List of United States Democratic Party presidential candidates
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This is a list of major Democratic Party candidates for president. The Democratic Party has existed since the dissolution of the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1820s, and the Democrats have nominated a candidate for president in every presidential election since the party's first convention in 1832. The list is divided into two sections, reflecting the increasing importance of primaries and caucuses following the changes stemming from the McGovern–Fraser Commission. Nominees who won the general election are bolded.
Post-1968 candidates
These candidates either won the nomination or withdrew from contention after the conclusion of the first primary. All of these candidates ran after the McGovern–Fraser Commission changed the rules of the Democratic Party to increase the importance of presidential primaries and caucuses.
| Year | Position | Name | Home[1] | Born | Contests won[2] | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | F. Sec. of State | Hillary Clinton | NY | 1947 | - | N/A |
| 2016 | Senator | Bernie Sanders | VT | 1941 | - | N/A |
| 2016 | F. Governor | Martin O'Malley | MD | 1963 | 0 | No |
| 2012 | President | Barack Obama | IL | 1961 | 56 | Yes |
| 2008 | Senator | Barack Obama | IL | 1961 | 33 | Yes |
| 2008 | Senator | Hillary Clinton | NY | 1947 | 23 | No |
| 2008 | F. Senator | John Edwards | NC | 1953 | 0 | No |
| 2008 | Senator | Joe Biden | DE | 1942 | 0 | No |
| 2008 | Senator | Chris Dodd | CT | 1944 | 0 | No |
| 2008 | F. Senator | Mike Gravel | AK | 1930 | 0 | No |
| 2008 | Representative | Dennis Kucinich | OH | 1946 | 0 | No |
| 2008 | Governor | Bill Richardson | NM | 1947 | 0 | No |
| 2004 | Senator | John Kerry | MA | 1943 | 51 | Yes |
| 2004 | Senator | John Edwards | NC | 1953 | 2 | No |
| 2004 | F. Governor | Howard Dean | VT | 1948 | 2 | No |
| 2004 | General | Wesley Clark | AR | 1944 | 1 | No |
| 2004 | Representative | Dick Gephardt | MO | 1941 | 0 | No |
| 2004 | Representative | Dennis Kucinich | OH | 1946 | 0 | No |
| 2004 | Senator | Joe Lieberman | CT | 1942 | 0 | No |
| 2004 | Senator | Carol Moseley Braun | IL | 1947 | 0 | No |
| 2004 | Minister | Al Sharpton | NY | 1954 | 0 | No |
| 2000 | Vice President | Al Gore | TN | 1948 | 52 | Yes |
| 2000 | Senator | Bill Bradley | NJ | 1943 | 0 | No |
| 1996 | President | Bill Clinton | AR | 1946 | 51 | Yes |
| 1992 | President | Bill Clinton | AR | 1946 | 37 | Yes |
| 1992 | F. Governor | Jerry Brown | CA | 1938 | 6 | No |
| 1992 | F. Senator | Paul Tsongas | MA | 1941 | 7 | No |
| 1992 | Senator | Bob Kerrey | NE | 1943 | 1 | No |
| 1992 | Senator | Tom Harkin | IA | 1939 | 1 | No |
| 1988 | Governor | Michael Dukakis | MA | 1933 | 31 | Yes |
| 1988 | Minister | Jesse Jackson | IL | 1941 | 14 | No |
| 1988 | Senator | Al Gore | TN | 1948 | 7 | No |
| 1988 | Representative | Dick Gephardt | MO | 1941 | 3 | No |
| 1988 | Senator | Paul Simon | IL | 1928 | 1 | No |
| 1988 | F. Senator | Gary Hart | CO | 1936 | 0 | No |
| 1988 | F. Governor | Bruce Babbitt | AZ | 1938 | 0 | No |
| 1984 | F. Vice President | Walter Mondale | MN | 1928 | 21 | Yes |
| 1984 | Senator | Gary Hart | CO | 1936 | 26 | No |
| 1984 | Minister | Jesse Jackson | IL | 1941 | 3 | No |
| 1984 | Senator | John Glenn | OH | 1921 | 0 | No |
| 1984 | F. Senator | George McGovern | SD | 1922 | 0 | No |
| 1984 | F. Governor | Reubin Askew | FL | 1928 | 0 | No |
| 1984 | Senator | Alan Cranston | CA | 1914 | 0 | No |
| 1984 | Senator | Ernest Hollings | SC | 1922 | 0 | No |
| 1980 | President | Jimmy Carter | GA | 1924 | 38 | Yes |
| 1980 | Senator | Ted Kennedy | MA | 1932 | 12 | No |
| 1980 | Governor | Jerry Brown | CA | 1938 | 0 | No |
| 1980 | Governor | Cliff Finch | MS | 1927 | 0 | No |
| 1976 | F. Governor | Jimmy Carter | GA | 1924 | 30 | Yes |
| 1976 | Governor | Jerry Brown | CA | 1938 | 3 | No |
