 pioneers in black history". IndyStar. February 16, 2015.
  50. Linthicum, Leslie (2007-02-07). "Richardson Not Quite the First". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  51. Best, Kenneth (January 26, 2016). "A Candidate Like Me: Historic Firsts in U.S. Politics". University of Connecticut.
  52. Andrews, Evan (August 31, 2018). "Election 101: Who was the first woman to run for president?". History.com.
  53. "Barack Obama elected as America's first black president". History. A&E Television Networks. July 28, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  54. Farley, Robert (May 12, 2008). "Was McCain born in the USA?". Politifact.
  55. Nagourney, Adam (May 24, 2007). "Hispanic Hopeful for '08 Confronts Immigration". The New York Times.
  56. Gorman, Michele (August 5, 2016). "FEMALE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS BEFORE HILLARY CLINTON IN 2016". Newsweek.
  57. Somashekhar, Sandhya; Horowitz, Jason (May 29, 2012). "Mitt Romney's nomination marks milestone for Mormon faith". Washington Post.
  58. Brooks, Ryan C. (April 2, 2019). "Pete Buttigieg Is Not The First Openly Gay, Major Party Presidential Candidate. This Guy Was". BuzzFeed News.
  59. Pino, Faith E. (May 31, 2019). "Pete Buttiegig's run as an openly gay presidential candidate has roots in Laguna Beach". Los Angeles Times.
  60. Crockett, Zachary (January 23, 2017). "Donald Trump is the only US president ever with no political or military experience". Vox.
  61. Astor, Maggie; Parlapiano, Alicia (May 23, 2019). "How Much Political Experience Does It Take to Be Elected President?". New York Times.
  62. Funk, Tim (February 20, 2016). "10 firsts in the race for president: First woman, first Hispanic, first billionaire among field". The Charlotte Observer.
  63. Graham, Ruth (December 22, 2016). "The Strange History of Faithless Electors Casting Their Votes for Women". Slate.
  64. "Which candidates did the seven "faithless" electors support?". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  65. Begley, Sarah (December 20, 2016). "Hillary Clinton Leads by 2.8 Million in Final Popular Vote Count". Time. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  66. Alex Altman (1 March 2020). "Pete Buttigieg's History-Making Campaign Fell Short, But He Leaves the Race a Star". Time. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  67. "Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Drops Presidential Bid, Endorses Biden". March 19, 2020.

Works cited

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