5 Greatest Primary Campaigns in history

[OSR stands with Israel]

I would say :

1. 2008 Obama
2. 2016 Trump
3. 1992 Clinton
4. 1976 Reagan(Him nearly knocking off Ford in 1976 is way more impressive than winning the nomination in 1980)
5. 1976 Carter

[Mr. Smith]

1. 1976 Carter
2. 2008 Obama
3. 1976 Reagan
4. 1960 JFK
5. 1988 Dukakis

[UWS]

1. 2008 McCain (originally the polls counted McCain out but McCain fought hard and by winning New Hampshire he surpassed Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney and his wins in other early primaries propelled him to the nomination)
2. 2008 Obama
3. 1960 JFK
4. 1980 Reagan
5. 1952 Ike

[dw93]

1. Obama 2008
2. Carter 1976
3. Reagan 1976
4. JFK 1960
5. Clinton 1992


Trump's primary campaign, while not bad, really wasn't exceptional. He won solely due to divided opposition. Granted, Carter got the nomination in 1976, partially, for the same reason, the difference is the primary system was still in its infancy and Carter to his credit understood it unlike his opponents, to where Trump's opposition in the primaries couldn't for the life of them rally behind a candidate.

[Pericles]

Most of these nominees did not come from very far behind to win the nomination. Jimmy Carter may be the most impressive, because he had very little national name recognition and was dismissed as a 'peanut farmer', he also had to have greater skill to find the path to victory in a new system. Clinton 1992 was unpopular overall in the primaries, but he did pull off a pretty successful comeback. The best comeback in history might have to go to Joe Biden in 2020, just for how well executed it was and how swift and total it was. Kerry winning the nomination easily is impressive because he was hardly even in the running in late 2003, but most of that was due to Dean and Gephardt destroying each other. McCain also had an impressive comeback. Trump is a weird one because someone like him was so unlikely to win but he led the polling from the start. Obama was a strong candidate but he turned what would have been a close loss into a very narrow win, though that was mainly Hillary also having a good comeback that prolonged the race.

1. Jimmy Carter 1976
2. Joe Biden 2020
3. Obama 2008
4. Trump 2016
5. McCain 2008

Dukakis may have done well, 1988 was a very open field, but I don't know enough about that race.

I didn't count any pre-1972 campaigns because those weren't conducted under a proper primary system.

[Del Tachi]

1.  Carter 1976
2.  Clinton 1992
3.  Obama 2008
4.  JFK 1960
5.  McCain 2008

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

1. 2008 McCain (originally the polls counted McCain out but McCain fought hard and by winning New Hampshire he surpassed Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney and his wins in other early primaries propelled him to the nomination)

Rudy pulled out of New Hampshire at a point that both him and McCain were roughly on par (high teens IIRC). To the extent that McCain was able to win that primary, depended on the "help" of Rudy and Fred Thompson.

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

In drama terms, I don't see how anything can beat the Democrats in 1968. Incumbent president pulling out, civil rights icon getting assassinated and then the emerging frontrunner getting assassinated. And then the sh**t hitting the fan at the convention.

[Sir Mohamed]

I agree with all the listed. But doesn't Biden 2020 deserve a mention? Sure, he started off as the frontrunner, but coming back after poor showings in the first 3 contests is quite stunning.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I agree with all the listed. But doesn't Biden 2020 deserve a mention? Sure, he started off as the frontrunner, but coming back after poor showings in the first 3 contests is quite stunning.

A lot of that was because neither Bernie or Mayor Pete had much appeal with African American voters which pretty much meant Biden would win South Carolina and Clyburn’s endorsement only cemented that fact .

After South Carolina it became clear that the only candidate who had a chance to beat Bernie was Biden and Pete and Amy dropped out after that and all their supporters went behind Biden cause at the end of the day they just didn’t want Bernie .

[Mr. Smith]

I agree with all the listed. But doesn't Biden 2020 deserve a mention? Sure, he started off as the frontrunner, but coming back after poor showings in the first 3 contests is quite stunning.

No.

It's like being impressed by those Luigi wins by doing nothing videos.

[Pericles]

I agree with all the listed. But doesn't Biden 2020 deserve a mention? Sure, he started off as the frontrunner, but coming back after poor showings in the first 3 contests is quite stunning.

Agreed, I put him second, and the final result was a very decisive win. He also was one of the only smart enough candidates to just ignore what people on Twitter were saying and speak to the party's actual base.

[Sir Mohamed]

I agree with all the listed. But doesn't Biden 2020 deserve a mention? Sure, he started off as the frontrunner, but coming back after poor showings in the first 3 contests is quite stunning.

A lot of that was because neither Bernie or Mayor Pete had much appeal with African American voters which pretty much meant Biden would win South Carolina and Clyburn’s endorsement only cemented that fact .

After South Carolina it became clear that the only candidate who had a chance to beat Bernie was Biden and Pete and Amy dropped out after that and all their supporters went behind Biden cause at the end of the day they just didn’t want Bernie .

I dunno who else could have appealed to black voters instead. Both African American senators of the Dem caucus ran 4 prez at the time and dropped out before a single ballot was cast. After all, Biden beat the largest primary field in the history of US presidential politics. That's not a small feat.

[EJ24]

1. Obama 2008 (how the hell is this not #1 on everybody's list?)
2. Carter 1976
3. Trump 2016
4. Biden 2020 (From like late February to Super Tuesday. INSANE comeback.)
5. Clinton 1992

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Biden gets undeserved credit IMO. He only won because the party closed ranks around him (after he’d done poorly in the first three states) in an unprecedented way because they didn’t want Bernie as the nominee. There was absolutely no other reason for Klobuchar to drop out when she did, even though she stood no chance of winning under other circumstances it would have made more sense for her to wait just a couple days longer to bow out gracefully after her homestate voted but she and mayor Pete wanted to clear the centrist lane for Biden to win.

[Orser67]

No one has listed McGovern '72, but he at least deserves an honorable mention. While he may have benefited from luck (Kennedy dropping out) and an assist from the Nixon campaign, McGovern still deserves a lot of credit for figuring out how to navigate the post-1968 primary system (which he had played a major role in establishing).

Also, it's easy to discount Nixon '68, Bush '88, and Gore '00, but they all deserve credit for putting themselves in good position before the first contests started, and for dispatching their opponents relatively easily.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Among modern primaries: Carter 1976

Dark horse convention candidates such as Garfield 1880, Pierce 1852, Davis 1924, and various others.