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This one is also pretty important.
November 5th, 1996 has arrived, and the polls are open for the 1996 Presidential election. Paul Wellstone, is, unfathomably, a strong favorite to win the election according to the polls, but the final result is up to you. Get voting!
The closing day of the 1996 Democratic National Convention in San Antonio is now underway, and presidential nominee Ann Richards is down to three semifinalists to be her running mate in the November election.
The candidate Richards is no longer considering is Tom Daschle. He was eliminated from contention after a report showed that his connections with wealthy donors and special interest groups go far deeper than initial findings on him suggested. If they were revealed in full to the public, a near-certainty if he was chosen as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, the fallout would be damaging enough to end his political career, a possibly deny Richards the presidency. Instead, she'll proceed with three semifinalists: Steve Beshear, Mel Carnahan, and Doug La Follette. La Follette is reportedly gaining traction as the search continues, as his policies significantly overlap with her most formidable primary opponent, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. However, all three still have a good shot at winning the nomination.
You can vote for your favorites HERE.
The race to become Green Party presidential nominee Paul Wellstone's running mate is starting to heat up. Wellstone has narrowed the field down to three semifinalists, one of whom remains the clear favorite of the bunch.
Wellstone has eliminated Congressman Ron Dellums and Governor of New Mexico Steven Schmidt from consideration, both for different reasons. Dellums's expertise on foreign policy would've been an asset to Wellstone's campaign, but his ties to the Soviet Union would've been a major liability. Schmidt, on the other hand, had poor name recognition, and due to his policy-first governing style is probably better suited as a cabinet official. That leaves Wellstone with three semifinalists: Mary Alice Herbert, Dennis Kucinich, and Charlotte Pritt. Herbert remains the clear favorite out of the three, as she's popular on the party's left wing and had a strong performance in the 1996 Green Party presidential primaries. Any one of the three, though, could still be the nominee. You can vote for your favorites HERE.
The third day of the 1996 Democratic National Convention in San Antonio, Texas has wrapped up. The big news of the night: Governor of Texas Ann Richards will be the 1996 Democratic presidential nominee. She will become the first woman to win a major party Presidential nomination. Her nomination was as controversial as it was historic. She came into the night behind in the delegate count, but, by winning the uncommitted delegates by a nearly 70-30 margin, she ended up winning the nomination by a considerable amount. The margin of support for Richards among uncommitted delegates immediately came into question, with rumors circulating around the convention that major donors had paid for, among other things, gourmet steak dinners, private boat trips on Canyon Lake, and stays in the luxurious St. Anthony Hotel in an attempt to sway delegates towards voting for Richards. There was also a rumor that Richards had covertly placed campaign operatives in the crowd of delegates in order to sway the roll call vote in her favor - an allegation also levied against her by the Richard Celeste campaign in the Ohio Caucus back in January. While there is currently no evidence that proves Richards tried to influence the outcome of the delegate vote, these allegations are not going away anytime soon. Still, Richards won the nomination fair and square according to Democratic Party rules, meaning she will advance to the general election in November, with her chief rival being fellow Texan Ron Paul.
She must now choose a running mate, and quickly. Less than 24 hours after her acceptance speech, her Vice Presidential choice will address the crowd in San Antonio to cap off the final night of the convention. She's already vetted nearly a dozen potential candidates, many of whom also interviewed to be the running mate of her chief rival Tom Harkin. Her shortlist is reportedly down to six names, all of whom are men hailing from the Midwestern United States. All of the finalists on her list would expand her voter base geographically and ideologically, which means her selection ultimately depends on which policy proposals she wants to put at the center of her campaign this fall.
With that said, here are the candidates:
Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana
Young, attractive, and charismatic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana is the first name on Richards's shortlist. Bayh was first elected to the Senate in 1992, succeeding his father, 1976 Democratic Presidential nominee Birch Bayh. Evan is considerably more moderate than his father, voting in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement and several increases in Defense Department funding. As a young, policy-oriented centrist Senator from the Midwest, Bayh is a strong counterweight to Ann Richards, a very old personality-driven populist Governor from the South. However, Bayh is one of the largest recipients of corporate money in the Democratic Party who's often been criticized for putting the needs of the private sector over the needs of ordinary Americans. As a result, Bayh may struggle to win the approval of Richards's base.
Former Governor of Kentucky Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear was the Governor of Kentucky from 1988 to 1992. His biography plays well with Ann Richards's primarily white, rural, and blue-collar base, as he is a pro-labor rural populist from a coal mining town in Western Kentucky. Beshear is a fiscal pragmatist best known for succesfully navigating Kentucky out of a budget crisis while serving as Governor. He also helped fight for greater public control of energy utilities. As a result, Kentucky, one of the poorest states in the country, had one of the lowest rates of energy insecurity while he was in office. Beshear also liberalized state gun laws - another issue that plays well with Richards's base. On paper, Beshear appears to be a perfect running mate for Ann Richards, but he is hurt by the fact he is not a particularly strong campaigner. In 1992, Beshear had a good chance of defeating Kentucky's incumbent U.S. Senator, Republican Mitch McConnell, in his first re-election campaign. However, Beshear had several major slip-ups while campaigning. He also got out-fundraised. The result: a five percentage point loss. With Ann Richards at the top of the ballot, political ability is not a huge issue, but Beshear's past struggles on the campaign trail may cause Richards to hesitate choosing him as her Vice Presidential nominee.
Governor of Missouri Mel Carnahan
Mel Carnahan, the outgoing Governor of Missouri, got his start in politics as a State Representative, serving a rural district in South Central Missouri that's become a Republican stronghold in the succeeding decades. Despite representing a very conservative district, Carnahan did a lot to advance civil rights protections as a State Representative. He lost re-election to the State House in 1968, and failed to win election to Congress in 1972 and 1980. Then, in the mid-1980s, Carnahan relocated to the St. Louis area and won a special election to the House in 1985, reviving his political career. Three years later, he was elected Governor of Missouri. He is a major supporter of public education, infusing millions of dollars into the state's public school system during his Governorship. He also created a state run financial institution that has supported rural development and urban renewal across Missouri. He received a lot of national attention for his courageous leadership during the 1993 floods, which did millions of dollars in property damage across the state, wiping whole towns along the Mississippi River off the map. Carnahan led the state through that crisis and led the rebuilding effort afterwards, earning him nationwide praise. He's rightfully seen as the favorite for the Vice Presidential nomination because of that.
Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota
Tom Daschle's was first elected to public office in 1984, when, amidst the Gravel landslide that flipped over 40 seats in the House of Representatives, Daschle defeated Leo Thorsness and won his state's sole House seat. Eight years later he defeated Thorsness again, this time for the right to replace the legendary George McGovern in the Senate. As a Senator, Daschle's record has been moderate. He was a strong supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also voted to increase military funding several times. Daschle's has also ran as an anti-abortion candidate in the past, but his voting record on the issue has been more mixed as of late. However, Daschle also supports an expansive social safety net, an area where he sets himself apart from other moderates such as Evan Bayh. For that reason, he's a lot more compatible than Bayh with Richards's base. He is, however, connected to many of the same corporate donors and lobbyists that Bayh has been criticized for accepting campaign donations from. That's poor optics for someone trying to co-opt his way into the labor populist movement.
Senator Doug La Follette of Wisconsin
Doug La Follette is a modest and reserved Senator from Wisconsin who rarely attaches his name to major legislation. His most important role in the Senate is as an expert on fiscal policy who plays an important role on the budget committee. This is not the typical biography of a top Vice Presidential choice, but La Follette carries the name of a progressive dynasty, one which has brought him great political success and loving admiration from the left-wing labor populist movement over the last decade. He also only accepts campaign donations from small donors, which has built him a reputation for being honest and principled. In 1984, while serving in the House of Representatives, La Follette was a finalist for the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. Twelve years later, as a two-term Senator, he finds himself in the same position again. However, La Follette is painfully dull, a major reason why he wasn't selected as the Vice Presidential nominee by the Gravel Campaign twelve years ago and a reason why Ann Richards, one of the greatest showpeople in politics, may hesitate to choose him too.
Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska
In 1982, businessman Bob Kerrey nearly upset Senator Edward Zorinsky in a red wave year in a historically safe Republican state. Four years later, Kerrey's allies would seize control of statewide government, a stranglehold they've yet to relinquish. David Domina, a lawyer known for representing small farmers in bankruptcy and foreclosure cases, was elected Governor, Don Eret, himself a farmer from rural Dorchester, became Secretary of State and later succeeded Domina as Governor, and Ben Nelson, an Omaha insurance agent, became the state's Insurance Comissioner. When Zorinsky died midway through his second term in office, Domina nominated Nelson to serve out the rest of his term, and he's held the seat ever since. Nelson's voting record in the Senate is moderate to conservative. He's a fiscal pragmatist who initially supported the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut, but later changed his vote, helping kill the major tax reform bill in the Senate. His cited reason: the bill unfairly placed a greater tax burden on lower and middle-class Americans. Throughout his Senate career, Nelson has fought for the little guy. He's also been a strong supporter of public education, co-sponsoring Kathleen Sullivan Alioto's universal pre-kindergarten bill in 1989. However, his conservative views on social issues are out of step with the national party. He opposes abortion, gay rights, and gun control, which could complicate his Vice Presidential aspirations. Richards should be wary of choosing him, as adding a social conservative as her running mate gives ammunition for Ron Paul, a social libertarian, to criticize her campaign for being right-wing.
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
The 1996 Republican National Convention in St. Louis is rapidly approaching, and presidential nominee Ron Paul is getting closer to choosing his running mate. He eliminated two candidates from his shortlist - one for logistical reasons and another for poor approval among a key demographic.
First, Paul has eliminated Supreme Court Justice Mary Elizabeth Hanford from consideration. While Hanford would've made been an exciting choice for the position from an ideological standpoint, the complicated logistics of a Supreme Court Justice stepping down to run for Vice President prevented her candidacy for the position from going very far. Senator Dirk Kempthorne is out too, after a favorability poll run by the Paul campaign showed him as the least popular of Paul's six Vice Presidential finalists among undecided voters.
Thus, his search has been narrowed down to four individuals: Steve Forbes, a longtime Paul associate who's helped craft his innovative fiscal policies, Sam Nunn, a conservative Democratic Senator with strong national defense credentials, Larry Pressler, a fiscally conservative and socially moderate Republican known for his anti-corruption efforts, and Barbara Vucanovich a senior Republican Senator who's deeply respected and deeply influential within the party. The odds are in favor of either Nunn or Pressler getting the nomination, but Forbes and Vucanovich both have an outside shot too.
As always, you can vote for your favorite HERE.
The race to become Green Party presidential nominee Paul Wellstone's running mate has narrowed somewhat. One potential nominee has declined to be considered for the position, leaving five rumored candidates still on the table.
That candidate is Representative Cynthia McKinney, who informed the public she was not interested in role of Vice President in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, choosing instead to focus on her House re-election bid. That leaves Paul Wellstone with five choices: Vermont Governor Mary Alice Herbert - still the runaway favorite - Ron Dellums, Dennis Kucinich, Charlotte Pritt, and Steven Schmidt.
And, as always, you can vote for your favorite HERE.
Delegates are gathering at the San Antonio Convention Center in sunny Central Texas for the 1996 Democratic National Convention. It's the most consequential convention in years, as the presidential nomination is still up for grabs. It'll be a showdown between two progressive candidates, one of whom will be fighting for the nomination on her home turf. Here's how we got here:
Shortly before the Michigan Primary, it would emerge that former Vice President Jesse Jackson, the front-runner for the 1996 Democratic nomination, had been having an extramarital affair with his biographer, Dr. Karin Stanford, and hiding it from the American public. The affair would derail Jackson's presidential campaign, forcing him to exit the race prematurely. After Jackson dropped out, three candidates were left to choose from: moderate Al Gore and progressives Tom Harkin and Ann Richards.
After Michigan, the two remaining progressives consolidated the field. Of the twenty-one states that held primary elections after Michigan, nineteen went to progressive candidates. Twelve: California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, plus Washington D.C., went to Harkin, while seven more: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, went to Richards. Al Gore would win only two more states: New Jersey and Virginia. He bravely held out for the entire primary slate, but he dropped out of the race as soon as the primaries ended rather than fight for the nomination at the convention. Gore intriguingly chose not to endorse either of the two remaining candidates, meaning that his delegates, along with the delegates of Jackson and Skip Humphrey, are, for the most part, completely up for grabs.
Tom Harkin narrowly won the plurality of delegates. He also won three more states than Ann Richards did, so he should have the edge at the convention. There are, however, several factors working against him. The first is geographical: most of the uncommitted delegates are from the Eastern United States and Harkin won just a single state in the Eastern Time Zone. The second is the playing field: this year's DNC is being held on Ann Richards' home turf, and Richards, the queen of dirty campaign tactics, is stuffing as many loyalists as she can into the Convention Center crowd in an attempt to sway the results. The final and most serious issue for Harkin is his acrimonious relationship with President Dick Van Dyke. It's not a secret in Washington insider circles that the two men despise each other, and it's unclear whether Van Dyke will try to leverage his influence to try and deny Harkin the nomination.
It all comes down to Richards v. Harkin in San Antonio. The winner gets the 1996 Democratic Presidential nomination and the loser goes home empty handed. It's a fitting end to a chaotic, messy Democratic Primary.
Texas Senator Ron Paul has won the Republican Presidential nomination once again, defeating Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge in a rematch of the 1992 Primary contest. He has now begun the process of choosing a running mate. After his 1992 running mate, Senator Christine Todd Whitman, decided to turn against him and endorse his primary opponent in 1996, Paul has decided on a different approach this time around. Rather than try to pander to the middle, Paul is going to campaign, unapolagetically, as a fiscal conservative. As a result, his Vice Presidential shortlist features six candidates who are all different shades of conservative. There are some Democrats and some Republicans, some fiscal conservatives, some social conservatives, and some candidates who are a little bit of both. There are legislative branch figures, executive branch figures, judicial branch figures, and Washington outsiders. With that in mind, here's who he has to choose from:
Businessman Steve Forbes of New Jersey
Steve Forbes, the wealthy heir to a publishing fortune, got his start in politics as an advisor to Jack Kemp's re-election campaign in 1980. Forbes later served in a number of minor cabinet roles towards the tail end of the Kemp Administration. After Kemp left the White House, he named Forbes as the chairman of the Kemp Foundation, a nonprofit organization championing laissez-faire economics and American exceptionalism, a role he served in continuously from 1985 to 1995, except for a brief hiatus in 1991-92, when he served as an advisor to Ron Paul's first presidential campaign. Four years ago, Forbes helped shape the initial version of Ron Paul's signature policy agenda item, the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut. He's now helping to revise Paul-Whitman into a new signature tax plan which Paul plans to debut at the 1996 RNC. Forbes is a fiscal and social conservative who supports small government, low taxes, limited regulations, and traditional values. As a longtime Ron Paul associate, he bring trust and deep policy knowledge to the campaign, both of which are assets. However, Forbes is also one of the worst campaigners ever. He's a stiff, upper-class dweeb with the same amount of popular appeal as a leveraged buyout. While he's a strong asset to the campaign on the policy side, he's a poor vice presidential choice.
Supreme Court Justice Mary Elizabeth Hanford of South Carolina
Mary Elizabeth Hanford, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, is one of the more unusual candidates to feature prominently on a Vice Presidential shortlist in recent memory. Hanford began her career as a liberal Democrat, serving in several cabinet roles during the Robert F. Kennedy administration before being appointed to a judicial position at the tail end of Kennedy's time in office. She was appointed to the Supreme Court during the Gravel Administration as a replacement for James Skelly Wright - one of the most progressive jurists on the court at the time of his death in 1988 - with the expectation she would be equally as progressive. For a while, that was true. Hanford was best known for her strong support of civil rights and feminist causes in her early years on the Court, but over time, she began to drift from her liberal colleagues, especially when it came to allowing the expansion of federal power. Hanford has proven to be wary of federal government overreach encroaching on the rights of the individual and the state, as evidenced by her high-profile dissenting opinions in cases such as Bessent v. Campbell and Preate v. Jackson. As a result, she's become a darling among the conservative right, with no group loving her more than the Ron Paul-aligned civil libertarian faction of the Republican Party. While she's considerably to the left of Paul on economic issues and still registered to vote as a Democrat in her home state of South Carolina, Paul is allegedly enamored by Hanford and strongly considering choosing her as his running mate.
