Since 1976

[A18]

No Democratic candidate for president has ever gotten a majority of the popular vote. Before him, it was LBJ in 1964.

If Kerry doesn't win it this election, we'll be able to say the only Democrat president in the last fourty years to get the majority of Americans' support is Jimmy Carter. And that's pretty sad.

[??????????]

I think we will go over 20 years without any candidate breaking 50%

[A18]

It'd just have to happen this election and next. I have a feeling Bush will get over 50% though...

[lidaker]

No Democratic candidate for president has ever gotten a majority of the popular vote. Before him, it was LBJ in 1964.

Perhaps you should check the logic in your statements.

[A18]

Or maybe you should shut up.

Yeah, I meant before Carter.

[ATFFL]

No Democratic candidate for president has ever gotten a majority of the popular vote. Before him, it was LBJ in 1964.

Perhaps you should check the logic in your statements.

If you mean Clinton and Gore, they did not get a mjority, they won a plurality of the vote.  Both of Clinton's elections he got below 50% of the vote, so he did not win a majority of the vote.

[Lunar]

Carter's election was close and Clinton's election was divided between three people.  All of the other elections were won by Republicans, thus making it impossible to expect their opponents to carry over 50%.

I don't see how it's a "trend" at all.  But maybe it's just me.  Anyway, I don't see Kerry getting over 50.

[JohnFKennedy]

Or maybe you should shut up.

Yeah, I meant before Carter.

His point is that you said "no democratic candidate for president has ever gotten a majority of the popular vote" then stated that LBJ did.

[A18]

It was a continuation from the "since 1976" title.

[© tweed]

no he won't.

Even if he somehow wins he won't get 50%.

[lidaker]

I think both candidates have a possibility of getting more than 50% this time. Third-party candidates will get less than in 2000, perhaps around 2%. So a Kerry victory 50-48 or a Bush victory 51-47 is not impossible IMO.

[AuH2O]

50% of the US is not going to vote for John Kerry. Rest assured.

[zorkpolitics]

Like the 1880's, I think we are in a long period of a 50 50 nation.  In each election third parties will siphon off at least 2%, making hard for either party to win >50%.

[classical liberal]

every period of economic upheval creates polarization in the electorate.  the people who will benefit from the change on one side and those who will loose on the other.  we're moving into a period of a global information economy right now so the starke division is expectable.