1896, 1900 and 1908 Elections!

[TommyC1776]

How come William Jennings Bryan did worse each time he ran as the Democratic nominee?

[TommyC1776]

Also, how come John Palmer ran as a Democrat that year (1896) too?  Was it because of the Gold thing?

[Dr. Cynic]

Well Bryan only did worse in 1900... In 1896, he was close, and in 1908, he gained ground electorally and popularly from his poor 1900 showing...

I think the only reason he lost in 1908 was because of his foolish statement advocating public ownership of railroads... There had been some businessmen who had finally begun to believe that Bryan might do, but that statement shot it all to hell.

Palmer was a gold Democrat who ran with Cleveland support. However, several of Cleveland's cabinet members (J. Sterling Morton and Richard Olney for example) and NY Governor David B. Hill remained loyal... Cleveland cast his vote for Palmer.