| 1976 | Governor | George Wallace | AL | 1919 | 3 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Mo Udall | AZ | 1922 | 3 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Henry M. Jackson | WA | 1912 | 4 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Frank Church | ID | 1924 | 5 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Robert Byrd | WV | 1917 | 1 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Birch Bayh | IN | 1928 | 0 | No |
| 1976 | Senator | Lloyd Bentsen | TX | 1921 | 0 | No |
| 1976 | Delegate | Walter E. Fauntroy | DC | 1933 | 0 | No |
| 1976 | F. Senator | Fred R. Harris | OK | 1930 | 0 | No |
| 1976 | F. Ambassador | Sargent Shriver | MD | 1915 | 0 | No |
| 1972 | Senator | George McGovern | SD | 1922 | 11 | Yes |
| 1972 | F. Vice President | Hubert Humphrey | MN | 1911 | 4 | No |
| 1972 | Senator | Edmund Muskie | ME | 1914 | 3 | No |
| 1972 | Governor | George Wallace | AL | 1919 | 6 | No |
| 1972 | Senator | Henry M. Jackson | WA | 1912 | 0 | No |
| 1972 | F. Governor | Terry Sanford | NC | 1917 | 0 | No |
| 1972 | Mayor | John Lindsay | NY | 1921 | 0 | No |
| 1972 | Delegate | Walter E. Fauntroy | DC | 1933 | 1 | No |
| 1972 | Representative | Shirley Chisholm | NY | 1924 | 0 | No |
| 1972 | F. Senator | Eugene McCarthy | MN | 1916 | 0 | No |
Pre-1972 candidates
These pre-1972 candidates won at least 10% of the delegates on at least one convention ballot.
| Year | Position | Name | Home[1] | Born | First ballot % |
Final contested ballot %[3] |
Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Vice President | Hubert Humphrey | MN | 1911 | 67.5 | - | Yes |
| 1968 | Senator | Eugene McCarthy | MN | 1916 | 23.1 | - | No |
| 1964 | President | Lyndon B. Johnson | TX | 1908 | 100 | - | Yes |
| 1960 | Senator | John F. Kennedy | MA | 1917 | 52.9 | - | Yes |
| 1960 | Senator | Lyndon B. Johnson | TX | 1908 | 26.8 | - | No |
| 1956 | F. Governor | Adlai Stevenson II | IL | 1900 | 65.9 | - | Yes |
| 1956 | Governor | W. Averell Harriman | NY | 1891 | 15.3 | - | No |
| 1952 | Governor | Adlai Stevenson II | IL | 1900 | 10.2 | 49.8 | Yes |
| 1952 | Senator | Estes Kefauver | TN | 1903 | 24.4 | 22.7 | No |
| 1952 | Senator | Richard Russell, Jr. | GA | 1897 | 21.7 | 21.3 | No |
| 1952 | F. Ambassador | W. Averell Harriman | NY | 1891 | 10.2 | 0 | No |
| 1948 | President | Harry S. Truman | MO | 1916 | 75 | - | Yes |
| 1948 | Senator | Richard Russell, Jr. | GA | 1897 | 21.6 | - | No |
| 1944 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 92.4 | - | Yes |
| 1940 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 86.3 | - | Yes |
| 1936 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 100 | - | Yes |
| 1932 | Governor | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 57.7 | 81.9 | Yes |
| 1932 | F. Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 17.5 | 16.5 | No |
| 1928 | Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 77.2 | - | Yes |
| 1924 | F. Ambassador | John W. Davis | WV | 1873 | 2.8 | 18.7[4] | Yes |
| 1924 | F. Sec. of the Treasury | William Gibbs McAdoo | CA | 1863 | 39.4 | 17.5[4] | No |
| 1924 | Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 30.4 | 32.4[4] | No |
| 1920 | Governor | James M. Cox | OH | 1870 | 12.7 | 66.1 | Yes |
| 1920 | F. Sec. of the Treasury | William Gibbs McAdoo | CA | 1863 | 25.1 | 25.5 | No |
| 1920 | Attorney General | A. Mitchell Palmer | PA | 1872 | 24.2 | 0.1 | No |
| 1920 | Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 10.3 | 0 | No |
| 1916 | President | Woodrow Wilson | NJ | 1856 | 100 | - | Yes |
| 1912 | Governor | Woodrow Wilson | NY | 1856 | 29.8 | 90.1 | Yes |
| 1912 | Speaker | Champ Clark | MO | 1850 | 40.5 | 7.7 | No |
| 1912 | Governor | Judson Harmon | OH | 1846 | 13.6 | 1.1 | No |
| 1912 | Representative | Oscar Underwood | AL | 1862 | 10.8 | 0 | No |
| 1904 | F. Representative | William Jennings Bryan | NE | 1860 | 88.7 | - | Yes |
| 1900 | State judge | Alton B. Parker | NY | 1852 | 65.8 | - | Yes |
| 1900 | Representative | William Randolph Hearst | NY | 1863 | 20 | - | No |
| 1896 | F. Representative | William Jennings Bryan | NE | 1860 | 14.7 | 70.1 | Yes |
