10. Contesting the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, both times against Republican nominee Dwight Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson got worse rather than better from an already poor starting point
A career government official, Adlai Stevenson rose to political prominence in his capacity as one of the founders of the United Nations in the 1940s. Elected Governor of Illinois in 1948, unseating Republican incumbent Dwight Green by record margins, Stevenson did not immediately set his sights on the White House. With Truman deciding not to seek another term, the outgoing president sought to recruit Stevenson as his replacement. Insisting he was not, nor did he want to be a candidate, Stevenson’s welcoming address at the Democratic National Convention in 1952 was so well received he was forced to nominate himself and subsequently won the candidature on the third ballot.
However, despite appealing to the grassroots of the Democratic Party, Stevenson’s intellectual demeanor failed to impress working-class Democrats and Republicans, who instead turned to war hero Dwight Eisenhower. Despite trying to be a “man for the people, not of them”, Stevenson carried just nine states. Remaining incredibly popular with the party’s base, despite no longer holding political office nor improving his wider appeal, Stevenson was renominated in 1956. Producing an even worse result than before, winning just seven states this time around, Eisenhower increased both his percentage of the vote and number of Electors against his poor Democratic opponent.