Senator Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho
Dirk Kempthorne is one of Ron Paul's closest allies in the Senate. Although Kempthorne is considerably more moderate than Paul, the two are both part of the small bloc of Senators representing Western states with somewhat libertarian-leaning political positions. Kempthorne has voted consistently to keep taxes low and regulations to a minimum during his decade of service in the Senate. He's a strong campaigner who adds youth and energy to the Paul campaign, but he's also a hated figure among the environmentalist movement. Kempthorne does accept the scientific consensus on climate change, but he's also accepted millions of dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry and opposed almost all attempts to combat climate change through regulation. Paul, a conservationist, may not want to run alongside someone who's so hated, even if it's by just a small subsection of the voting public.
Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia
Sam Nunn - a Democratic Senator from Georgia, was, allegedly, Ron Paul's first choice running mate in 1992 before Republican Party leaders convinced him to select Christine Todd Whitman instead. In his three terms as a Senator, Nunn has developed a reputation for being an expert on foreign policy and national defense. His expertise would greatly help Ron Paul, a foreign policy novice who's more concerned about cutting the Pentagon Budget than international affairs. Nunn was one of a few moderate Democrats to support the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut. He also sponsored the bill strengthening the War Powers Act. In some ways, he's closer ideologically to Paul than some members of his own party. On social issues, Nunn's positions are a mixed bag. He sides with liberal Democrats on abortion, environmental protection, and gun control and with conservatives on gay rights and school prayer. However, Ron Paul loves to reach across the aisle, and if he wants a Democrat to be his running mate in 1996, there are few choices better than Nunn.
Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota
Ron Paul's Senate colleague Larry Pressler has been one of his earliest and most loyal supporters since his foray into Presidential politics began in 1992. Pressler gained notoriety in the Senate for being a crusader against wasteful spending and political corruption - and thus, he was naturally drawn to Ron Paul, a politician whose whole identity is built on limiting the power of the federal government. Pressler is a major advocate for campaign finance reform and comprehensive audits of all federal agencies, but especially the Pentagon. Pressler, a fiscal conservative and social moderate, fits well with Paul ideologically, but his stance on free trade might complicate his odds of being selected for the Vice Presidential nomination. Pressler, who represents a heavily agricultural state that leans Democratic at a state level, initially voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement before voting for it's final version. Ron Paul, who has campaigned as a free trade absolutist, may still hold a minor grudge against Pressler for that vote.
Senator Barbara Vucanovich of Nevada
Barbara Vucanovich got her start in politics as a protege of Paul Laxalt, the last Republican to serve as Vice President of the United States. For two decades, she was a chief aide to Laxalt while he was Governor of Nevada, a United States Senator, and ultimately Vice President. Then, in 1982, she ran for a Senate seat herself, winning in an upset. As a Senator, she's been a reliable conservative vote. She has fought to pass the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut and eliminate federal regulations that inhibit private commerce. She's also a vocal opponent of abortion rights. Her party loyalty was rewarded with a leadership position. She's currently the #2 Republican in the Senate, behind only Majority Leader Ted Stevens. She's proven to be a talented whip, startlingly effective at keeping an ideologically diverse Republican Party in line with leadership. If Paul chooses Vucanovich as his running mate, he'd be bringing in a highly experienced legislator with broad ideological support within the party. However, she is 75 years old, meaning that if she wins the Vice Presidency in November, she'd be the oldest person ever elected to the office - beating the previous record holder, Alben Barkley, by four years.
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
Hey Democratic Primary, can you please be normal for once? No? Okay, here's some more chaos, division, and infighting then.
Then-Vice President Jesse Jackson and his biographer, Dr. Karin Stanford.
On March 13th, 1996, the Detroit Free Press ran a poll showing former Vice President Jesse Jackson leading the rest of the Democratic Primary field by double digits three days ahead of the Michigan Caucus. That same day, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a much different front page story also involving Jackson, one which would prematurely end his presidential campaign.
The Journal-Constitution would allege that Jackson had an extramarital affair with his biographer, Karin Stanford which began while he was Vice President of the United States. He had hid the affair from his family and from the public for years. Stanford had come forward with the allegations after finding out she was pregnant with Jackson's child. One day later, Jackson would publicly apologize for the affair and for hiding it from the American public. He would also announce he would be stepping away from the Presidential race, effective immediately. While he led the race in delegate count headed into Michigan, it was very obvious this scandal had ruined any chance he had of becoming President in 1996. With Jackson out of the race, President Dick Van Dyke finally gave an endorsement. He chose to endorse Tennessee Senator Al Gore, the only candidate of the three Democrats remaining to portray the sitting President in a positive light on the campaign trail.
Despite Jesse Jackson's sudden exit from the race, the Michigan Primary went on as scheduled. Ann Richards was the overall winner, putting up large margins of victory in the Eastern part of the state, home to the Detroit metropolitan area. Al Gore finished second. Although he won only a handful of the state's 83 counties, he was generally the second place finisher statewide, finishing behind Richards in Eastern Michigan and Tom Harkin in Western Michigan. While Harkin performed strongly in the Grand Rapids area, he was unable to overcome Richards' lead in the more densely populated Eastern half of the state or Gore's broad statewide popularity among moderates, falling to third place overall.
Heading into a Midwest doubleheader in Illinois and Wisconsin, this race has been thrown into chaos. Jackson was the closest thing the 1996 Democratic Primary had to a front-runner, but he couldn't escape his personal issues and was forced to drop out of the race. Who's the front-runner now? Nobody knows. The polling is all over the place, and it's unlikely any of the three remaining candidates will accumulate enough delegates to secure the nomination before the convention. Both Jesse Jackson and Skip Humphrey accumulated a lot of delegates before exiting the race. Quite a few delegates are split between the other twenty-something candidates who were once in this race too. The race may narrow down to two competitors by August, but it's almost a guarantee that the 1996 Democratic Presidential nominee will be decided by a contested convention.
As always, you can vote for your favorite candidates HERE.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Jesse Jackson (withdrawn) | 525 | Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, Ohio |
| Al Gore | 490 | Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee |
| Ann Richards | 483 | Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas |
| Tom Harkin | 442 | Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota |
| Skip Humphrey (withdrawn) | 289 | Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Mario Cuomo (withdrawn) | 135 | |
| Byron Dorgan (withdrawn) | 42 | |
| Ray Flynn (withdrawn) | 16 | |
| Bob Graham (withdrawn) | 16 | |
| Doug Applegate (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Bill Nelson (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Chet Edwards (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Douglas Wilder (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Kathleen Sullivan Alioto (withdrawn) | 7 | |
| Bill Bradley (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Bob Kerrey (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Paul Pelosi (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Richard Celeste (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Tom Hayden (write-in) | 1 | |
| Mike Gravel (write-in) | 1 |
There are three constants in life: death, taxes, and Mike Gravel running for President.
For the fourth straight presidential election cycle, American voters will see Mike Gravel on their ballots in November 1996. Gravel beat out his former protege, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, to win the Reform Party nomination. He is now beginning the process of choosing a running mate, his sixth across four presidential campaigns. The qualifications to be Gravel's running mate are similar to the ones' he's had in the past. He wants someone who is loyal to Gravel and the Gravel movement, progressive on economic issues and conservative on social issues, and unlikely to upstage him on the campaign trail. Since he's running as a major party nominee, not an Independent candidate, his shortlist has names on it that are far more recognizable than his 1992 running mate, economist Pat Choate. Although it hasn't been much of a consideration in his past VP selection processes, advisors within the Reform Party are urging Gravel to choose a candidate that will be acceptable to the Reform Right, as, given that he's up against 1992 Reform nominee Ron Paul in the general election, the Party wants to keep a crucial part of its voter base from defecting to the Republicans.
