Who would William Jennings Bryan have voted for?

[Alben Barkley]

On the one hand, hard to imagine Bryan wouldn’t be repulsed by Trump’s temperament, lack of morality, and implementation of heartless conservative policies that benefited the wealthy at the expense of the downtrodden.

On the other hand, Trump overwhelmingly won rural and evangelical voters; Bryan likely would have been turned off by the increased secularism and social liberalism of modern Democrats, and Trump is a populist as he was (albeit different kinds).

I can see a case either way.

[Skill and Chance]

Easily Trump based on everything that was known about the candidates prior to election day.

[VPH]

Maybe Kanye as a protest vote?

Biden: Closer to WJB on economics, too centralist though, socially liberal
Trump: Too crass, not a true populist
Jo Jorgensen: Would let the large trusts do what they want so no
Hawkins: Way too woke
Brian Carroll: Kinda matches up but the ASP is too Catholic for WJB
Kanye: Okay nobody else is getting his vote so may as well

[TDAS04]

If he had to choose between Trump and Biden, Biden.  I’m guessing that Bryan would at least have been smart enough to see through Trump’s “populism” and realize there was noting about Trump that should appeal to the little guy.

I also think McKinley would have supported Biden, though not necessarily for the same reasons.

[bagelman]

If he had to choose between Trump and Biden, Biden.  I’m guessing that Bryan would at least have been smart enough to see through Trump’s “populism” and realize there was noting about Trump that should appeal to the little guy.

I also think McKinley would have supported Biden, though not necessarily for the same reasons.

Bryan and McKinley would both be disgusted to see someone with such loose morals, and equally perturbed that a Catholic is the only major alternative. Bryan would be happy that neither candidate drinks.

I really don't know if Bryan would be swayed by Trump or not. Plenty of good decent people have fallen into the web of filthy lies.

[darklordoftech]

Bryan would vote for the free-trading churchgoer who voted against the Persian Gulf War over the protectionist casino-owner who assassinated another country’s general.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Robert C Byrd in 2004 after the Realignment of the South allowed the WWC D's to switch over to the Liberal side after John Edwards shedded his moderate roots and ran with Kerry as Prez.

That's why Lincoln, Pryor, Landrieu all lost in the Deep South.

I am not sure if WC Jenning swho was a Segregationust would have voted for Trump. Woodrow Wilson input the Income Tax into the Constitution and made it a law.

But Wilson like Jennings were Segregationists and Wilson appointed McReynolds whom was a Segregationists to SCOTUS

But, after 2004, after Realignment, I am sure they probably vote Biden


John Edwards made the statement of rich and poor and since 2008, Wall street has gotten over the poor, Jennings like Wilson will appeal to that from Great Recession

[7,052,770]

Obviously Biden. He would have thought Trump was a big business charlatan and called him out on it, just like he did in his own time.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Many WC D's shifted to the R party with Ronald Reagan, as I said before, the Realignment took place in 2004 with John Edwards ran for Prez and made the distinction between the rich and poor and exacerbated by the Great Recession. This the Deep Southern D like Landrieu, Lincoln and Pryor lost in 2014 last Realignment.


Jennings would probably vote Biden but s case can be made either way

[MATTROSE94]

Probably Joe Biden, though he may have backed Donald Trump in 2016.

[OSR stands with Israel]

WJB didnt do that great in Rural Areas, thats a myth. Look at the Ohio map in 1892 vs 1896

1892:



1896:




Now heres Wisconsin:


1892:







Source: Used Wikipedia

[Alben Barkley]

WJB didnt do that great in Rural Areas, thats a myth. Look at the Ohio map in 1892 vs 1896

1892:



1896:




Now heres Wisconsin:


1892:







Source: Used Wikipedia

Selectively pulling out maps of two Midwestern states he lost does not somehow prove it’s a “myth” he did well in rural areas nationwide.

Also from Wikipedia:

In most areas, Bryan did better among rural voters than urban. Even in the South, Bryan attracted 59% of the rural vote, but only 44% of the urban vote, taking 57% of the southern vote overall. The only areas of the nation where Bryan took a greater percentage of the urban than the rural vote were New England and the Rocky Mountain states; in neither case did this affect the outcome, as Bryan took only 27% of New England's vote overall, while taking 88% of the Rocky Mountain city vote to 81% of the vote there outside the cities.[f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. Those that served principally as agricultural centers or had been founded along the railroad favored Bryan. [140] The Democratic Party preserved control in the eastern cities through machine politics and the continued loyalty of the Irish-American voter; Bryan's loss over the silver issue of many German-American voters, previously solidly Democratic, helped ensure his defeat in the Midwest. According to Stanley Jones, "the only conclusion to be reached was that the Bryan campaign, with its emphasis on the free coinage of silver at 16 to 1, had not appealed to the urban working classes."

As noted, the German-American vote was heavily anti-silver which explains why Wisconsin looks like that. As for Ohio, it both had a good number of of Germans as well and was McKinley’s home state. And still, in certain areas, Bryan did do better than Cleveland (who won only a plurality in many of those counties due to decent performances from the Prohibition and Populist parties).

I maintain that there are a lot of parallels between Trump and Bryan in terms of their populist appeal to many rural and evangelical voters across the nation, despite some exceptions and despite the fact they didn’t everywhere do as well as previous nominees of their party. Also, you have to consider their performance relative to expectations: In both 1896 and 2020, by most all normal measures, the incumbent party should have been destroyed. But the unique populist appeal of Bryan and Trump drove up turnout among these kinds of voters and made it closer than it should have been.

[Chips]

Biden.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Since Wilson instituted the Income Tax his pupil and the Realignment began then, Jennings would vote for Biden

Even Robert C Byrd became a Secularist after 2008 Great Recession with the income gap between rich and poor was exacerbated after 911, 2008 and Covid that even states rights Dixiecrats can't ignore for huge tax cuts for the rich.

That's why Landrieu, Pryor and Lincoln lost and we got Kaine, Warner, Warnock and Ossoff in the Deep South