In Which Presidential Elections did the less charismatic candidate win?

[E-Dawg]

I'll give my impressions of who was the most charismatic candidate in each election, feel free to dispute any of my choices, and to help fill in the gaps for the ones I'm not sure of. I'm only going since 1896, since I have no idea how I would begin to determine charisma beforehand. Also, the only 3rd party candidate I'm counting is Teddy in 1912 (since he got more votes than Taft it makes no sense to consider Taft but not TR), for every other election I'm only judging the Republican and Democrat.

More charismatic candidate in each election:
1896: Bryan (Lost)
1900: Bryan (Lost)
1904: Roosevelt (Won)
1908: Bryan (Lost)
1912: Roosevelt (Lost)
1916: Unsure
1920: Harding (Won)
1924: Coolidge (Won)
1928: Unsure
1932: Roosevelt (Won)
1936: Roosevelt (Won)
1940: Roosevelt (Won)
1944: Roosevelt (Won)
1948: Truman (Won)
1952: Eisenhower (Won)
1956: Eisenhower (Won)
1960: Kennedy (Won)
1964: Goldwater (Lost)
1968: Unsure
1972: Nixon (Won)
1976: Ford (Lost)
1980: Reagan (Won)
1984 : Reagan (Won)
1988: Unsure
1992: Clinton (Won)
1996: Clinton (Won)
2000: Bush (Won)
2004: Bush (Won)
2008: Obama (Won)
2012: Obama (Won)
2016: Trump (Won)
2020: Trump (Lost)

So my current list of elections where the more charismatic candidate lost are 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, 1964, 1976, & 2020. Anything I should add or remove from that list?

[LabourJersey]

In all honesty, Wallace was the most charismatic candidate in 1968.

Humphrey was so uncharismatic that Nixon might actually have the edge there.

Though I think it's unfair to include elections before 1948/1952 here. "Charismatic" matters far more in modern elections than it used to before TV and radio.

If we count elections since 1948, I think 2020 and 1964 are really the only cases where the candidate who was clearly less charismatic won (I personally think Carter was a little more charismatic than Ford)

[Schiff for Senate]

I'll give my impressions of who was the most charismatic candidate in each election, feel free to dispute any of my choices, and to help fill in the gaps for the ones I'm not sure of. I'm only going since 1896, since I have no idea where I would begin to determine charisma beforehand. Also, the only 3rd party candidate I'm counting is Teddy in 1912 (since he got more votes than Taft it makes no sense to consider Taft but not TR), for every other election I'm only judging the Republican and Democrat.

More charismatic candidate in each election:
1896: Bryan (Lost)
1900: Bryan (Lost)
1904: Roosevelt (Won)
1908: Bryan (Lost)
1912: Roosevelt (Lost)
1916: Unsure
1920: Harding (Won)
1924: Coolidge (Won)
1928: Unsure
1932: Roosevelt (Won)
1936: Roosevelt (Won)
1940: Roosevelt (Won)
1944: Roosevelt (Won)
1948: Truman (Won)
1952: Eisenhower (Won)
1956: Eisenhower (Won)
1960: Kennedy (Won)
1964: Goldwater (Lost)
1968: Unsure
1972: Nixon (Won)
1976: Ford (Lost)
1980: Reagan (Won)
1984 : Reagan (Won)
1988: Unsure
1992: Clinton (Won)
1996: Clinton (Won)
2000: Bush (Won)
2004: Bush (Won)
2008: Obama (Won)
2012: Obama (Won)
2016: Trump (Won)
2020: Trump (Lost)

So my current list of elections where the more charismatic candidate lost are 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, 1964, 1976, & 2020. Anything I should add or remove from that list?

The changes I'd suggest are:

1988: Dukakis (youthful son of immigrants with a compelling personal story vs. a sixtysomething establishment population)
1976: Carter (by 1980, definitely not, but his charisma declined over the course of his presidency as he went from the upstart peanut farmer to the beleaguered president...also Ford was not charismatic at all, at least not from what I understand)
1964: Johnson was very charismatic...no way Goldwater wins this one
1928: Definitely Smith - Hoover was well-liked and respected, but he was the "safe," boring, uninspiring establishment pick (there may be parallels to draw between him and Clinton in 2016)...on the other hand, Smith was the personification of a middle finger to the 1920s sociopolitical consensus

[Schiff for Senate]

In all honesty, Wallace was the most charismatic candidate in 1968.

