Worst election matchups of all time?

[Vespucci]

What are some of the elections in which all candidates were objectively awful, either as people or in terms of policy?

Some of my picks:

1992 IL-2 Democratic primary: open racist and antisemite Gus Savage vs. convicted child molester Mel Reynolds

2010 Alabama gubernatorial GOP primary: included Roy Moore (needs no explaination), Tim "we speak English here" James, and the eventual winner, Robert Bentley, who would go on to resign for using campaign funds to cover up his affair. (It says a lot that by far the best candidate was Bradley Byrne.)

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Hillary vs. Trump was pretty bad.  Maybe not one of the all time worst, but pretty bad. 

[MT Treasurer]

US-PRES 1968
US-PRES 2016
AK-SEN 2004
IL-SEN 2010 & 2016
Any AZ-SEN race with John McCain on the ballot

for some more or less recent ones, but there’s obviously (a lot) more. NH-SEN 2014 & NH-SEN 2020 (or really any race Jeanne Shaheen has ever run) also merit mention not necessarily because of the candidates themselves but because they proved that thinly veiled misandry is still very much a winning playbook in the Granite State.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

SC-Senate 2010

[Real Texan Politics]

Louisiana 1991 gubernatorial election.

Grand Wizard of the KKK vs an extremely corrupt politician who I believe is still in jail today?

“Vote for the lizard, not the wizard.”

And not to mention George HW Bush endorsed Edwin Edwards in this case.

[Oregon Eagle Politics]

all the races where the democrats were bad

[Malarkey Decider]

1924 Pres , if you don't count La Follette

[Tekken_Guy]

In 2018, New Jersey had to choose between one of the most corrupt senators in recent memory...or a Republican. Guess who they chose?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The 2020 Alabama Senate runoff: Jeff Sessions vs. Tommy Tuberville

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

In 2018, New Jersey had to choose between one of the most corrupt senators in recent memory...or a Republican. Guess who they chose?

The libertarian?

[Roll Roons]

If you're a Republican, the 2016 and 2018 California Senate races.

The fact is that Trump received over 6 million votes in California in 2020, despite it being one of the bluest states in the country. I can see why some people support the top two system, since candidates don't just have to play to a hardcore primary electorate, but I think it does a disservice to a lot of people. A top four system might be better in this regard.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

If you're a Republican, the 2016 and 2018 California Senate races.

The fact is that Trump received over 6 million votes in California in 2020. I can see why some people support the top two system, since candidates don't just have to play to a hardcore primary electorate, but I think it does a disservice to a lot of people. A top four system might be better in this regard.

My ideal would be to move California’s system to Election Day and have it conducted with ranked choice voting

[Progressive Pessimist]

In 2018, New Jersey had to choose between one of the most corrupt senators in recent memory...or a Republican. Guess who they chose?

Honestly, it was an easy choice. I would not be able to live with myself as a New Jersey resident if our state deprived Democrats of the majority they have now. Hopefully this is Menendez's last term.

[Drew]

The Dem primary for HI-1 in 2018.  It consisted of DINOs Ed Case and Donna Mercado Kim, Beth Fukumoto who had just recently switched parties, Doug Chin with his “pray the gay away” baggage, and Kaniela Ing who was a progressive but with ethics issues.

[Suburbia]

In 2018, New Jersey had to choose between one of the most corrupt senators in recent memory...or a Republican. Guess who they chose?

Honestly, it was an easy choice. I would not be able to live with myself as a New Jersey resident if our state deprived Democrats of the majority they have now. Hopefully this is Menendez's last term.

It has to be....it should be

[Meatball Ron]

Tim "we speak English here" James

Some incredible parody ads did come out of that, though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe-W4K6JVAw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q_w9jnMdp4

[omar04]

What are some of the elections in which all candidates were objectively awful, either as people or in terms of policy?

Some of my picks:

1992 IL-2 Democratic primary: open racist and antisemite Gus Savage vs. convicted child molester Mel Reynolds

2010 Alabama gubernatorial GOP primary: included Roy Moore (needs no explaination), Tim "we speak English here" James, and the eventual winner, Robert Bentley, who would go on to resign for using campaign funds to cover up his affair. (It says a lot that by far the best candidate was Bradley Byrne.)

Reynolds was indicted for child molestation in 1994 (and still won reelection).

[slothdem]

In 2018, New Jersey had to choose between one of the most corrupt senators in recent memory...or a Republican. Guess who they chose?

The significantly lesser of two evils.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

Louisiana 1991 gubernatorial election.

Grand Wizard of the KKK vs an extremely corrupt politician who I believe is still in jail today?

“Vote for the lizard, not the wizard.”

And not to mention George HW Bush endorsed Edwin Edwards in this case.

This is my go-to answer as it's my earliest political memory, but no Edwards has been out of jail for  a decade now. He ran for a House seat in 2014 lol.

[SnowLabrador]

TN-SEN 2012. Bob Corker vs. Mark E. Clayton. The former was a Republican, the latter was a crazy white supremacist.

[VPH]

Y'all are sleeping on NC-11 in 2020. Moe Davis and Madison Cawthorn are both awful and their campaign was the most annoying thing.

There are also probably numerous historical Southern primaries where a ton of racist candidates tried to out-racist one another.

[beesley]

Certainly not the very worst but I'm surprised the AZ-Sen 2018 GOP primary hasn't been mentioned.

[DS0816]

2016 and 2020 United States presidential election.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Y'all are sleeping on NC-11 in 2020. Moe Davis and Madison Cawthorn are both awful and their campaign was the most annoying thing.

There are also probably numerous historical Southern primaries where a ton of racist candidates tried to out-racist one another.

I know at one point when Coleman Blease (an untapped mine of racist and crazy nonsense) attacked Byrnes in the primary for being born Catholic.

Byrnes converted to Protestantism in his early teens

[Mr. Smith]

1852, 1856, 1884, 1996 PRES ELECTIONS
2002 CA GOV
2018 SC-04 [Parnell v Norman]
2020 CA-50 [Issa v Campa-Najjar]