Surprisingly, there have been a number of presidents who have never won the hearts of voters yet they have reached the presidency. This is especially true when it comes to the American presidential history. In fact, there are five presidents who have never won a presidential election! This article will highlight these personalities who became presidents without winning presidential elections. Ready to find out who these American presidents are?
Gerald Ford
He was the 38th president of the US and served from 1974 to 1977. Initially, Ford was serving as the vice president and ascended to the presidency after the resignation of Richard M. Nixon due to the Watergate scandal. Ford even admitted that he assumed the presidency under extraordinary circumstances. Many presidents went on to win a second term, but not Ford. He failed to convince his voters so as to return to power, losing the general election to Jimmy Carter.
John Tyler
He rose to power after the death of the then President William Henry Harrison in 1841. Again, Tyler did not win presidential election to become the president of the United States. He could not even gather enough support in order to sustain a legitimate campaign for presidency. He was a supporter of state’s right but his acts showed that he could support nationalist policies on the condition that they could not impinge on the rights of the states. In 1844 he made an attempt to run as a third party candidate but dropped out due to lack of support.
Millard Fillmore
It was after the death of President Zachary Taylor that Millard Fillmore became president. This was back in 1850 when there was critical debate on slavery. He is known for delaying the civil war for about ten years and the opening of a good trade relationship with the Japanese. Like a dozen other presidents, Millard Fillmore sought for a second term but withdrew his name from the re-election process because he felt that he could not win the support of his voters. His votes were thrown to Daniel Webster in 1852.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson rose to power after the assassination of the then president Abraham Lincoln in 1865. He is remembered for doing a good job in foreign affairs. But back at home, he faced a crisis trying to reconstruct the United States after Civil War. After being impeached by the congress, Andrew Johnson did not run for office.
Chester A. Arthur
It was in 1881 that Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the United States 21st president after the assassination of James Garfield. One of his achievements as the president was to sign the Pendleton Civil Service reform act in order to prevent Post office officials from stealing millions of tax payers’ money. Chester Arthur didn’t run for the re-election.
As you can see, it is not a must for a candidate to win the presidential election to emerge as an American president. However, there is also a need to acknowledge that these are indeed special situations and it isn’t everyday that you get to be an American president without winning the votes from the mass public!