Past Presidential
Election Losers and Where They Are Now
{It's hard to believe how much excitement is
built up for each candidate, only to see the losers shuffle off again into
obscurity. Here, we'll jolt your memory with a list of also-rans from elections
past, and try to ferret out what became of them. We won't bother with the very
obvious ones are - you don't need us to tell you what Al Gore is doing, do you?
- but the ones who are question marks may prove interesting.|Here, we'll jolt
your memory with a list of also-rans from elections past, and try to ferret out
what became of them. We won't bother with the very obvious ones are - you don't
need us to tell you what Al Gore is doing, do you?}
{John Kerry, Democrat, 2004 - After conceding the
election to George W. Bush before the last votes were even counted, Kerry
concluded the most lackluster campaign in recent memory by returning to his
Senate duties, with one last assurance to his supporters that he 'd fight the
good fight. Well, he's still the Junior Senator from Massachusetts, under
senior Senator Ted Kennedy. He's basically not very busy. He's attended a rally
here and there and pushed out the occasional bill, and chairs some Senate
committees, but generally avoids the spotlight like a vampire.|John Kerry,
Democrat, 2004 - After conceding the election to George W. Bush before the last
votes were even counted, Kerry concluded the most lackluster campaign in recent
memory by returning to his Senate duties, with one last assurance to his
supporters that he 'd fight the good fight. Well, he's still the Junior Senator
from Massachusetts, under senior Senator Ted Kennedy.}
{Ross Perot, Reform party, 1996 - If there was
ever a wild card candidate, this one was it. Having more Libertarian views than
anything else, and making a huge amount of noise in the Senate news media,
Perot stormed the 1996 Presidential election with some much-needed comic relief
in what would have been a dry-as-sand race without him. He has practically gone
into hiding since then. He's abandoned the Reform party, which he once
manipulated, and is presumably doing something in the business sector. Whenever
a newspaper reporter spots him in public and interviews him, he usually remains
on the subject of his business career and refuses to comment on anything else.
His sole emergence from political articles exile
was to support technology advancement in education in Texas in 2005, which
isn't surprising since he made his fortune with technology companies in
Texas.|Ross Perot, Reform party, 1996 - If there was ever a wild card
candidate, this one was it. Having more Libertarian views than anything else,
and making a huge amount of noise in the news Elections media,
Perot stormed the 1996 Presidential election with some much-needed comic relief
in what would have been a dry-as-sand race without him. His sole emergence from political articles exile was to support technology
advancement in education in Texas in 2005, which isn't surprising since he made
his fortune with technology companies in Texas.}
{Michael Dukakis, Democrat, 1988 - Boy, did he
ever lose. George Bush, Sr., won this election hands down, and Dukakis couldn't
seem to get a break any which-way. After losing the Presidency to Bush by a
4-to-1 margin in electoral votes, he served out his last two years as Governor
of Massachusetts under the public and media spotlight which scrutinized and
criticized his every move. He stepped down from politics altogether in 1990 and
joined the board of - of all things - Amtrack, right at a time when trains were
losing popularity and a recession was looming. He later became a professor of political articles science
at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, and continues to this day with a
mostly scholarly career with the occasional dabble in grassroots
campaigning.|George Bush, Sr., won this election hands down, and Dukakis
couldn't seem to get a break any which-way. After losing the Presidency to Bush
by a 4-to-1 margin in electoral votes, he served out his last two years as
Governor of Massachusetts under the public and media spotlight which scrutinized
and criticized his every move.}
{Walter Mondale, Democrat, 1984 - Against the
unshakable might that was the incumbent Reagan administration, there was no
possibility of even standing a chance. {But somebody had to run, just to say
that we had an election anyway.|Somebody had to run, just to say that we had an
election anyway.} After 1984 and his resultant trampling, Mondale brushed the
elephant footprints off his suit and returned to the private sector practicing
law. In 1993 he was appointed to U.S. Ambassador to Japan under the Clinton
administration. In 2002 he was put on the ballot to replace another Senate
candidate who had died in a plane crash, and he gave the race his best, roaring
try and finished very close, but lost. He stated "At the end of what will
be my last campaign, I want to say to Minnesota, you always treated me well,
you always listened to me." Retired, he lives today near the Lake of the
Isles in Minneapolis, where he is frequently seen walking his dogs and heard to
quote lines from the comic skits of Monty Python, of which he is a fan.|Walter
Mondale, Democrat, 1984 - Against the unshakable might that was the incumbent
Reagan administration, there was no possibility of even standing a chance.
Somebody had to run, just to say that we had an election anyway. In 2002 he was
put on the ballot to replace another Senate candidate who had died in a plane
crash, and he gave the race his best, roaring try and finished very close, but
lost.}
Eugene McCarthy, Independent, 1976 - Wedged into
the race between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the one time that an Independent
candidate would have stood a chance, McCarthy managed to get less than
one-percent of the popular vote. This U.S. Senator from Minnesota - not at all
to be confused with Joseph McCarthy, the Senator from Wisconsin for whom
McCarthyism is named - would make a total of five runs for Presidency
throughout the years. He also continued to write his books, of which he had
produced 17, before passing away on December 10, 2005, at the age of 89.
Here, we'll jolt your memory with a list of
also-rans from elections past, and try to ferret out what became of them. John
Kerry, Democrat, 2004 - After conceding the election to George W. Bush before
the last votes were even counted, Kerry concluded the most lackluster campaign
in recent memory by returning to his Senate duties, with one last assurance to
his supporters that he 'd fight the good fight. Having more Libertarian views
than anything else, and making a huge amount of noise in the news media, Perot
stormed the 1996 Presidential election with some much-needed comic relief in
what would have been a dry-as-sand race without him. George Bush, Sr., won this
election hands down, and Dukakis couldn't seem to get a break any which-way.
Somebody had to run, just to say that we had an election anyway.
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