With that in mind, here's who he has to choose from:
Representative George Wallace Jr. of Alabama
George Wallace Jr. is a longtime supporter of Gravel and the Gravel Movement. Wallace was an early endorsee of Gravel's 1984 Presidential campaign, and his support was key in Gravel's sweep of the Deep South in both the 1984 and 1988 Democratic primaries. Wallace ran for Congress in 1992 as a Democrat, winning by a landslide. Once elected, he would almost immediately defect to Reform in a show of solidarity with the Gravel Movement. He's been a vocal supporter of the Movement's chief policy goals in the House ever since. Gravel wants Wallace as his running mate, but he's facing some resistance from national party leaders over it. Why? Wallace's ties to the American far-right are hard to hide. He endorsed Oliver North in the 1989 Virginia Gubernatorial race and campaigned extensively for him there. North was recently run out of the Republican Party for cozying up to far-right elements during his 1992 Presidential campaign. Wallace has also received campaign funding from the Council of Conservative Citizens, a political organization that's been described as white nationalist. While Wallace Jr. is a Reform Party juggernaut in Alabama, he's exactly the kind of politician the national party wants to distance itself from. If Gravel really wants Wallace as his running mate, he's going to need to fight for it.
Representative Gene Taylor of Mississippi
Gene Taylor is a young, charismatic populist Congressman from Mississippi, very reminiscent in a lot of ways to the late Cliff Finch, one of the most committed Gravel loyalists of the movement's early days. Taylor, an economic populist, is a key supporter of many of Gravel's favorite policy ideas. He's pro-union and supports protective tariffs and nationalization power, while opposing free trade. He's fought to limit the number of U.S. military personnel in Latin America and to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. He's also conservative on social issues, aligning well with the existing remnants of Gravel's base. Taylor's best quality, however, is his pro-nuclear stance, a position that could help Gravel deflect the most serious criticism leveled against him - his handling of the nuclear shutdown. Taylor is a Vice Presidential choice that is perfectly optimized to help Gravel compete for the Presidency as best he can, but is Gravel really going to choose a running mate with a big personality who's not completely loyal to the movement's causes?
Reform Party Chairman Beryl Anthony Jr. of Arkansas
Beryl Anthony, seen here on the right, served fourteen years representing Arkansas in the House of Representatives as a Democrat. In the House, he compiled a conservative voting record and was a reliable ally of the Gravel administration. He was Gravel's first choice to be Speaker of the House in 1988, after Jim Wright was removed from the position, but Gravel lost the Presidency in 1988 to Dick Van Dyke and Anthony lost the Speakership to Mo Udall's protege, David Bonior. Anthony retired from the House shortly after. He re-emerged in 1992, capitalizing on his close friendship with New York City financier Donald Trump to become the Chairman of the Reform Party - a role he continues to hold to this day. Anthony, who served on the House Budget and Finance committees when he was a Representative, was crucial in drafting the Gravel Tariff Bill and finding funding for Gravel's massive expansion of the infrastructure program, so he carries a lot of clout within the Gravel movement. However, he's also not completely opposed to free trade, which might put him at odds with Gravel if he's chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee. But, with enough Trump money on the line, Gravel might be willing to compromise on that position if he has to.
President of Oklahoma Baptist University David Boren
David Boren was once one of Oklahoma's brightest young political figures. He served in the State House in the 1960s and 70s and ran for Governor twice - losing to incumbent David Hall by a close margin in the Democratic Primary in his first run and losing to incumbent Jim Inhofe by a landslide in the general election four years later. With his political career seemingly over, Boren pursued a career in academia, becoming President of Oklahoma Baptist University in 1982 and helping grow the university to it's largest enrollment and endowment figures ever over the next decade. While he's been out of politics for some time, Boren still has strong political connections. His cousin, Jim Boren, was briefly Gravel's chief of staff in 1988, and he is a close friend of Barry Goldwater, who's served in an advisory role to the Reform Party for the last few years. Boren is a social conservative, owing to his strong Christian beliefs. He also supports the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut, which Gravel has praised in the past. Boren, a Vietnam Veteran, has also called for the removal of U.S. troops from unnecessary overseas conflicts, a key tenant of the Gravel Movement for years. Despite being a semi-obscure political figure, Boren could do a lot to pull in the Reform Right, something Gravel desperately needs to do if he wants to win against his Republican opponent, 1992 Reform nominee Ron Paul.
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Kerrey of Nebraska
Bob Kerrey is another longtime Gravel Movement loyalist. He was an early major donor to the Gravel Presidential campaign in 1984, financial support which got well-rewarded when Kerrey was appointed as Secretary of Defense in 1985. As Secretary of Defense, Kerrey carried out Gravel's controversial plan to reduce the size of the United States military, a plan than involved slashing the pentagon's budget by 20%, laying off thousands of personnel, canceling hundreds of military contracts, and closing dozens of military installations. Kerrey also stayed loyal to Gravel through the disastrous nuclear shutdown and Gravel's 1988 Democratic Primary loss. When Gravel lost re-election in 1988, Kerrey, too controversial to return to politics, relocated to California and started a new career as a movie producer. He resurfaced in 1996 as a longshot candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Now, he's rumored as a potential VP selection for Reform. Kerrey has proven himself as a Gravel loyalist who will defend the controversial former President no matter what. He also maintains close ties to Donald Trump, which could help Gravel with fundraising during the campaign, but his controversial past is difficult to overlook.
Former Representative Richard Stallings of Idaho
The controversial pasts of vice presidential candidates such as Kerrey and Wallace could preclude them from getting the nomination. That is not a problem for Richard Stallings, a former Congressman who represented Idaho in the House from 1982 to 1992, a Vice Presidential choice so boring, Al Gore appears charismatic by comparison. In ten years in the House, Stallings compiled a mostly conservative record and reliably supported the Gravel administration. He primarily focused on local and regional issues, never once sponsoring a major piece of legislation. After a close loss in a 1992 Senate race, Stallings is hoping to revive his career, and, very aware about how boring he is as a VP choice, has lobbied the Reform Party to get his name on the VP shortlist, selling himself as a counterweight to bombastic and eccentric Gravel. Honestly, it's a pairing that benefits both parties involved. Gravel gets a VP who isn't going to overshadow him, allowing him to focus the campaign on himself, his policies, and his movement. Stallings gets major media attention, which will help him jump-start political career and hopefully return to elected office. Four of Gravel's last five running mates: Fred Harris, Cliff Finch, Jesse Jackson, and Dick Gephardt, have all been big personalities. All have either betrayed him or caused him great embarrassment by doing cocaine with prostitutes in the ceremonial office. Maybe what he needs in 1996 is a boring career politician to legitimize him with the American public once more.
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
In the 1996 Green Party Presidential Primaries, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone defeated California Governor Tom Hayden in a rematch of the 1992 primary matchup. With his win, he advanced to his second straight presidential election. He has now begun the search for a running mate. Wellstone's choice in 1992, former Governor of Massachusetts and Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Barbara Ackermann, 71, has retired from politics, meaning he will need to choose a different running mate for 1996. He has plenty of options to choose from, and, in contrast to when he ran in 1992, name recognition is no longer an issue, as Wellstone's third-place finish in the 1992 Presidential election and 1994 Senate election victory greatly raised his political profile. Still, he has a lot to consider when choosing the man or woman who will run alongside him in November. He wants a candidate who can either expand his electoral base geographically, appeal to voters outside his ideological base, or compensate for his own liabilities - namely, his minimal experience in elected office.
