Which incumbent presidents lost

Gerald Ford occupied the White House from to , but was never elected on a presidential ticket. While in office, Ford pardoned Nixon of all crimes committed while president, an enormously unpopular decision.

The former peanut farmer had his share of foreign policy troubles as well—his important role in brokering a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt notwithstanding. There was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which reignited Cold War tensions as well as the unsuccessful rescue of U. He was roundly defeated by Ronald Reagan in the election, winning just six states and the District of Columbia.

However, Carter has had an unusually active post-presidential career, during which he has promoted peace efforts and diplomacy around the world. A little over a year into George H. He was given credit for successfully managing foreign affairs as the Soviet Union crumbled. And he helped amass a vast coalition of countries that liberated Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion. Unfortunately for the 41st president, it was all downhill from there. His raising of taxes, despite a famous campaign pledge to do no such thing, eroded trust among conservative voters.

An ill-timed recession late in his presidency—combined with poor debate performances against Democratic challenger Bill Clinton and third-party candidate Ross Perot—proved too damaging to overcome. Clinton would go on to garner electoral votes in the election, compared to just for Bush. Donald Trump was—and still is—perhaps the most polarizing president in the modern era.

Many on the right continue to see Trump as a political hero, nominating three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, pulling the U. For those very reasons—and his perceived uneven response to the COVID pandemic—he never polled particularly well with Democrats or even independents.

L14 Though he was again acquitted after his second impeachment—this time for his role in the Jan. Since leaving office, Trump has weighed in on a series of state and federal elections and hinted at another run for the White House in Ten presidents served one term or less without being re-elected.

According to election data from the website toWin, Jimmy Carter lost his reelection bid by the widest margin in history. Carter won just six states and the District of Columbia, giving him 49 electoral votes. Republican Ronald Reagan cruised to victory with a staggering electoral votes. The 41st president may have experienced the steepest downward slide of any commander-in-chief. On the heels of victory in the first Gulf War, George H. He lost his reelection effort to Bill Clinton in Several presidents never sought reelection.

Hayes all made assurances that they would only serve for one term—a promise that they kept. That may have worked out for the best in the case of Polk, who left office exhausted and died three months after the end of his term. Lyndon Johnson, who took over after John F. Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman, who similarly stepped into the Oval Office after a president died, also decided to serve only one term. In the 19th Century, there were multiple cases of men who stepped into the presidency after a death, but never ran at the top of a ticket.

Millard Fillmore, who become chief executive when Zachary Taylor died in office, was one such example. Arthur, who became commander-in-chief after James A. Office of the Historian. University of Virginia. Fiscal Policy. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Investopedia. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.

These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. The election marked the first peaceful transfer of power between members of two political parties. Though Adams wanted to remain president, he accepted the results of the election and stepped down, establishing an important precedent for the US.

He did not attend Jefferson's inauguration. Adams faced a foreign policy crisis with France during his presidency, known as the Qausi-War, and signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts. The acts, which gave the government broad authority to deport foreign-born residents and punish critics, are often cited as a major factor in Adam's loss in the election.

He was defeated by Andrew Jackson. Adams became president in despite Jackson receiving more electoral votes. No candidate had won a majority of the electoral votes, so the House of Representatives was left to decide. The House ultimately elected Adams.

Adams faced fierce opposition from Jacksonians supporters of Jackson in Congress while president, and had few major accomplishments during his tenure. He lost badly to Jackson in His career in politics was far from over, however, and Adams would later serve as a congressman from to Van Buren's tenure was plagued from the start by a financial crisis, and his unpopularity was compounded by an expensive war with the Seminole Indians in Florida.

He lost by a landslide in , with Harrison winning electoral votes and Van Buren just Cleveland won the popular vote by more than , votes but ultimately lost to Harrison via the electoral college.

It was just the second time in US history that a candidate lost the popular vote but still won the presidency. But Cleveland ran for president again in , defeating Harrison and winning another term.

Cleveland is still counted among the incumbent presidents who won their party's nomination but lost their bid for reelection, however. Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland in the election, despite losing the popular vote.

Harrison would only serve one term, however, after losing to Cleveland in the election. During his presidency, Harrison's support for tariffs drove up costs for consumers, which was unpopular. This, among other factors, contributed to Harrison's political demise. William Howard Taft was defeated by Woodrow Wilson in the election, joining the ranks of incumbent presidents who did not win reelection.

Though he'd been close with his predecessor, President Teddy Roosevelt, Taft's approach to policy drove them apart. Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican party presidential nomination in , but the former president ultimately lost to his successor and ran as a third-party candidate. Taft suffered a humiliating defeat, earning less of the popular and electoral vote than both Wilson and Roosevelt.

But his career in public service was not totally over, and Taft later went on to become Chief Justice of the US. President Donald Trump will join the list of Commanders-in-chief who were denied a second term after running for reelection. Former vice president Joe Biden was projected to defeat President Trump, thus making Trump the tenth incumbent to become a one-term U.

From John Adams to George H. Bush, ten Commanders-in-Chief throughout U. Let's take a look into the past — at U. The most recent one-term president was George H. The Republican incumbent served as the 41st president of the United States from to , but lost re-election to Democrat William Bill Clinton, who went on to complete two terms.

Bush's White House biography attributes his defeat to the country's "discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. He lost his re-election campaign to Republican Ronald Reagan, who went on to two full terms. Carter's biography points to several factors that contributed to his loss — including a short recession and the hostage-taking of U.

On the day Carter left office, Iran released 52 Americans. Serving from to , Gerald Ford was the 38th president of the United States.