Political Comebacks in American History
I haven’t written about American History in a while. So, I decided to dedicate this post to a lesser-talked about feature of American history.
Comebacks are cool. Everyone loves a good comeback story: from Rocky to Tiger Woods winning the Masters in 2019.
In American history, there are several notable examples of remarkable political comebacks. Today, we will explore several American presidents who overcame devastating political defeats prior to taking the White House. Let’s dive right in.
The Best of the Best
1. Richard Nixon
“You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” – Richard Nixon (1962)
The political career of Richard Nixon looked dead in 1963. He lost two straight major elections in the past three years: the 1960 presidential election against JFK and the 1962 California gubernatorial race against Pat Brown. Two major losses like that would have been the death knell for almost any politician—but not for Richard Nixon. In fact, the media completely wrote off Nixon and his political future. His political obituary seemed set in stone.
Nixon’s stayed out of the spotlight for the next few years. He also sat out the 1964 presidential election—where Lyndon B. Johnson (one of America’s worst presidents) destroyed Barry Goldwater. However, Nixon started making his way back into the political arena after campaigning for Republican candidates in 1964 and the 1966 midterms.
Finally, Nixon ran for the presidency in 1968. He won a fairly close election versus Democrat Hubert Humphrey. Then, Nixon won in a landslide versus the uber-liberal Democrat George McGovern—winning 49 out of 50 states.
Sure, Watergate tarnished Nixon’s reputation. However, that scandal still cannot take away from the greatest comeback in American history.
2. Grover Cleveland
A lesser-known president in American history, Grover Cleveland is both the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. How is that possible?
President Cleveland won the 1884 presidential election, lost to Republican candidate Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and then defeated Harrison in 1892. That’s a whirlwind of a political career.
Side note, Grover Cleveland was a Democrat. However, he has nothing in common with today’s iteration of the Democratic party—like AOC, Bernie Sanders, etc.
President Cleveland was a conservative democrat. The man supported limited government, the gold standard, and anti-interventionism.
3. Ronald Reagan
Not many people know that Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1976.
Reagan lost an extremely close race to then-President Gerald Ford for the 1976 GOP presidential nomination. Unfortunately, Ford was an extremely weak incumbent for the 1976 presidential election. He lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter that year.
Fortunately, good ol’ Ronnie Reagan won the 1980 Republican presidential nomination and then defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter in the general election.
Sure, Ronald Reagan’s 1976 defeat in the Republican nomination process hurt the country. Jimmy Carter’s presidency was an unmitigated disaster. Nevertheless, Reagan’s 1980 comeback set the country back-on-track and helped us win the Cold War. Pretty good stuff.
4. Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson lost the 1824 presidential election in what became known as the “Corrupt Bargain”.
Andrew Jackson possessed a plurality of the electoral votes in the 1824 election. However, he did not have a majority of votes needed to become president. Also, John Quincy Adams had the 2nd-most electoral votes, and Henry Clay had the 3rd most electoral votes.
The presidential election went to a vote in the US House of Representatives. Enough of Clay’s electors swung to John Quincy Adams so that Adams became the 6th President of the United States.
Andrew Jackson was furious about this result. He then went on to defeat John Quincy Adams in the 1828 Presidential election and won his reelection handily in 1832. ‘Ol Hickory was determined to become president, and he overcame a humiliating defeat just four years prior.
5. Donald Trump?
Wait, wait, wait. Donald Trump lost the 2020 Presidential election. Why is he on this list?
We all know at this point that President Trump is running again in 2024. He has given every single indication possible (outside of formally announcing his candidacy) that he will for the 2024 presidential election.
If Donald Trump wins in 2024, then he will definitely become a part of this list. Winning in 2024 means that Trump will made the most impressive comeback in American history.