Here's who he has to choose from:
Governor of Vermont Mary Alice Herbert
The favorite to become Wellstone's running mate is Mary Alice Herbert, the incumbent Governor of Vermont. As a female Governor from New England, a Democratic Socialist, and an Environmentalist, she has the potential to expand Wellstone's base both geographically and ideologically. While she isn't overly charismatic, that didn't stop her from getting third place in the Green Party Presidential Primary and beating out several more well-known opponents. Her timidness could also be framed as an asset if she's paired with Wellstone, a forthright and charismatic progressive populist. While Herbert is slightly to the left of Wellstone on economic issues, they support many of the same key policies: both are pro-labor, support protective tariffs and stronger use of nationalization powers, and want to lessen the wealth gap, protect the environment, expand gay rights, and pull the United States out of overseas military conflicts. Thus, it's no surprise Herbert is seen as the perfect Vice Presidential choice for Wellstone in 1996.
Governor of West Virginia Charlotte Pritt
If Wellstone wants a female Governor who's a little younger and a lot more charismatic, he could also choose Charlotte Pritt, an educator, businesswoman, and community activist serving as the Governor of West Virginia since 1993. Pritt has a strong progressive record as Governor. She's spent her career fighting for public control of utilities, and as Governor, she's begun the process of transferring some private utility companies in West Virginia to state control. She's also invested millions of dollars into K-12 and postsecondary education and protected thousands of acres of forested land from development and resource extraction. However, she's also been described as an odd personality by West Virginia state media - mainly for her outspoken support for alternative medicine and opposition to nuclear power. Compared to Herbert, she's a higher risk, higher reward choice.
Representative Ron Dellums
Ron Dellums has represented Oakland, California in the United States House of Representatives since 1996. He's one of the nation's most senior Congressmen and a highly respected member of both the Congressional Black Caucus and the House's growing bloc of Democratic Socialists. During his two and a half decades of Congressional service, he's become an expert on foreign policy and national defense and one of the nation's leading advocates for peaceful resolution to overseas conflicts. One of Dick Van Dyke's greatest decisions, and one that was crucial to his 1988 Presidential election victory, was choosing Jesse Jackson, an African-American former Representative with a focus on foreign policy, as his running mate. Dellums is a running mate who would fit that mold for Wellstone. However, his close relationship with the Soviet Government could be a dealbreaker. Dellums helped organize a Congressional delegation to Moscow last year. Even in a post-Cold War America, it's a major political liability to be seen as soft on communism.
Governor of New Mexico Steven Schmidt
Steven Schmidt, the Governor of New Mexico since 1995, is a close personal friend of Paul Wellstone. Schmidt managed the policy side of Wellstone's 1992 Presidential campaign. In exchange, Wellstone campaigned extensively for Schmidt in the 1994 New Mexico Governor's race. Since becoming Governor, Schmidt has focused on strengthening the Democratic-Green partnership in New Mexico into one of the strongest in the nation - a blueprint for a successful Blue-Green governing partnership should the Greens win the White House in 1996. While his upset victory over New Mexico's incumbent Governor two years ago raised his profile somewhat in progressive circles, most people in the United States have no idea who Schmidt is. In addition, he's more of a policy guy than a charismatic campaigner, and possibly better suited for a cabinet role than the VP nomination.
Representative Dennis Kucinich
Many casual Green Party followers see Dennis Kucinich, the longtime leader of the Green Party in the House of Representatives, as the best choice to be Wellstone's 1996 running mate. After all, Kucinich has tripled the size of the party's House delegation during his nearly two decade stint as the party leader. He's also been a driver of progressive legislation, authoring, among other things, a bill that nationalized commuter rail service in the United States, a bill that allowed greater control over how federal welfare benefits are distributed to the communities that receive them, and a bill that sent rebates for the sweeping tariffs on foreign manufactured goods introduced during the Gravel administration directly to American families. He's also built a strong relationship between the Greens and the Labor and Progressive wings of the Democratic Party, a relationship that helped them become party of a majority coalition in the House in 1995. When you examine Kucinich only by his successes, he is a great choice to be Wellstone's VP. However, his positions on abortion and immigration are a lot more conservative than the Party at large. He also supported the disastrous nuclear shutdown. Paul Wellstone - who served as a cabinet official under Mike Gravel - has already been attacked for unconfirmed support of the nuclear shutdown. Adding a running mate to the ticket who's on record as supporting the shutdown would only add fuel to that fire.
Representative Cynthia McKinney
An even more controversial choice would be Georgia Representative Cynthia McKinney. McKinney is a young, charismatic, and has a strong record of supporting human rights and peaceful conflict resolution overseas. After all, foreign policy is her primary area of expertise in the House. She's also a protege of Angela Davis, a friend and prominent supporter of Paul Wellstone. She pencils in as a running mate with tremendous potential, one who could help bring in the support of younger and minority voters - two of the groups most dissatisfied with eight years of Democratic rule according to polling. She also carries a lot of baggage. Her hardline anti-Israel stance and close ties to the Soviet government might be hard for Wellstone, the son of Ukranian Jewish refugees, to overlook. Adding her to the ticket also invites her father, Billy McKinney, a lightning rod for scandal and controversy, into the campaign's immediate orbit. That is, unequivocally, a very bad idea. Unless Wellstone decides the electoral benefit of adding McKinney to the ticket is enough to outweigh the baggage, it is unlikely she is the Vice Presidential choice.
A two day stretch on March 9th and 10th, 1996, would see four states hold Democratic Caucuses. The results would be great for the race's three leading Progressives and dreadful for the race's two remaining liberals. At the end of the 48 hour sprint, only one would be left standing, with the other badly wounded and facing long odds of reclaiming his old spot atop the primary field. Here's how it all went down:
On March 9th, three states would hold caucuses. It would be a good day for the race's top progressives, with Tom Harkin winning Arizona and South Dakota and Ann Richards winning Alaska and finishing second in both states Harkin won. Jesse Jackson had a solid night too, coming in second in Alaska. Al Gore, the only moderate left in the race, had a respectable showing, placing third twice, but in three states where the Democratic electorate leans very progressive, he wasn't very competitive for first place anywhere. The losers of the night were Mario Cuomo and Skip Humphrey who split the establishment liberal vote in all three states. Neither of them would finish in the top four anywhere. Humphrey was very strong in the early part of this race, but that was when the field was crowded. As more and more liberal and progressive candidates dropped out, Humphrey could no longer sustain victories with just his base, the Dick Van Dyke-aligned economically moderate and socially progressive Democratic establishment. Worse, Humphrey, believing he was on pace to win the nomination after his impressive Super Tuesday performance, spent a lot of money on expensive ad buys which did little to stop his downward slide in the polls. As a result, his campaign is now experiencing financial issues. Representative Ray Flynn, who finished dead last in all three states, decided on the morning of March 10th to drop out of the race. He gave no endorsement - potentially because he plans to align himself with Green Party nominee Paul Wellstone, who shares a lot of his economic platform, in the general election.
That evening, Nevada held it's Democratic Caucus. It was a close race, with Ann Richards narrowly defeating Jesse Jackson to win the plurality of the state's delegates. Al Gore finished a respectable third place, with Tom Harkin close behind in fourth. Once again, Cuomo and Humphrey split the liberal electorate, and both finished with under 10% of the vote. After the Nevada Caucus concluded, Mario Cuomo dropped out of the race. Cuomo was expected to endorse fellow liberal Skip Humphrey, but instead, Cuomo endorsed Jesse Jackson - a candidate that is more progressive than Humphrey who has a far better shot of winning the nomination. The next set of primaries on March 12th include six Southern states, including Ann Richards' home state of Texas. Once again, the field's populists and progressives stand to gain, as does Al Gore, a native Southerner. That leaves Skip Humphrey in a bad spot - declining poll numbers, dwindling financial reserves, and a map unfavorable to an establishment Northern liberal. The Progressives appear to have reclaimed this race, but nothing is set in stone until all the votes are cast.