| 1896 | F. Representative | Richard P. Bland | MO | 1835 | 25.3 | 1.2 | No |
| 1896 | F. Governor | Robert E. Pattison | PA | 18 | 10.4 | 10.2 | No |
| 1892 | F. President | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 67.8 | - | Yes |
| 1892 | Senator | David B. Hill | NY | 18 | 12.5 | - | No |
| 1892 | Governor | Horace Boies | IA | 18 | 11.3 | - | No |
| 1888 | President | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 100 | 0 | Yes |
| 1884 | Governor | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 64 | 65.5 | Yes |
| 1884 | Senator | Thomas F. Bayard | DE | 1828 | 27.8 | 24.8 | No |
| 1884 | F. Senator | Allen G. Thurman | OH | 1813 | 14.4 | 9.8 | No |
| 1884 | F. Speaker | Samuel J. Randall | PA | 1828 | 100 | 0 | No |
| 1880 | General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 23.1 | 43.3 | Yes |
| 1880 | Senator | Thomas F. Bayard | DE | 1828 | 20.8 | 15.2 | No |
| 1880 | Speaker | Samuel J. Randall | PA | 1828 | 0.8 | 17.4 | No |
| 1880 | F. Representative | Henry B. Payne | NY | 18 | 11 | 0 | No |
| 1876 | Governor | Samuel J. Tilden | NY | 1814 | 54.4 | 72.5 | Yes |
| 1876 | Governor | Thomas A. Hendricks | IN | 1819 | 19 | 11.5 | No |
| 1876 | General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 10.2 | 7.9 | No |
| 1872 | F. Representative | Horace Greeley | NY | 1811 | 93.7 | - | Yes |
| 1868 | F. Governor | Horatio Seymour | NY | 1810 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 1868 | F. Representative | George H. Pendleton | NY | 1825 | 33.1 | 0 | No |
| 1868 | Senator | Thomas A. Hendricks | IN | 1819 | 0.7 | 45.9 | No |
| 1868 | General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 10.5 | 32.6 | No |
| 1868 | President | Andrew Johnson | TN | 1808 | 20.5 | 1.3 | No |
| 1868 | F. Lt. Governor | Sanford E. Church | NY | 1815 | 10.7 | 0 | No |
| 1864 | General | George B. McClellan | NJ | 1826 | 77 | - | Yes |
| 1864 | F. Governor | Thomas H. Seymour | CT | 1807 | 16.8 | - | No |
| 1860 | Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 57.7 | 60.1 | Yes |
| 1860 | F. Sec. of the Treasury | James Guthrie | KY | 1792 | 14.1 | 26 | No |
| 1860 | Senator | Robert M. T. Hunter | VA | 1809 | 16.7 | 6.3 | No |
| 1856 | F. Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 45.8 | 56.8 | Yes |
| 1856 | President | Franklin Pierce | NH | 1804 | 41.4 | 0 | No |
| 1856 | Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 11.1 | 41.2 | No |
| 1852 | F. Senator | Franklin Pierce | NH | 1804 | 0 | 95.2 | Yes |
| 1852 | Senator | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 39.2 | 0.7 | No |
| 1852 | F. Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 31.4 | 0 | No |
| 1852 | F. Sec. of War | William L. Marcy | NY | 1786 | 9.1 | 0 | No |
| 1852 | Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 6.8 | 0.7 | No |
| 1848 | Senator | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 10 | 0 | Yes |
| 1848 | Sup. Court Justice | Levi Woodbury | NH | 1789 | 10 | 0 | No |
| 1848 | Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 10 | 0 | No |
| 1844 | F. Speaker | James K. Polk | TN | 1795 | 0 | 86.9 | Yes |
| 1844 | F. President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 54.9 | 0 | No |
| 1844 | F. Sec. of War | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 31.2 | 10.9 | No |
| 1844 | F. Vice President | Richard Mentor Johnson | KY | 1780 | 9 | 0 | No |
| 1840 | President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 100 | - | Yes |
| 1836 | Vice President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 100 | - | Yes |
| 1832 | President | Andrew Jackson | TN | 1767 | 100 | - | Yes |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Home state or territory.
- ↑ The number of state and territorial primaries won by the candidate.
- ↑ Percent of delegates won on the final contested ballot, before shifts. A "-" indicates that there was only one contested ballot.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 There were 103 ballots in at the 1924 convention; this column represents the 100th ballot.
