List of Democratic Party presidential primaries
This is a list of the Democratic Party of the United States presidential primaries.
1912
This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Champ Clark. Wilson defeated Clark and was nominated during the convention. He then won the general election with a landslide victory.1916
Democratic incumbent President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.1920
Former United States Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo and Ohio Governor James Cox were the main candidates. Though William Gibbs McAdoo won a vast majority of states, Cox won the nomination on the 22nd ballot at the convention. Cox went on to lose the election to Republican candidate Warren Harding.1924
Former United States Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo, 1920 candidate James Cox and Henry Ford were the main candidates. Though McAdoo won a vast majority of states, and well more than half of the popular vote, in those twelve states that held primary elections, it meant little to his performance nationwide. Once at the convention, the party was deadlocked for 102 straight ballots, before dark horse candidate John W. Davis, was chosen on the 103rd ballot. Davis went on to lose the election to the Republican candidate, President Calvin Coolidge.1928
New York Governor Al Smith faced no major opposition in the primaries but lost in the general election against Herbert Hoover.1932
New York Governor and 1920 vice president candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of 1928 candidate Al Smith. Roosevelt easily defeated Smith and was nominated on the fourth ballot, during the convention. He then defeated President Hoover in the general election with a landslide victory.1936
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.1940
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran again for re-election, and faced the opposition of Vice President John Nance Garner in the primaries. Garner lost the primaries, and during the convention, the vice presidential nomination went to Henry Wallace.1944
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran again for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries. Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri won the vice presidential nomination on the second ballot, defeating Vice President Wallace.1948
Democratic incumbent President Harry Truman ran for election to a full term, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.1952
Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee defeated President Truman in the New Hampshire primary, becoming the first person to ever drive an incumbent from the race during the 20th century. Kefauver swept the primaries, but there weren't enough primary delegates to be able to win the nomination. Adlai Stevenson won the nomination but lost against Dwight Eisenhower in the general election.1956
Adlai Stevenson, who had won the 1952 nomination on third ballot, defeated Estes Kefauver in the early primaries, thus becoming the last losing Democratic presidential nominee to win a second nomination. He would lose the election to President Eisenhower.1960
Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts defeated Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota in the two contested primaries.1964
Governor George Wallace of Alabama made a feeble challenge to President Lyndon B. Johnson and his surrogates, who were running because he pretended not to be running.1968
In the last successful challenge to an incumbent president, Senator Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota came extremely close to defeating President Johnson in New Hampshire, and with polls showing him winning Wisconsin and the entry of Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, the President withdrew from the race.Thus followed an exciting race between Kennedy and McCarthy, but Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey swept the caucuses and two favorite sons who already endorsed him had won primaries in Ohio and Florida, giving him a substantial lead by the time Senator Kennedy was murdered by Sirhan Sirhan on the day of the California primary.
1972
The 1972 primaries set the record for the highest number of candidates in a major party's presidential primaries in American history, with 16. After the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, Ted Kennedy fell from front runner to non-candidate. Ed Muskie was the establishment favourite until he was reported to have cried emotionally during a speech defending himself against the Canuck letter. George McGovern was able to gain ground and make a strong showing in New Hampshire. George Wallace ran as an outsider and did well in the South. His campaign was ended when an assassin shot him and left him paralyzed. McGovern went on to win a majority of the delegates and the nomination at the convention. However, his prior efforts to reform the nomination process had reduced the power of Democratic Party leaders. McGovern had difficulty getting a vice presidential running mate to run with him. It then took hours to get him approved. A couple of weeks later it was revealed that Thomas F. Eagleton had undergone electroshock therapy for depression. After claiming to back Eagleton "1000%", McGovern asked him to resign three days later. After a week of being publicly rebuffed by prominent Democrats, McGovern finally managed to get Sargent Shriver to be his new running mate. This trouble compounded the already weak support he had among party leaders.1976
The 1976 primaries matched the record previously set in 1972 for the highest number of candidates in any presidential primaries in American history, with 16. During the primaries, Jimmy Carter capitalized on his status as an outsider. The 1976 campaign was the first in which primaries and caucuses carried more weight than the old boss-dominated system. Carter exploited this, competing in every contest and won so many delegates that he held an overwhelming majority of the delegates at the convention.1980
The incumbent President Jimmy Carter faced high unemployment, high inflation and gas shortages in California. Against this backdrop, Ted Kennedy decided to run after sitting out 1972 and 1976. Kennedy stumbled badly in an interview, then the Iran hostage crisis in November 1979 seriously undermined Carter as his calm approach caused his poll numbers to rise. Carter won decisively everywhere except Massachusetts until the public began to grow weary of the hostage situation. Kennedy then began to win and even swept the last states. It was too little, too late. Carter had a slight advantage and enough delegates to win the nomination.1984
Former Vice President Walter Mondale entered the race as the favorite. He had raised the most money, had the backing of the most party leaders and had a very good organization in the Midwest and Northeast. Even so, both Jesse Jackson and Gary Hart managed to mount effective national campaigns against him. Jackson won several states in the South but was unable to recover after calling Jews "Hymies" and New York City "Hymietown" in an interview with a black reporter. Hart waged a strong campaign in New Hampshire, Ohio, California and the West, looking as if he could win. Hart's downfall came when, in a televised debate, Mondale said he was reminded of the Wendy's slogan "Where's the beef?" whenever he heard Hart talk about his "New Ideas" program. The audience laughed and applauded. Hart was never able to shake the impression created that his policy lacked weight. Mondale gradually pulled ahead, winning a near majority & therefore required the super delegates support for the nomination.1988
Democrats entered the race with hopes to build on mid-term wins that gave them control of the Senate, and that the ongoing Iran Contra scandal would plague the eventual Republican nominee. Three candidates won multiple primaries: Michael Dukakis, Jesse Jackson, and Al Gore, and for a while the hope of a multi-ballot convention remained alive.Gary Hart's strong showing in 1984 gave him much early press attention but an extramarital affair with Donna Rice thwarted his campaign. Joe Biden was caught up in a plagiarism scandal. Neither were able to put up victories. Paul Simon only won his home state of Illinois.
Dukakis ended up with two-thirds of the delegates, winning the nomination.