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
State of the Race
| Jesse Jackson | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Jesse Jackson | 310 | Massachusetts, New York, Ohio |
| Al Gore | 277 | Delaware, Georgia, Maryland |
| Skip Humphrey | 265 | Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Tom Harkin | 230 | Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota |
| Ann Richards | 222 | Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina |
| Mario Cuomo (withdrawn) | 135 | |
| Byron Dorgan (withdrawn) | 42 | |
| Ray Flynn (withdrawn) | 16 | |
| Bob Graham (withdrawn) | 16 | |
| Doug Applegate (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Bill Nelson (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Chet Edwards (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Douglas Wilder (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Kathleen Sullivan Alioto (withdrawn) | 7 | |
| Bill Bradley (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Bob Kerrey (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Paul Pelosi (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Richard Celeste (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Mike Gravel (write-in) | 1 | |
| Tom Hayden (write-in) | 1 |
Seven states would hold their primary elections on March 12th - six of which were in the South. Senator Ron Paul would win his home state of Texas by a resounding margin. He would also win two neighboring states, Louisiana and Oklahoma by double-digit margins too. However, his most surprising win was in Oregon - a state Senator Christine Todd Whitman had expected to win. However, Paul ran up huge margins on her in the rural Eastern half of the state, while in the Portland metropolitan area, she split too much of the vote with Tom Ridge. The Pennsylvania Governor had a pretty strong night too. For the second cycle in a row, Ridge won Florida by a large margin. He also won by a decent margin in Tennessee - a state that has reliably supported Keystone Republicans in the past, but, due to ideological transition, nearly went to Paul in 1992. Paul hoped he could flip the Volunteer State, but his performance fell far short of his 1992 numbers. He also lost Mississippi - a state he won in 1992 - to Ridge in a surprising upset.
Christine Todd Whitman's loss in Oregon was enough to convince her campaign to throw in the towel. She swept the Northeast, but struggled pretty much everywhere else. Her withdrawal came as no surprise. Her endorsement, however, rattled the Republican establishment. She was expected to endorse Ron Paul, the primary author of the revolutionary tax plan that shares their names and the man who chose her as his running mate in the 1992 Presidential Election. However, she instead gave her endorsement to her one time political enemy and Paul's chief rival, Tom Ridge. Her rationale was simple. Ridge doesn't support the Paul-Whitman Tax Cut and he's quite a bit more socially conservative than Christine Todd Whitman. He also has six years of governing experience in one of the nation's largest and most reliably Republican states. In six years as Governor of Pennsylvania, he's proven to be a competent and pragmatic chief executive. Ron Paul, on the other hand, just shut down the government - twice - purely for ideological reasons. In doing so, he delayed the provision of aid to families who lost loved ones in a terrorist bombing in his home state. Whitman, who once championed Paul's movement, now sees him as an ideologue unfit to hold the highest office in the United States.
And thus, the Republican Nomination once again comes down to Paul v. Ridge. However, this time, things are a little different. Tom Ridge is still a boring career politician, but his opponent, after four years under intense public scrutiny, will have a lot harder time hiding his personal flaws.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Paul | 341 | Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming |
| Tom Ridge | 333 | Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee |
| Christine Todd Whitman (withdrawn) | 238 | Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Henson Moore (withdrawn) | 73 | |
| Terry Branstad (withdrawn) | 14 | |
| George Voinovich (withdrawn) | 13 | |
| George W. Bush (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Pat Robertson (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Thomas Sowell (write-in) | 2 | |
| Connie Mack III (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Richard Petty (write-in) | 1 | |
| Donald Trump (write-in) | 1 |
Hello Kennedy Dynasty readers! I had a bit of extra free time after the end of my summer class before my fall term at school started, so I spent the last ten days or so compiling THIS LIST of every Governor of every State in the Kennedy Dynasty timeline since the year the project began, 1968. I spent a lot of time on this between research, formatting, and finding photos for some of the more obscure politicians who've been Governor in this timeline - Maine was particularly difficult because I couldn't find a picture of Harrison Richardson. I'm not entirely sure the photo I used for him is actually of him, but it's my best guess. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!
Have fun!
RWBIII
Jesse Jackson marches alongside his supporters in Harlem.
Primaries in New York and Missouri would re-establish the dominance of the Progressive faction over this primary, thanks to an unexpectedly strong performance from a second-tier moderate candidate that came at the direct expense of the race's presumed front-runner.
The New York Primary would be a close race between two unexpected candidates. Former Vice President Jesse Jackson won the Empire State, defeating Mario Cuomo, the former three-term Governor of New York, by just a few thousand votes. A competitive second place finish is Cuomo's best performance of the primary season so far, and it could be exactly what he needs to turn around his long-struggling campaign. A wide gulf separated Cuomo from third-place finisher Tom Harkin and fourth place finisher Al Gore. Senator Skip Humphrey, who'd led some statewide polls coming into Primary day, finished a disappointing fifth place. He lost a good amount of support to Cuomo in his home state. Governor of Texas Ann Richards finished sixth, with Ray Flynn, Douglas Wilder, Byron Dorgan, Bob Graham, and Chet Edwards rounding out the field. Flynn did particularly well in majority-Catholic precincts.
A joint Harkin-Jackson rally in rural Missouri.
1,000 miles away, Missouri was also hosting its Democratic Caucus. The state would be a three-way race between the leading progressive candidates. Tom Harkin would place first, dominating his in the Northern half of the State. Ann Richards, who finished second, was just as dominant in the Southern part of the state, while Jesse Jackson, the third-place finisher, did well in the urban centers of St. Louis and Kansas City. Al Gore was fairly competitive too, but he did not threaten the three progressive front-runners for first place in a state where the Democratic Party is ruled by the labor populist faction. Skip Humphrey once again disappointed, finishing in fifth, barely ahead of Mario Cuomo. This is no surprise, as, outside of Iowa and Minnesota, where he had a home region advantage, Humphrey has struggled badly in populist-leaning states. Byron Dorgan, Bob Graham, Ray Flynn, Chet Edwards, and Douglas Wilder rounded out the field.
Following the New York and Missouri primaries, several candidates would drop out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Bob Graham was the first to go, dropping out and endorsing Al Gore on the morning of March 8th. Douglas Wilder went next, dropping out of the race and endorsing Jesse Jackson that same afternoon. By the evening, Byron Dorgan had dropped out too and endorsed Tom Harkin. Finally, Chet Edwards, who'd hoped to stay in the race through at least March 12th, when many Southern states held their primaries, was forced out of the race by financial necessity - he'd completely run out of money. Edwards would also endorse Al Gore. Thus, Representative Ray Flynn remains as the only candidate still in the race without a reasonable path to the nomination. We'll see how much longer he lasts.
Next up are primaries in Alaska, Arizona, and South Dakota. The Democratic voter base in these three states leans progressive, which is good news for Harkin, Jackson, and Richards and bad news for Cuomo, Gore, and Humphrey. Cuomo desperately needs to build on his newfound momentum if he wants to stay in the race and Humphrey, despite winning a lot of delegates on Super Tuesday, needs to reverse his rapid downward spiral in the polls. Some national polling shows Humphrey as low as sixth out of seven candidates heading into the mid-March races - slightly below Cuomo and far from challenging Jesse Jackson for the first place spot.
As always, the choice is up to you. You can vote for your favorites HERE.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Jesse Jackson | 288 | Massachusetts, New York, Ohio |
| Skip Humphrey | 260 | Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Al Gore | 254 | Delaware, Georgia, Maryland |
| Tom Harkin | 199 | Iowa, Missouri |
| Ann Richards | 188 | Idaho, South Carolina |
| Mario Cuomo | 127 | |
| Byron Dorgan (withdrawn) | 42 | |
| Bob Graham (withdrawn) | 16 | |
| Ray Flynn | 14 | |
| Doug Applegate (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Bill Nelson (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Chet Edwards (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Douglas Wilder (withdrawn) | 8 | |
| Kathleen Sullivan Alioto (withdrawn) | 7 | |
| Bill Bradley (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Bob Kerrey (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Paul Pelosi (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Richard Celeste (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Mike Gravel (write-in) | 1 | |
| Tom Hayden (write-in) | 1 |
The race for the Republican Party Presidential nomination is still a close, three-way race. A fourth candidate would try to gain some momentum on Super Tuesday, but sadly fell flat, withdrawing from the race just a few days later. Heading into the middle stretch of this race, that leaves three ideologically distinct competitors, all with a viable path to the nomination. Here's how we got there:
The big Super Tuesday winner in the Republican Primary was Senator Christine Todd Whitman, who won six contests. Her wins in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, completed her sweep of the New England region - she'd won New Hampshire fourteen days prior. Senator Ron Paul had the second most Super Tuesday delegates. He won two Southern states, Georgia and South Carolina, and two Rocky Mountain states, Colorado and Wyoming. Governor Tom Ridge only won two states - Maryland and Minnesota - but he was pretty strong across the board and finished a close third place in delegate count. Senator Henson Moore's two best placings were second place finishes in Georgia and South Carolina. He finished a distant last place in delegate count.
