Sep 01 2009
Obama Enjoys 3-to-2 Historic Odds for Re-election
There is a lot of talk already about President Obama’s re-election prospects. Sure, the 2012 campaign has started but it won’t finish for more than three years. If Obama runs for a second full term, he’ll be the 26th president to do so. Fifteen of the previous 25 were successful.
Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected three times but counted once for this article. Twelve other presidents were eligible to run for either a first or second full term but either chose not to do so or were not nominated by their parties.
George Washington was elected in 1789 and re-elected in 1792. John Adams was elected in 1796 but was defeated by Thomas Jefferson in 1800. Jefferson was re-elected in 1804.
James Madison (1808, 1812) and James Monroe (1816, 1820) each won two elections. So did Andrew Jackson in 1828 and 1832. In 1828, Jackson defeated incumbent John Quincy Adams, the 1824 winner.
Martin Van Buren won the 1836 campaign but lost in 1840 to William Henry Harrison. Harrison died a month into his term and was replaced by John Tyler. Tyler didn’t run in 1844. James Polk won that year but didn’t run in 1848, fulfilling a one-term-only campaign pledge.
Zachary Taylor was elected in 1848 but died in 1850. Millard Fillmore replaced him and didn’t run in 1852. Franklin Pierce won in 1852 and retired after one term. James Buchanan won in 1856 but didn’t seek a second term.
Abraham Lincoln won in 1860 and in 1864 before his assassination in 1865. Andrew Johnson assumed the office but didn’t run in 1868. Ulysses Grant was elected in 1868 and re-elected in 1872. Rutherford Hayes won the 1876 contest but didn’t run in 1880. James Garfield claimed the 1880 race but was assassinated in 1881. Chester Arthur became president and completed the term.
In 1884, Grover Cleveland was elected. He lost his re-election bid to Benjamin Harrison in 1888 but avenged that loss by stopping Harrison’s bid for a second term in 1892. William McKinley was elected in 1896 and 1900. He was assassinated in 1901. Theodore Roosevelt rose to the presidency and was elected to his own term in 1904. Roosevelt retired in 1909 and ran again in 1912 but wasn’t the incumbent then.
The incumbent in 1912 was William Howard Taft, who won the 1908 election. Both Roosevelt and Taft lost to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was re-elected in 1916. Warren Harding was elected in 1920 but died in 1923. Calvin Coolidge became president and won his own term in 1924. He retired rather than run in 1928.
Herbert Hoover won the 1928 contest. He was defeated in 1932 but Franklin Roosevelt, who was re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944. Roosevelt died in 1945. Harry Truman assumed the office and was elected in his own right in 1948. He retired in 1953 after nearly two full terms.
Dwight Eisenhower was elected in 1952 and 1956. He was the first president forced by the 22nd Amendment to retire from office. John Kennedy won the 1960 election but was assassinated in 1963. Lyndon Johnson became president and was elected to a full term in 1964. He retired rather than run in 1968.
Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 and re-elected in 1972. He resigned in 1974. Gerald Ford became president but lost his first election effort in 1976 to Jimmy Carter. Carter’s re-election bid in 1980 fell short to Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was re-elected in 1984. George H.W. Bush won the 1988 campaign but he lost his re-election bid in 1992 to Bill Clinton. Clinton was re-elected in 1996. George W. Bush was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.
So in summation:
15 Winners
Washington (1792)
Jefferson (1804)
Madison (1812)
Monroe (1820)
Jackson (1832)
Lincoln (1864)
Grant (1872)
McKinley (1900)
Wilson (1916)
F. Roosevelt (1936, 1940, 1944)
Eisenhower (1956)
Nixon (1972)
Reagan (1984)
Clinton (1996)
G.W. Bush (2004)
10 Losers
J. Adams (1800)
J.Q. Adams (1828)
Van Buren (1840)
Cleveland (1888)
B. Harrison (1892)
Taft (1912)
Hoover (1932)
Ford (1976)
Carter (1980)
G.H.W. Bush (1992)
12 Didn’t Run
Tyler (1841)
Polk (1845)
Fillmore (1850)
Pierce (1853)
Buchanan (1857)
A. Johnson (1865)
Hayes (1877)
Arthur (1881)
T. Roosevelt (1901)
Coolidge (1923)
Truman (1945)
L. Johnson (1963)
Teddy Roosevelt sought re-election in 1905 and won……
If the economy continues to stink and unemployment is still high, Obama doesn’t have a chance. I believe those that have the residue of hope and change in their eyes are waking up and probably will not vote for Obama again. We can always HOPE…lol
Ya I understand that but he was already president for 3 and a half years then went for re-election, although techinally he was elected in the first place, I would still consider that re-election, it’s the same principle…..
And I guarantee that Obama will be re-elected President because one thing he’s not doing a bad job, he inherited this whole mess and most rationale people, not douchbag republican douchbags, understand this and they will give him the full 8 years to see what he can do. Also the Republicans don’t have a chance anyways because they’ve been completely embarrased and they don’t have anyone that could challenge Obama anyways. Only Mitt Romney has a real chance because of this economy but he won’t win the nomination because he’s a Mormon, and people don’t understand and are afraid of Mormons, good luck with Sarah Palin in 2012 douchbag….
I meant to say that technally he wasn’t elected you know what Im saying…..I still stand by my previous statement…..