Could a person like this win the nominations of both (R) & (D) parties?

[Blue3]

The Scenario: Candidate Z

In the 2020's there is a trillionaire, well-known and liked for his/her contributions to society.  Not only with their socially-conscious business, but also using his/her personal fortune to benefit others in remarkable ways. This person will be referred to as "Z." The business is focused in cutting-edge technology, such as: asteroid mining, electric driver-less cars, space-based solar power, space elevators/stations/tourism, cheap water desalination, human-made meat/dairy, hydroponic vertical farming, 3D printing, medical and economic applications of nanotechnology, and robotic services.

Z even goes as far as to personally fund single-payer healthcare, universal childcare, a well-funded public school education, a 4-year-college education or alternative training equivalent, and a generous retirement fund for all long-terms residents of their homestate. Yes, this person is that rich, but personally lives quite modestly. The business Z owns is also building power plants that provide a cheap and clean source of energy throughout the country and world, funding infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, housing upgrades and neighborhood & urban revitalization programs, and cleaning up pollution and waste all around the globe. The services of this business are high-quality, and the business is doing superbly well financially, as well as paying its employees at least a living wage with decent benefits and opposing discrimination/bigotry in all their forms.

After successfully providing long-sought liberal/progressive goals through the private sector instead of government/non-profits n his/her homestate, Z leads his/her business to successfully partner with other organizations in the private sector to pool together resources and provide the same free services to the entire nation, rationalizing that a universally healthy and well-educated population living in a healthy natural environment is fantastic for business and generally just the right thing to do.
After it goes into effect and works, Z successfully lobbies the local/state/federal government to cut services that the private sector now provides (making the government programs irrelevant) as well as to eliminate or cut the taxes that fund them. As a result, everyone in the nation gets massive tax cuts.
Also, anti-trust/monopoly laws are repealed so they can remain successful and grow.
Z also sponsors a debt-forgiveness program, in exchange for giving 2 years to public service of some kind.
Z also advocates for criminal justice reform.
After the cuts, local/state governments just focus on police and disaster response operations and monitors to make sure those outsourced services are truly being provided, while the federal government also provides oversight to make sure the private sector is really delivering and now primarily focuses only on the departments of state/defense/homeland security/justice/treasury and has a much smaller budget with a surplus that will eventually pay off the national debt.

It's so successful in the United States that Z and their business and allies begin negotiating deals to provide similar services in other countries through the same means, like a global Marshall plan, effectively nation-building but without taxpayer dollars.

In 2027, Z (who is only in his/her 40's), declares he/she will run for President of the United States in the 2028 election... and seek the nominations of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, as well as any other party that will have him/her. Z believes he/she can appeal to both parties, has a record of high success to run on, and that trying to sincerely run for both nominations might be the way to finally bridge the partisan divide and unite the country.




1. Could a person like this win the nominations of both the Republican Party and Democratic Party?
-If not, why?
-If yes, what would be any concerns?

2. How else would it be possible for a person to win the nominations of both major parties in the US, other than this extremely optimistic example?

[Skill and Chance]

1.  It simply couldn't work today due to the degree of polarization.  Neither party establishment would stand for it.

2.  The only chance for this post-Monroe would have been Ike ushering in a 2nd Era of Good Feelings in 1948.  We know the Democrats tried to recruit him to take Truman's place, and the Republicans would have nothing to lose by co-nominating him at that time in history.

[Goldwater]

He might be able to win the nomination of either party, but there is no way he would win both at the same time. I mean, do you really think Republican primary voters will nominate someone who is also running as a Democrat at same time? Surely that would give his primary opponents a lot to work with.

[Blue3]

It couldn't work today in 2015, I know, but what could make another Monroe/Eisenhower moment happen in our lifetimes?

If we had a young star with a lot of huge accomplishments, who didn't violate the philosophies of either the Republican Party or Democratic Party, and was hugely popular but appeared to be beyond partisanship... wouldn't it be possible for both parties to try to recruit that person (like with Ike), and for that person to accept both nominations after going through the processes?