However, she was denied victory in New York by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.
A few days later, the New York Primary was held. While Christine Todd Whitman, who carries the endorsement of former President Jack Kemp, was expected to win, continuing her dominant run in the Northeast, Tom Ridge won instead, and by a comfortable margin too. Ridge was dominant in the part of upstate New York that falls within the Rust Belt, and he also got slightly more votes than Whitman in the affluent suburbs surrounding New York City. As a result, he won by over ten percentage points. Ron Paul finished third, twelve points behind Whitman, with most of his supporting coming from the rural Northern part of the state near the Canadian border. Henson Moore received less than 10% of the vote, and, seeing the writing on the wall, he dropped out of the race soon after.
The Republican Party's old guard conservative wing no longer has a horse in this race. However, instead of rallying behind a single candidate, the bloc has completely fractured, with major figures from the traditional conservative wing lining up behind all three candidates. After he dropped out of the race, Henson Moore would endorse Tom Ridge. So would Kansas Senator Bob Dole. Former Senator George H.W. Bush would endorse Whitman, while his son, former Representative George W. Bush would endorse Ron Paul. The truth of the matter is, the party is moving beyond the mainstream conservative politics this group represents. They're quickly heading towards irrelevancy as the 21st century approaches.
There are six primaries coming up on March 12th, all but one of which are in the South, a strong region for Ron Paul. While national polling shows Ridge in first place, with Whitman second and Paul third, only five points separate first and third place, and this slate of contests poses a geographic challenge for the race's two remaining moderates. A strong performance from Ridge or Whitman here could give them the momentum they need to win the nomination. A poor performance could force sone of them out of the race. Can anyone stop Paul in the South? The choice is up to you!
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Ridge | 197 | Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York |
| Christine Todd Whitman | 180 | Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Ron Paul | 170 | Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming |
| Henson Moore (withdrawn) | 71 | |
| Terry Branstad (withdrawn) | 13 | |
| George Voinovich (withdrawn) | 13 | |
| George W. Bush (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Pat Robertson (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Connie Mack III (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Richard Petty (write-in) | 1 | |
| Thomas Sowell (write-in) | 1 |
Super Tuesday has come and gone. Twelve states held Democratic primaries, and they've delivered the party two things they badly needed: a true presidential front-runner and a culling of several second tier candidates. Although, with the field still in double digits and numerous candidates nearly tied at the top of the delegate count, this race might not be able to escape a dreaded outcome - a contested convention.
The Democrats big Super Tuesday winner was Senator Skip Humphrey, who seven primaries in total: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and a landslide victory in his home state of Minnesota. With this massive performance, Humphrey has emerged as this race's front-runner in both delegates and poll numbers. However, he is not without competition. Senator Al Gore also did well, placing second in delegate count and winning Georgia and Maryland. Ann Richards is alive too, adding Idaho and South Carolina to her win column. Jesse Jackson would only get one victory - Massachusetts - but he was still competitive across the board and placed fourth overall in delegate count. The night's biggest loser was Senator Tom Harkin, who failed to win a single contest and placed fifth overall in delegate count. Worse, his poll numbers are slipping too, as Richards appears to be finally consolidating the progressive vote.
As for the second tier candidates, both Mario Cuomo and Byron Dorgan were competitive in some places. Cuomo had a few second and third place finishes across the Northeast, while Dorgan put up respectable numbers in Minnesota and the Mountain West. Bob Graham was squarely in the middle of the field in most states, but his campaign is still hanging on for now. Douglas Wilder had a few top half placings - sixth place in Maryland and seventh in South Carolina - but at just three delegates - less than protest candidate Chet Edwards and the same amount as late entry Ray Flynn, he's beginning to appear delusional for staying in this race so long. He should be out of the race soon. The same could go for Graham, whose campaign has been stagnant for months, or Cuomo, who is slipping in the polls.
Three candidates who were still in the race on the morning of Super Tuesday were no longer in the race once all the votes had been counted. Senator Kathleen Sullivan Alioto, seen as a potential front-runner early on in this race, dropped out after failing to place in the top five in her home state of Massachusetts. Former Senator Bill Bradley, another Northeastern liberal, also chose to drop out after finishing the night in fourteenth place out of fourteen candidates competing. Both Bradley and Sullivan Alioto would endorse the new front-runner, Skip Humphrey. Governor of Florida Bill Nelson, who'd barely been holding on in this race as it was with slipping poll numbers, also withdrew, choosing to endorse Al Gore. Eleven candidates remain, including five: Gore, Harkin, Humphrey, Jackson, and Richards - who have a legitimate shot at the nomination. Next up is the New York Primary, a big delegate contest that is usually friendly to liberal Democrats.
As always, you can vote for your favorites HERE.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Skip Humphrey | 230 | Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
| Al Gore | 205 | Delaware, Georgia, Maryland |
| Jesse Jackson | 185 | Massachusetts, Ohio |
| Ann Richards | 149 | Idaho, South Carolina |
| Tom Harkin | 135 | Iowa |
| Mario Cuomo | 45 | |
| Byron Dorgan | 38 | |
| Bob Graham | 13 | |
| Doug Applegate (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Bill Nelson (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Chet Edwards | 8 | |
| Kathleen Sullivan Alioto (withdrawn) | 7 | |
| Bill Bradley (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Bob Kerrey (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Ray Flynn | 3 | |
| Douglas Wilder | 3 | |
| Paul Pelosi (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Richard Celeste (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Mike Gravel (write-in) | 1 | |
| Tom Hayden (write-in) | 1 |
Super Tuesday has come and gone. Eleven states held their primary elections. The top two Reform Party presidential candidates would both perform strongly in an unexpected region, as the candidate from America's northernmost state would win by landslide margins in the South and the popular Governor of a Southern State would win five Northeastern states comfortably. Meanwhile, another candidate fell far behind in the delegate count and was effectively eliminated from contention for the nomination.
Governor of Louisiana Buddy Roemer would be the Reform Party's big Super Tuesday winner: of the eleven contests held, Roemer won seven of them: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Roemer won big in the Northeastern United States, where most Reform Party members lean conservative and former President Gravel is relatively unpopular. Gravel didn't leave Super Tuesday empty handed though. He won four contests: Georgia, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Washington, proving that, even when facing a Southerner, Gravel is unbeatable in the South. Ron Paul, again, did not campaign for the Reform Party nomination ahead of Super Tuesday. As a result, he would win considerably fewer delegates than either Roemer or Gravel. Despite three second place finishes - in Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island - Paul has been effectively eliminated from competition for this nomination.
