Presidents Who Never Won a Presidential Election

Presidents Who Never Won a Presidential Election There are only five presidents in American history who never won a presidential election. The most recent was Republican Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States. Ford served from 1974 to 1977 and then left office in electoral defeat. Where some others assumed the presidency under tumultuous or tragic circumstances and then went on to win a second term, Ford is among a handful who failed to convince voters to return him to power after he ascended to the White House because his predecessor resigned. The other presidents who never won presidential elections were John Tyler,  Millard Fillmore,  Andrew Johnson, and  Chester A. Arthur. Ford is also among fewer than a dozen one-term presidents  who ran for second terms but were denied by voters. So How Did Ford Become President? Ford was serving as vice president in 1974 amid scandal in President Richard M. Nixons administration. He ascended to the presidency when Nixon resigned before he was to face prosecution over the 1972 break-in at the Democratic Partys headquarters in what became known as the  Watergate scandal. Nixon was facing certain impeachment at the time.   As Ford said in taking the Oath of Office:  I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts. Did Ford Run for Re-Election? Yes. He won the Republican presidential nomination in 1976 but lost in the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter, who went on to serve one term. Fords political fortunes sank amid a depressed economy, inflation, and energy shortages at home.   Ford and Carter had engaged in what is believed to be among the most important political debates in political history. The debate, many historians believe,  proved disastrous to Fords bid for a second term in the White House. Ford famously claimed, erroneously, the following: There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration. Fords statement was met with incredulity from moderator Max Frankel of  The New York Times  and served to tarnish his campaign. What About the Others Who Didnt Win Election? John Tyler became president when President William Henry Harrison died in office in 1841. Tyler could not muster enough support to sustain a legitimate presidential campaign.  Millard Fillmore became president when Zachary Taylor died in 1850. Fillmore sought his partys nomination for a second term but was denied.Andrew Johnson became president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Johnson did not run for office after being impeached by Congress.  Chester A. Arthur became president after James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Arthur did not run for re-election.