Worst major Presidential Primary candidates from 1972 on

[Benjamin Frank]

I'm sure this topic has been brought up before, but, I'll start a new thread.

I think there is just one candidate who is far and away above all the others:
1.John Glenn, 1984 Democratic candidate. The Newsweek special election issue quoted a person who said that of all candidates who ran for high office who held a high office (U.S Senator) John Glenn was the only person he had ever seen who received more applause when entering a room than when leaving it.

Had John Glenn not been a beloved astronaut it's unlikely he ever would have been elected to a city council yet alone the U.S Senate. The media annointed him a co-fronter along with Walter Mondale in what was regarded as a race of the 'old new dealers' (Mondale) vs. the new technocrats (or Atari Democrats as some called them) (Glenn.) Glenn quickly flamed out and his position was essentially taken by Gary Hart.

All of the others have an asterix, which is why I have Glenn as in a class by himself:
2.Phil Gramm. 1996 Republican candidate. Raised the most money to win a single delegate. However, in hindsight, it's hard to see why anybody thought an arrogant economics teacher made a plausible Presidential nominee.

3.Elizabeth Dole, 2000 Republican candidate. A surprisingly poor campaigner frequently called 'robotic.' Most candidates grow while running but Dole never had a chance since the Republican big money donors who, after seeing the 1996 primary, agreed to unite behind a single candidate (George W Bush.) This was before the era of small money donations raised on the internet and only John McCain was able to unite those opposed to this elite control of the Republican Party behind George W Bush with his insurgent campaign.

4.Michael Bloomberg, 2020 Democratic candidate. A shockingly unprepared candidate. Obviously though hampered by his very late entry.

[OSR stands with Israel]

1. Jeb Bush 2016
2. Kamala Harris 2020
3. Phil Gramm 1996

[TheTide]

I'm guessing this is not supposed to count the likes of David Duke, Lyndon LaRouche etc.

In terms of those who had a realistic chance.

Ed Muskie and other 'mainstream' Democrats in 1972.

Rudy Giuliani in 2008.

Tim Pawlenty in 2012.

Most Republicans in 2016.

[Blow by blow, the passion dies]

Gramm was also nicknamed "Porno-Gramm" for investing in that market

[darklordoftech]

Phil Gramm. 1996 Republican candidate. Raised the most money to win a single delegate. However, in hindsight, it's hard to see why anybody thought an arrogant economics teacher made a plausible Presidential nominee.

Phil Gramm is what people think the pre-Trump GOP was. Rush Limbaugh is what it actually was.

[Benjamin Frank]

I don't really agree with either Rudy Guiliani or Jeb Bush. I don't disagree that both ran poor campaigns, but I think both polled well initially only due to high name recognition. That the media considered them both as serious contenders showed how much the media was out of touch with the changes in the Republican Party.

In the case of Giuliani, I don't know why any person would consider a person who supported LGBTQ+ rights and wore a dress in public as a serious candidate for the Republican nomination.

Jeb Bush in 2016 makes more sense given that Mitt Romney won the Republican nomination in 2012. But both of the finalists to Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, ran on anti-free trade, 'pro manufacturing' platforms. Of course it's impossible to know for certain, but had Santorum ran consistently on that rather than on his 'man on dog' social conservativism, he might have won the nomination in 2012.  Jeb Bush was simply not as much in the Republican mainstream by 2016.

[EternalOptimistPopulist]

Pat Robertson 1988
Jim Gilmore 2016
Jeb Bush 2016
Lindsey Graham 2016
Kamala Harris 2020
Michael Bloomberg 2020
Michael Bennet 2020

[TheTide]

I don't really agree with either Rudy Guiliani or Jeb Bush. I don't disagree that both ran poor campaigns, but I think both polled well initially only due to high name recognition. That the media considered them both as serious contenders showed how much the media was out of touch with the changes in the Republican Party.

In the case of Giuliani, I don't know why any person would consider a person who supported LGBTQ+ rights and wore a dress in public as a serious candidate for the Republican nomination.

Jeb Bush in 2016 makes more sense given that Mitt Romney won the Republican nomination in 2012. But both of the finalists to Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, ran on anti-free trade, 'pro manufacturing' platforms. Of course it's impossible to know for certain, but had Santorum ran consistently on that rather than on his 'man on dog' social conservativism, he might have won the nomination in 2012.  Jeb Bush was simply not as much in the Republican mainstream by 2016.

Giuliani probably wouldn't have won the nomination in any case, but he could have been something like Kasich in 2016. Instead he not only ignored Iowa (understandable for him), but also New Hampshire (where he was a fairly good fit). He put all of his eggs into the Florida basket, where he came a poor third. Funny thing - Giuliani has or had a picture of him campaigning in Florida in 2008 on his Twitter account, and the slogan "Florida is Rudy Country" can be seen. 85% of Rudy Country voted against Rudy.

McCain and Romney also moved to the right to placate the base. Giuliani didn't and it cost him.

[Orwell]

2.Phil Gramm. 1996 Republican candidate. Raised the most money to win a single delegate. However, in hindsight, it's hard to see why anybody thought an arrogant economics teacher made a plausible Presidential nominee.

They made an entire 7 season TV show about this exact premise lol, it's called The West Wing, it one a couple emmys.