Humphrey was so uncharismatic that Nixon might actually have the edge there.

Though I think it's unfair to include elections before 1948/1952 here. "Charismatic" matters far more in modern elections than it used to before TV and radio.

If we count elections since 1948, I think 2020 and 1964 are really the only cases where the candidate who was clearly less charismatic won (I personally think Carter was a little more charismatic than Ford)

Was Johnson really uncharismatic? I would think it's quite the opposite. He was a very strong and forceful personality and quite a colorful character.

[Mr. Smith]

My guesses, using the most charismatic candidate, which admittedly rewards extroversion most of the time:

1800: Jefferson [won]
1804: Jefferson [won]
1808: Madison [won]
1812: D. Clinton [lost]
1816: Monroe [won]
1824: Jackson [lost]
1828: Jackson [won]
1832: Jackson [won]
1836: Webster [lost]
1840: W. Harrison [won]
1844: Polk [won]
1848: Taylor [won]
1852: Unsure
1856: Fremont [lost]
1860: Douglas [lost]
1864: Lincoln [won]
1868: Seymour [lost]
1872: Grant [won]
1876: Tilden [lost]
1880: Hancock [lost]
1884: Cleveland [won]
1888: Cleveland [lost]
1892: Cleveland [won]
1896: Bryan [lost]
1900: Bryan [lost]
1904: T. Roosevelt [won]
1908: Bryan [lost]
1912: T. Roosevelt [lost]
1916: Hughes [lost]
1920: Harding [won]
1924: LaFollette [lost]
1928: Smith [lost]
1932: F. Roosevelt [won]
1936: F. Roosevelt [won]
1940: F. Roosevelt [won]
1944: F. Roosevelt [won]
1948: H. Wallace [lost]
1952: Eisenhower [won]
1956: Eisenhower [won]
1960: Kennedy [won]
1964: L. Johnson [won]
1968: G. Wallace [lost]
1972: McGovern [lost]
1976: Carter [won]
1980: Reagan [won]
1984: Reagan [won]
1988: G.H.W. Bush [won]
1992: Perot [lost]
1996: B. Clinton [won]
2000: G.W. Bush [won]
2004: G.W. Bush [won]
2008: Obama [won]
2012: Obama [won]
2016: Trump [won]
2020: Trump [lost]

[wnwnwn]

One can say 2020, but I think that 2008/2012 Diamond Joe era Biden was somehow charismatic in contrast of Romney/Ryan, and this helped in 2020, where he had excuses to avoid big rallies.

[ReaganLimbaugh]

I actually agree with a Democrat on this.

In all honesty, Wallace was the most charismatic candidate in 1968.

Humphrey was so uncharismatic that Nixon might actually have the edge there.

Though I think it's unfair to include elections before 1948/1952 here. "Charismatic" matters far more in modern elections than it used to before TV and radio.

If we count elections since 1948, I think 2020 and 1964 are really the only cases where the candidate who was clearly less charismatic won (I personally think Carter was a little more charismatic than Ford)

[LabourJersey]

In all honesty, Wallace was the most charismatic candidate in 1968.

Humphrey was so uncharismatic that Nixon might actually have the edge there.

Though I think it's unfair to include elections before 1948/1952 here. "Charismatic" matters far more in modern elections than it used to before TV and radio.

If we count elections since 1948, I think 2020 and 1964 are really the only cases where the candidate who was clearly less charismatic won (I personally think Carter was a little more charismatic than Ford)

Was Johnson really uncharismatic? I would think it's quite the opposite. He was a very strong and forceful personality and quite a colorful character.

I think LBJ's reputation as a colorful character was limited to Washington insiders back in his day, and only became more known after his term. I could be very wrong, but it seems the late 1960s perception of him as President did not reflect him as colorful or charismatic.