It is not easy to be in the most powerful building in the most powerful country in the world, that is, the White House. Even powerful presidents couldn’t return to this place once they lost the election, except for one president, Grover Cleveland. After losing the election, he had to leave office, but ran for election a third time and won again. He is the only president in American history so far to have this achievement to his name. This time, if Donald Trump can win the election, he will make a dent in it too.
The Oval Office, located on the ground floor of the White House, has a history that once you leave, re-entry is difficult. Although many tried, only Grover Cleveland achieved success. Clewand, the Democratic candidate from New York, ran for election for the first time in 1884 and won the White House. He once again ran for the next term, but lost to his opponent Benjamin Harrison.
However, this defeat was something different. What happened was that Cleveland was well ahead of Harrison in popular votes, but fell behind in electoral votes. Thus, despite becoming very popular with the public, he was unable to return to the White House.
In 1892 he became a Democratic candidate in the presidential elections for the third time. The party still had hope in him, so the election campaign proceeded vigorously and without any conflict. However, there were many other reasons behind his defeat and then his victory.
Before him, during the President’s term, the economy had declined rapidly. In such a situation, Cleveland projected himself as a leader who could implement economic reforms. Furthermore, his defeat in 1888 gave him the opportunity to improve his electoral strategy. They could do the electoral campaign better. With his re-election in 1990, he became the first leader to make a successful comeback, a record to date.
Many presidents before and after him tried to make a comeback, but couldn’t make it. For example, the 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, remained president of the country for two consecutive terms. He himself was left out of the elections in the third term. But in 1880 he again expressed his candidacy on behalf of the Republicans.
He also ran for this position, although he could not be nominated in his own party. Many Republicans were against Grant running for re-election. He supported James Garfield and voted against. Thus, despite his efforts, Grant was unable to return to the Oval Office again. Given the risks of a political comeback, no leader tried again for many years.
And who wanted a comeback?
– Herbert Hoover had lost the elections to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. After this he tried to return several times but it was not possible.
– In 1848, Martin Van Buren tried to return to the presidency. When the Democratic Party disagreed, he ran for office with a different party but was unable to return.
– Millard Fillmore automatically obtained the position after the death of then-president Zachary Taylor. After a gap of one year, he directly contested the elections but could not win.
If Trump wins, he will become the second president to return. Currently, in the midst of the countdown to the elections, many signs seem to be in Trump’s favor. After the nomination of Kamala Harris instead of President Joe Biden, the wind was blowing in Harris’ favor, but it seemed to diminish over time. Two weeks ago, Reuters and IPSOS conducted a survey. In a poll of about 1,150 voters, 975 showed enthusiasm for Trump. When voters were asked which of the two candidates had a better view of the economy and jobs, about 47% chose Trump, while only 37% chose Kamala Harris.
