This is alist of Democratic Party presidential primaries.
This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey GovernorWoodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition ofSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesChamp Clark. Wilson defeated Clark and was nominated during the convention. He then won the general election with a landslide victory.
Democratic incumbent PresidentWoodrow Wilson ran for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.
FormerUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryWilliam Gibbs McAdoo and Ohio GovernorJames Cox were the main candidates. ThoughWilliam 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 candidateWarren Harding.
FormerUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryWilliam Gibbs McAdoo,1920 candidate James Cox andHenry 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, beforedark horse candidateJohn W. Davis, (who wasn't even a formal candidate when he arrived at the convention) was chosen on the 103rd ballot. Davis went on to lose the election to the Republican candidate, PresidentCalvin Coolidge.
New York GovernorAl Smith faced no major opposition in the primaries but lost in the general election againstHerbert Hoover.
New York Governor and1920 vice president candidateFranklin D. Roosevelt ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of1928 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.
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran again for re-election, and faced the opposition of Vice PresidentJohn Nance Garner in the primaries. Garner lost the primaries, and during the convention, the vice presidential nomination went toHenry Wallace.
Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran again for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries. SenatorHarry S Truman ofMissouri won the vice presidential nomination on the second ballot, defeating Vice President Wallace.
Democratic incumbent PresidentHarry Truman ran for election to a full term, and faced no major opposition in the primaries.
SenatorEstes Kefauver ofTennessee defeated President Truman in theNew 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 againstDwight Eisenhower in the general election.
Adlai Stevenson, who had won the 1952 nomination on third ballot, defeatedEstes 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.
SenatorJohn F. Kennedy ofMassachusetts defeated SenatorHubert H. Humphrey ofMinnesota in the two contested primaries.
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GovernorGeorge Wallace ofAlabama made a feeble challenge to PresidentLyndon B. Johnson and his surrogates, who were running because he pretended not to be running.
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In the last successful challenge to an incumbent president, SenatorEugene J. McCarthy ofMinnesota came extremely close to defeating President Johnson in New Hampshire, and with polls showing him winningWisconsin and the entry of SenatorRobert F. Kennedy ofNew York, the President withdrew from the race.
Thus followed an exciting race between Kennedy and McCarthy, but Vice PresidentHubert 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.
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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 theChappaquiddick 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 theCanuck letter.George McGovern was able to gain ground and make a strong showing inNew 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 thatThomas 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 getSargent Shriver to be his new running mate. This trouble compounded the already weak support he had among party leaders.
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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.
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The incumbent PresidentJimmy Carter faced high unemployment, high inflation and gas shortages inCalifornia. Against this backdrop,Ted Kennedy decided to run after sitting out 1972 and 1976. Kennedy stumbled badly in an interview, then theIran hostage crisis in November 1979 seriously undermined Carter as his calm approach caused his poll numbers to rise. Carter won decisively everywhere exceptMassachusetts 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.
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Former Vice PresidentWalter 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 theMidwest andNortheast. Even so, bothJesse Jackson andGary Hart managed to mount effective national campaigns against him. Jackson won several states in theSouth but was unable to recover after callingJews "Hymies" andNew York City "Hymietown" in an interview with a black reporter.[1] Hart waged a strong campaign inNew Hampshire,Ohio,California and theWest, looking as if he could win. Hart's downfall came when, in a televised debate, Mondale said he was reminded of theWendy'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 (and gained) the super delegates support for the nomination.
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Democrats entered the race with hopes to build on mid-term wins that gave them control of the Senate, and that the ongoingIran Contra scandal would plague the eventual Republican nominee. Three candidates won multiple primaries:Michael Dukakis (30),Jesse Jackson (13), andAl Gore (7), 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 withDonna Rice thwarted his campaign.Joe Biden was caught up ina plagiarism scandal.[2][3] Neither were able to put up victories.Paul Simon only won his home state ofIllinois.
Dukakis ended up with two-thirds of the delegates, winning the nomination.
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Following the 1991Persian Gulf War, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush was riding a wave of popularity. The party leaders who otherwise might have run declined to, leaving the race open to lesser known candidates. By the beginning of the first primary, an economic recession had hurt Bush and energized the Democrats. Arkansas GovernorBill Clinton rose from the pack, but allegations of an extra-marital affair soon followed. However, his campaigns attempts at damage control, including an appearance by Clinton on60 Minutes alongside his wife,Hillary Clinton, worked. Clinton placed second in the primary inNew Hampshire and then almost swept everySuper Tuesday contest.Jerry Brown won several primaries and more delegates than any other candidate except Clinton but Clinton had five times the vote and was easily the winner.
