Why did Al Gore never run 4 prez again?

[Sir Mohamed]

He almost won the 2000 election on paper, most likely actually won the election. After 2000, Al Gore never sought the presidency again or even came close to prepare for another bid, despite plenty of chances. He not just won the most votes that year, he was just 52 years old and had a ton of political experience in House, Senate and VP of a popular 2-term prez. Just would like to remind you all that he's still younger than our current POTUS and his predecessor.

Situation was much different in 2016 since HRC was not just much older, but also because she seriously underperformed expectation. That can't be said of Al Gore, although he won the NPV by a smaller margin that she did.

Was that just because timing was bad in each following cycle with an open Dem nomination? Which is all cycles but 2012.

I'm still kind of saddened by this because he would have been an excellent POTUS.

[darklordoftech]

I think the 2000 election left him disillusioned with politics.

[President Johnson]

I asked this question myself as well and deeply regret him not running again. I think he felt it was never the right time for various different reasons.

- For the 2004 election, it seemed like Dubya was favored to win reelection in early and mid 2003, which was about the time he had to decide whether to run or not. If I remember correctly, Gore actually declined to run again in late 2002, after Republicans gained in the midterms against conventional wisdom. And losing again may have harmed his legacy. If Gore knew who close Kerry came, he might have tried again.

- 2008 would have been his best chance for a comeback and I think he would have won the nomination and subsequently the election with ease. However, it seemed like Hillary was the overwhelming favorite and Gore liked Obama's candidacy. If I'm not mistaken, Gore was actually mentioned as possible vice presidential candidate back in 2008, even though it was never considered with more seriousness.

- 2012 had an incumbent Democrat running for reelection

- In 2016 and 2020, Al Gore was long done with running for office and begun to build a reputation as environmentalist. He was long out of office at that time and Democrats had plenty of other options.


I wish he ran again in 2008 with either Obama or Biden was his running mate. In 2016, a more experienced Obama could have taken over (although that means Uncle Joe is never president, though he would have made an excellent Secretary of State).

[vitoNova]

I ask myself a similar question regarding Howard Dean. 

[Del Tachi]

Dems didn’t want a rematch in 2004, and he deferred to Hillary in 2008 and 2016.

[Hammy]

Because he was a terribly inept candidate with zero charisma who was successfully branded as a sore loser after 2000.

[Frodo]

I think for much the same reason more prominent Democrats declined to run against President George H. W. Bush so soon after the end of the Gulf War.  It is hard to run against a popular wartime president, not to mention the fact there was a certain amount of frustration among fellow Democrats that Al Gore bungled what should have been a coronation in 2000:

In a rematch he would have faced an even tougher Mr Bush whose popularity has been bolstered by the war on terrorism. Current polls would give Mr Bush a 20-point lead over Mr Gore.

Although he was the clear frontrunner for the nomination in recent polls, some Democrats privately expressed relief that the party would now be able to rally behind a new, more charismatic leader. There was a certain amount of anger two years ago that he had managed to lose the election at a time when the economy was booming.

source

[Chips]

I think the 2000 election left him disillusioned with politics.

[brucejoel99]

He almost won the 2000 election on paper, most likely actually won the election. After 2000, Al Gore never sought the presidency again or even came close to prepare for another bid, despite plenty of chances. He not just won the most votes that year, he was just 52 years old and had a ton of political experience in House, Senate and VP of a popular 2-term prez. Just would like to remind you all that he's still younger than our current POTUS and his predecessor.

That's not exactly true, as he was talking all of the steps in 2002 that he would've needed to take for a potential run in 2004. It's just that he ended up not pulling the trigger on a run in the end.

[Sir Mohamed]

He almost won the 2000 election on paper, most likely actually won the election. After 2000, Al Gore never sought the presidency again or even came close to prepare for another bid, despite plenty of chances. He not just won the most votes that year, he was just 52 years old and had a ton of political experience in House, Senate and VP of a popular 2-term prez. Just would like to remind you all that he's still younger than our current POTUS and his predecessor.

That's not exactly true, as he was talking all of the steps in 2002 that he would've needed to take for a potential run in 2004. It's just that he ended up not pulling the trigger on a run in the end.

True. I just meant his plans were not as concrete as Mario Cuomo's in 1991.

[Red Wall]

Because that has been the norm for candidates who have lost the general election over the past decades. The last one who did so was Humphrey in 1972 and the last one to win the nomination again was Nixon in 1968. It was fairly common in the past with guys like Dewey and Stevenson losing twice in a row and Bryan losing 3 times but not anymore.