By Scott A. Grant
mail@floridanewsline.com
Since the end of the Civil War, five men have run for president at the top of a major ticket more than twice. Interestingly, all five of those men have, so far, carried the State of Florida every time they ran. The five men are Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Richard M. Nixon, and Donald J. Trump. These are their stories.
When Grover Cleveland won the presidency in the election of 1884, he became the first Democrat elected to that office since 1856. There would not be another until 1912. Cleveland is sometimes remembered for marrying his much younger ward, the beautiful Francis Fulsom. He called her “Frankie.” Cleveland was a conservative who opposed tariffs, subsidies, and “free silver.” When he lost the election of 1888 to Benjamin Harrison, grandson of the ninth US President, William Henry Harrison, “Frankie” announced, “We’ll be back” and in 1892 they were. Cleveland went two and one in national elections, but won Florida every time.
Williams Jennings Bryan is probably best remembered for the “Cross of Gold” speech or for assisting in the prosecution of the Scopes Monkey Trial, which sought to criminally enforce a ban on the teaching of evolution in the State of Tennessee. Bryan was a “free silver” Democrat who lost three presidential elections in 1896, 1900, and 1908. He was opposed to the US dropping silver in favor of the gold standard. At the 1896 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the progressive populist declared, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!” Bryan lost three times nationally, but carried Florida all three times.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt remains one of the most popular presidents in our history. He won four elections from 1932 – 1944, all in landslides. FDR carried Florida and the rest of the south and then most of the rest of the country as well. The “solid south” was still reliably Democrat. It would not turn red until the 1960s, but no one was going to beat FDR anywhere.
Richard M. Nixon ran for president in 1960, 1968, and 1972. In 1960, he lost one of the closest national elections ever to John F. Kennedy. Most of the south went for JFK. Florida did not. Florida historically had a strong anti-Catholic bias and it is said that was the deciding factor. Nixon was back in 1968 and he won nationally and in Florida, thanks in part to the third-party candidacy of Alabama governor and segregationist, George Wallace. Wallace carried five southern states and took enough votes from Hubert Humphrey elsewhere to make Nixon the winner. In 1972, Nixon defeated George McGovern in a landslide. He finished two and one nationally and 3 and 0 in Florida.
Donald J. Trump is now running for the third time. He has won one and lost one, while carrying Florida both times. It is unclear how he will fare the third time around. Many hope he will win, many hope he will not. As of this writing, he is ahead in Florida and may win the state a third time regardless of how the national election turns out.
Interestingly, two of the men on this list, FDR and Nixon, both ran for vice president as well. FDR ran for vice president in 1920 on a ticket with James Cox. The pair lost to Warren G. Harding (on the short list of worst presidents ever), but carried Florida. Nixon ran as Eisenhower’s vice president in 1952 and 1956. The pair won both elections nationally and carried Florida both times. Collectively, the five men on this list won the state of Florida in 18 of the last 35 elections. A Trump win of the state in November would bring that number to 19 out of 36.
Scott A. Grant is a local historian and author. He welcomes your comments at scottg@standfastic.com