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With popular Democratic incumbent PresidentBill Clinton running for re-election, the nomination process was uneventful. The only opposition was from fringe candidates, one of whom,Lyndon LaRouche, won delegates but they were forbidden entrance to the convention.
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Vice PresidentAl Gore had the support of the party establishment and a strong base within the party after eight years under PresidentBill Clinton. His only significant challenger wasBill Bradley who never managed to win a primary. With Bradley's delegates forbidden to vote for him, Gore was chosen unanimously at the convention.
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After his loss in the last election, former Vice PresidentAl Gore decided not to run in 2004, leaving the field wide open. Former GovernorHoward Dean ofVermont broke out early with an internet campaign and led in fundraising.[4]Wesley Clark began his campaign too late and never gained footing. SenatorJohn Kerry ofMassachusetts and SenatorJohn Edwards ofNorth Carolina made an unexpectedly strong showing in the first caucus. Dean finished second in the next contest but dropped out thereafter. Kerry dominated the race with only Edwards offering real competition. However, Edwards managed to finish first only in South Carolina and withdrew after Kerry won decisive victories onSuper Tuesday. Kerry easily won the nomination, with Edwards as his running mate. Kerry subsequently lost the presidential election to George W. Bush.
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In the closest primary contest for the Democrats since 1980, SenatorBarack Obama ofIllinois ended up upsetting early favorite SenatorHillary Clinton ofNew York. Clinton won many big-state primaries, and competed strongly in the Midwest, but Obama was able to rack up a large number of delegates through big wins in caucus states and the Southern primaries, where black voters cast a majority of the ballots. Neither candidate received enough delegates from the state primaries and caucuses to achieve a majority without superdelegate votes.
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Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama ran for re-election, and faced no major opposition in the primaries. Minor opposition candidates won 40+% of the vote in four state primaries, however; the delegates won by the opposition were forbidden from attending the Democratic convention in Charlotte.
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In her second bid for the presidency, former Secretary of StateHillary Clinton ofNew York ran against SenatorBernie Sanders fromVermont and several other minor candidates. Though Sanders won in New Hampshire, several important Midwestern states, and all but two caucus contests, Clinton won Iowa, larger, more diverse states like New York, Florida, and California, and the majority of the primaries. Clinton won 13 of the open primaries, 17 of the closed primaries, and 4 of the mixed contests. Sanders won 10 of the open primaries, 9 of the closed primaries, and 3 of the mixed contests.[5] In the end, Clinton won a total of 34 contests to Sanders' 23 and won the popular vote by 3.7 million votes.[6]
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A record-breaking 29 major candidates vied for the democratic nomination. Former Vice PresidentJoe Biden, who was seeking the nomination for the third time, was the favorite for most of the race. SenatorBernie Sanders ofVermont was also seeking the nomination again after he unsuccessfully previously ran in the 2016 primaries. Other notable candidates include SenatorElizabeth Warren ofMassachusetts, formerNew York City MayorMichael Bloomberg, SenatorAmy Klobuchar ofMinnesota, and formerSouth Bend MayorPete Buttigieg. Sanders took an unexpected early lead after wins inNew Hampshire andNevada, but the moderate wing of the party coalesced around Biden in the days prior to theSouth Carolina primary (following some moderate candidates dropping out of the race) andSuper Tuesday giving him major victories. After the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic and continuing losses, Sanders conceded the race to Biden leaving him to be the presumptive nominee.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many primaries being postponed until later in the year or conducted by mail-in balloting.
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Incumbent PresidentJoe Biden was running for re-election with Vice PresidentKamala Harris as his running mate until he dropped out via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on July 21.[7] AuthorMarianne Williamson and Representative for Minnesota's Third Congressional District in CongressDean Phillips also launched primary campaigns. LawyerRobert F. Kennedy Jr. initially entered the race as a Democrat, but dropped out to run as an independent. EntrepreneurJason Palmer won the American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses, making Joe Biden the first incumbent president to lose a primary contest since Jimmy Carter in 1980. After securing enough delegates for re-nomination President Biden was declared the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party until he withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Harris.[8]
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