The Super Tuesday results from March 5th are in, confirming that President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump will once again face off in a no-holds-barred presidential election in November 2024.
The stakes are as high this year as when the candidates went against each other in 2020; Biden secured a spectacular win and became president.
Both candidates are still in the process of securing the necessary amount of delegates to officially secure their party’s nomination, a task likely to be completed in the upcoming months.
Now the nation is expecting another battle between the current and former presidents.
Seven Decades Since Presidential Candidate Rematches
Almost seven decades has passed into oblivion since the last presidential election rematch, however, such occurrences have happened more frequently throughout U.S. history than most Americans know about.
There have been six instances where the presidential elections featured candidates who had previously competed for the White House in the preceding general election.
In the event that Donald Trump secures victory in the 2024 election and is reelected as President, following a previous defeat in a reelection attempt four years earlier, he will join a list of former presidents who achieved this political feat in the past.
Here is a crystallized review into each of those rematches, according to Pew Research Center.
John Adams vs Thomas Jefferson (1796, 1800)
During the early days of American politics, the process of nominating candidates by political parties was notably different from the present norm.
A clear example of this can be seen in the 1796 election, where Jefferson, after losing to Adams, was appointed vice president. Fast forward to the 1800 election, and an intriguing scenario unfolded – the incumbent president faced off against the vice president.
This time, Jefferson emerged as the winner.
However, the path to Jefferson’s presidency was not without its unique twists. In a rare turn of events, Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, found themselves in a tie for the top spot.
Meanwhile, a crucial decision-making process in the House of Representatives took place when Jefferson ultimately secured the presidency.
The aforementioned groundbreaking events between Jefferson and Adams prompted the ratification of the 12th Amendment before the subsequent election, mandating separate voting procedures for president and vice president.
John Quincy Adams vs Andrew Jackson
In the 1824 election, four candidates including Adams and Jackson competed, ultimately leading to a decision by the House of Representatives due to neither candidate securing a majority of the vote.
Following the elimination of one candidate, House Speaker Henry Clay, who played a pivotal role in swaying votes, influenced the House to select Adams over Jackson and William Crawford.
Realizing the underhanded play by Clay robbed him of victory, Jackson’s resentment boiled over to a feverish pitch. Desperate for revenge, Jackson rallied supporters for a successful presidential bid in 1828.
Fighting tooth, nail and claw, Jackson emerged victorious in the rematch against Adams, serving two consecutive terms in office.
Martin Van Buren vs William Henry Harrison (1836, 1840)
Van Buren, who was Jackson’s vice president, ran for president and won in 1836 over Gen. William Henry Harrison. But opponents of the Jackson-Van Buren administration were coming together into a new national party: the Whig Party, according to the Pew Research article.
The Pew Research article further said, ‘The Whigs were still a work in progress in 1836, and Van Buren ended up facing multiple “opposition” candidates who ran in different states.
The most successful, retired Gen. William Henry Harrison, carried seven states and won 37% of the popular vote. Although Van Buren won the presidency, Harrison’s performance brought him renewed prominence.
But by the time 1840 rolled around, Van Buren’s popularity had waned and Harrison had a vibrant party of supporters that nominated him to run again. The second bid was successful, as Harrison beat Van Buren comfortably, Pew Research concluded.
Grover Cleveland vs Benjamin Harrison (1888, 1892)
Grover Cleveland won the presidency in 1884 but was defeated by Benjamin Harrison in the 1888 election. Following his term in office, and as the former president relocated from the White House, Cleveland’s wife Frances reportedly told the staff to, “take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house – for I want to find everything just as it is now when we come back again four years from today.”
In 1892, Frances Cleveland’s prediction came true when Grover Cleveland successfully defeated the then-incumbent, Harrison, reclaiming his power and prestigious spot in the White House.
William McKinley vs William Jennings Bryan (1896, 1900)
The drastic downturn in the economy leading up to the 1896 election marked a significant setback for Grover Cleveland, prompting voters to shift their support to McKinley instead of William Bryan in hopes of leading the country out of the economic crisis. Bryan faced no challenger for the Democratic nomination in 1900 and he pursued a rematch against McKinley, yet the election outcome remained the same as McKinley secured his reelection.
Dwight D. Eisenhower vs Adlai Stevenson (1952, 1956)
The biggest dominant rivalry preceding the 1952 election was the intense competition between the Democratic and Republican parties for the support of Eisenhower, a highly esteemed World War II general who garnered immense popularity, leading both parties to vie for his candidacy.
Eisenhower chose to run as a Republican and emerged victorious over Stevenson in the 1952 election.
The subsequent 1956 rematch dealt a harsh blow to Stevenson, as Eisenhower secured a significant 57% of the popular vote and triumphed in 43 states in the electoral count.
Biden – Trump Showdown Heating Up
Although the Biden – Trump showdown is seven months away, skirmishes are already taking place. The candidates are firing arrows at each other and comparisons and contrasts are being drawn.
Reporter CJ Walker can be reached at Newsjournalist360@gmail.com
