Former President Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee earlier this month, making him one of only a handful of people to have been a major party’s White House nominee three times.
Here are the five people in U.S. history who previously earned that distinction:
Thomas Jefferson
As political divisions grew throughout George Washington’s presidency, Thomas Jefferson became the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party against the Federalist Party led by John Adams. Both men were their party’s favorites for determining Washington’s successor in the 1796 presidential election, the first contested one in U.S. history.
The electoral system of the day made the person with the most votes the president and the second most votes the vice president, so the parties would each nominate two people for president with the intention that one would become president and one vice president.
The campaign was particularly intense, with Federalists accusing Jefferson of being a Francophile and Jefferson’s supporters accusing Adams of wanting to bring a monarchy to the U.S., according to the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. Adams eked out a win over Jefferson by a 71-68 vote in the Electoral College, but Jefferson became Adams’s vice president as the second-place finisher.
Adams sought reelection in 1800 and was opposed by Democratic-Republican candidates Jefferson and former New York Sen. Aaron Burr. The race was just as — if not more — personal between Adams and Jefferson than four years earlier, but Adams fell short this time and was denied a second term.
But Jefferson and Burr finished with 73 votes each, sending the election to the House to decide. Jefferson was intended to be his party’s choice for president, but Burr refused to back down. Jefferson eventually secured the presidency by winning in the House on the 36th ballot.
Jefferson ran for reelection in 1804 as a popular president and easily won the election over Federalist Charles Pinckney, only losing two states. This time, the Constitution had been amended so a separate vote would be held for vice president, avoiding a repeat of the past two elections’ complications.
Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland, the New York governor, was the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 1884 after gaining a reputation for being honest and effective.
Republicans had dominated presidential elections for more than two decades heading into the 1884 election. But Cleveland had advantages, including an appeal to middle-class voters from both parties, his emphasis on hard work and merit, and his ties to his home state, which had more electoral votes than any other at the time.
He also was facing a weakened opponent in Sen. James Blaine (R-Maine), who angered various factions of his party, according to the Miller Center. Cleveland won by one of the narrowest margins in U.S. history, carrying the state that decided the election — New York — by just more than 1,000 votes.
Cleveland was easily renominated at the Democratic National Convention in 1888, putting him against Republican Benjamin Harrison, a former senator and grandson of President William Henry Harrison.
Tariff policy was a key issue of the race, with Cleveland supporting lower tariffs and Harrison advocating for their increase.
Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, giving the presidency to Harrison.
Cleveland faced some opposition for the Democratic nomination in 1892 but was the front-runner and won on the first ballot, setting up a rematch with Harrison. A third party called the Populist Party that gained the support of farmers nominated James Weaver and won more than 8 percent of the vote, according to the Miller Center.
Backlash to the Harrison administration’s economic policies helped Cleveland become the only person to win two nonconsecutive terms as president.
William…
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