[Skill and Chance]

It couldn't work today in 2015, I know, but what could make another Monroe/Eisenhower moment happen in our lifetimes?

If we had a young star with a lot of huge accomplishments, who didn't violate the philosophies of either the Republican Party or Democratic Party, and was hugely popular but appeared to be beyond partisanship... wouldn't it be possible for both parties to try to recruit that person (like with Ike), and for that person to accept both nominations after going through the processes?

Well, you also need an atmosphere of cultural unity and for most people to feel so good economically that there's little left for that generation to argue about.  I think the next window will be sometime during 2060-2100 when most everyone has come to terms with majority-minority America and a generic American identity overshadows most regional/ethnic differences.  You don't just need a heroic figure, but also a decade of 5% disposable income growth and 75% positive "direction of the country" polling in which for him/her to run.   

[Blue3]

It couldn't work today in 2015, I know, but what could make another Monroe/Eisenhower moment happen in our lifetimes?

If we had a young star with a lot of huge accomplishments, who didn't violate the philosophies of either the Republican Party or Democratic Party, and was hugely popular but appeared to be beyond partisanship... wouldn't it be possible for both parties to try to recruit that person (like with Ike), and for that person to accept both nominations after going through the processes?

Well, you also need an atmosphere of cultural unity and for most people to feel so good economically that there's little left for that generation to argue about.  I think the next window will be sometime during 2060-2100 when most everyone has come to terms with majority-minority America and a generic American identity overshadows most regional/ethnic differences.  You don't just need a heroic figure, but also a decade of 5% disposable income growth and 75% positive "direction of the country" polling in which for him/her to run.   

Yet for Monroe and Eisenhower, they weren't that removed from economic troubles or even a devastating war, and social issues like slavery or civil rights were far from settled...

[Figueira]

No, and they seem like more of a Democrat than a Republican anyway.

Edit: pronouns

[Skill and Chance]

It couldn't work today in 2015, I know, but what could make another Monroe/Eisenhower moment happen in our lifetimes?

If we had a young star with a lot of huge accomplishments, who didn't violate the philosophies of either the Republican Party or Democratic Party, and was hugely popular but appeared to be beyond partisanship... wouldn't it be possible for both parties to try to recruit that person (like with Ike), and for that person to accept both nominations after going through the processes?

Well, you also need an atmosphere of cultural unity and for most people to feel so good economically that there's little left for that generation to argue about.  I think the next window will be sometime during 2060-2100 when most everyone has come to terms with majority-minority America and a generic American identity overshadows most regional/ethnic differences.  You don't just need a heroic figure, but also a decade of 5% disposable income growth and 75% positive "direction of the country" polling in which for him/her to run.   

Yet for Monroe and Eisenhower, they weren't that removed from economic troubles or even a devastating war, and social issues like slavery or civil rights were far from settled...

Agreed, but it's the rate of change in conditions that voters react to more.  If recent memory is a depression and/or challenging war, the return to normalcy is more psychologically meaningful.  Now that I think about "return to normalcy," in a world with no 2nd KKK, I could see the Democrats joint-nominating Coolidge in 1924.  The mid 1920's would be another time that was ripe for this.

[President Johnson]

Maybe Uncle Abe if he were alive.

[Lincoln Republican]

No.

Someone that wealthy, wanting to combine it with political power, the Presidency of the United States, while not wanting to compete for the office against any opponents, would simply be seen as someone wanting to buy the Presidency, adding just another piece to his/her collection.

Besides, no government would even allow any private citizen to completely fund these government programs. 

[President Johnson]

It was not unusual to win both nominations in some states in the 20th century. As far as I know, Earl Warren won both nominations in the California gubernatorial election of 1946. As liberal Republican, he also appealed to Democrats and won their nomination with write-in votes. He went on to defeat his independent challanger in the general election with over 90% of the vote.