Again, he isn't actively campaigning, focusing on winning the more important Republican Party presidential nomination, so he doesn't need to drop out of the race. Some states plan to replace his name on their ballots with the presumptive nominee of the American Party, University of Chicago economics professor Thomas Sowell, but in most remaining Reform Party primaries, Paul's name will remain on the ballot. Nevertheless, this is down to a two man race between Mike Gravel, a former United States President and an elder statesman of the populist movement and Buddy Roemer, a veteran of the Gravel administration who's younger, more charismatic, and less plagued by controversy. Will the Reform Party re-nominate Gravel, a champion of anti-establishment politics for decades, or will they nominate Roemer, the heir apparent to the Gravel Movement? Roemer has a lead of just a few points in national polls, giving him the best chance to win, but ultimately, the choice is up to you.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Buddy Roemer | 355 | Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont |
| Mike Gravel | 335 | Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Washington |
| Ron Paul | 161 | |
| Richard Lamm (withdrawn) | 19 | |
| Tim Penny (withdrawn) | 3 | |
| Jack Gargan (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Donald Trump (write in) | 1 |
Super Tuesday has come and gone. Eleven states held their primary elections, and while all three Green Party candidates did well, considering their expectations, one candidate would drop out anyway. From here on out, this will be a two-man race. Here's how we got here:
On Super Tuesday, eleven contests were held, with the two front-runners for the nomination winning five apiece. California Governor Tom Hayden won Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, putting up huge margins in New England, where Mary Alice Herbert's regional appeal ate into the support of Paul Wellstone. He finished the evening with 333 delegates. Senator Wellstone isn't far behind, however, as he was victorious in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Washington - receiving almost 70% of the vote in his home state, and finished with 331 delegates - just two behind Hayden.
Governor of Vermont Mary Alice Herbert performed better than expected. She won her home state by a landslide margin and finished second in four states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. However, with just 177 delegates at the end of the night, she saw no path forward for herself in this race. She would drop out of the race and endorse Paul Wellstone. It is widely believed that if Wellstone wins the nomination, she will be his first choice to be his running mate. Tom Hayden, for his part, has been hinting at the possibility of Congressman Julian Bond being his running mate should he win the nomination, so it's only fair for Wellstone to start vetting candidates now.
While other primaries remain very fractured, the race for the Green Party presidential nomination is down to two candidates. Will it be a repeat of the 1992 nominee, Senator Paul Wellstone, the left-wing progressive populist who's amassed an impressive amount of grassroots support, or will it be Tom Hayden, a Green Party icon and the Governor of the nation's largest state who's more moderate, more well-financed, more cooperative with the Democratic Party and supported by the party's establishment wing. At the moment, Hayden has around a 10% lead in the polls, but with the two candidates nearly tied in terms of delegate count, the only thing that matters is how the votes fall. And, of course, that vote is up to you.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Hayden | 333 | Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Georgia, New Hampshire, Rhode Island |
| Paul Wellstone | 331 | Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, Washington |
| Mary Alice Herbert (withdrawn) | 177 | Vermont |
| Dennis Kucinich (withdrawn) | 11 | |
| Judith Bari | 5 | |
| Dan Hamburg (withdrawn) | 3 | |
| Jesse Jackson (write-in) | 3 | |
| Howie Hawkins | 1 | |
| Cynthia McKinney (write-in) | 1 |
The Democratic Primary is still as chaotic as ever. The latest developments: three candidates dropped out, one candidate entered the race, and a late entry to the field has complicated the path to the nomination for two leading progressives, indirectly propelling a more moderate Democrat to the top of the field. Yes, this race is still insane. Let's read about it:
The New Hampshire Primary would see a surprise winner: coming off the heels of a second place finish in Iowa, Senator Skip Humphrey would defeat the field's three progressive front-runners and win the most delegates in the Granite State. Al Gore would finish second, pretty much consolidating the moderate vote. Tom Harkin, Ann Richards, and Jesse Jackson would place third, fourth, and fifth, although Mario Cuomo seriously challenged Jackson for the fifth place spot. Sixth-place finisher Byron Dorgan has essentially become a spoiler candidate to Harkin and Richards. He's pulling away some of their economic populist support, which is indirectly boosting Gore and Humphrey, two more moderate candidates.
Nine candidates finished with less than 5% of the total vote: Bob Graham, Kathleen Sullivan Alioto, Bill Bradley, Bill Nelson, Douglas Wilder, Chet Edwards, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Doug Applegate, and Bob Kerrey, in that order. After the New Hampshire primary ended, two of those nine would drop out of the race. First, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend exited the race and endorsed Skip Humphrey. Then, Bob Kerrey dropped out too, endorsing Reform Party candidate Mike Gravel. In addition, one candidate would join the race. He is:
Representative Raymond Flynn of Massachusetts
Raymond Flynn, the Mayor of Boston from 1984 to 1994 and a U.S. Representative since 1995 is probably the most economically left-wing candidate in this field. Flynn is a strong supporter of nationalization power, and he's promised to use it to solve a myriad of problems, from high energy costs to homelessness to income inequality, if elected President. He supports housing as a human right, and calls for more construction of public housing to ensure a standard of adequate housing for all Americans. He is also pro-union, with strong support for industrial labor unions and expanding unionization efforts to the service industry and low-income renters.
However, Flynn is also one of the most socially conservative candidates in the field. He campaigned for Mayor of Boston on an anti-desegregation busing platform. While his views on that issue have progressed a lot, he still supports tough-on-crime policies, proposing a major increase in police funding nationwide as part of his policy platform, and, most controversially, a nationwide abortion ban. As a late entry into the race, Flynn is unlikely to do very well in a field that's already very crowded. However, he does fill the ideological niche left by the withdrawal of Dennis Kucinich from the Green Party Presidential race - a left wing candidate that leans socially conservative, so his entry into the race is not unwarranted.
Al Gore went from top moderate to national front-runner ahead of Super Tuesday.
The Primary in Delaware would see more of the same: Al Gore would get his first victory in a state that leans moderate in Democratic Primary races, with Humphrey second and Jesse Jackson a competitive third. Mario Cuomo would see his best finish in any primary to date - placing fourth, several points behind Jackson, but ahead of Tom Harkin, Byron Dorgan, and Ann Richards, who appear to be eating into each other's support. Richards's seventh-place finish is abysmal by her campaign's standards and not a great sign for a candidate who, at one point, led in national polling. Flynn, in his first contest in the race, finished thirteenth and nearly beat Bob Graham - a solidly second-tier candidate - for twelfth. That's about as good an indicator of where he stands in this race as any: a fringe tier two candidate with spoiler potential.
However, even with the withdrawal of Doug Applegate from the race ahead of Super Tuesday, there's still way too many second-tier candidates in this race already. The national polling clearly agrees. Heading into the crucial Super Tuesday slate of primaries, Al Gore is the new national front-runner. He's the first moderate to top the national polls in this race so far, and he's been doing it pretty consistently as of late. Skip Humphrey, a liberal ally of Dick Van Dyke, has also topped a few nationwide polls as of late. Jesse Jackson is holding strong, solidly in third place and still leading in a few polls too. The real losers of the pre-Super Tuesday contests are Tom Harkin and Ann Richards, who've gone from clear front-runners to fourth and fifth, respectively, in national polls. The presence of Byron Dorgan on the ballot is clearly hurting them both badly. Dorgan and Mario Cuomo occupy the "1B' tier - candidates who've been competitive, but who are yet to win a primary or top a national poll. Then, there's the glut of second tier candidates: Bob Graham, Kathleen Sullivan Alioto, Bill Nelson, Bill Bradley, Ray Flynn, and Douglas Wilder, as well as conservative spoiler candidate Chet Edwards, who is running his campaign on a shoestring and plans to stay in the race as long as possible to be a protest vote for Democrats, particularly in the South, who are unhappy with the direction the party has gone, especially on social issues, over the past eight years. Super Tuesday should, hopefully, wipe out most of this tier of candidates.
As always, you can vote for your favorite candidates HERE.
State of the Race
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Contests Won |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Harkin | 45 | Iowa |
| Jesse Jackson | 45 | Ohio |
| Ann Richards | 38 | |
| Al Gore | 36 | Delaware |
| Skip Humphrey | 33 | New Hampshire |
| Mario Cuomo | 16 | |
| Doug Applegate (withdrawn) | 10 | |
| Bob Graham | 10 | |
| Bill Nelson | 9 | |
| Chet Edwards | 7 | |
| Bob Kerrey (withdrawn) | 6 | |
| Kathleen Sullivan Alioto | 6 | |
| Bill Bradley | 5 | |
| Byron Dorgan | 5 | |
| Paul Pelosi (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (withdrawn) | 2 | |
| Richard Celeste (withdrawn) | 1 | |
| Douglas Wilder | 1 |
