Presidential Contest From More Than Three Decades Ago

With Joe Biden among the way-too-many-to-mention candidates for president in the 2020 Democratic primary, various politic pundits across the country have been examining past contests.

It’s hard to fathom that more than three decades have elapsed since the 1988 political campaign. We were in the final days of the 1980s, certainly associated with Ronald Reagan as much as any politician.

With Reagan completing his second term in the White House, contenders from both major parties threw their hats in the ring.

Biden was one of those Democratic candidates in 1988. The Delaware senator was making his first run for president but his campaign was so ineffective that he actually dropped out in the fall of 1987, several months before Iowa held its caucus and New Hampshire held the first primary.

Candidates who remained in the Democratic race were Michael Dukakis (the eventual nominee), Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Paul Simon, Bruce Babbitt, Gary Hart and Dick Gephardt. Several names surfaced as potential candidates in the Democratic race including Ted Kennedy, Mario Cuomo, Chuck Robb, Dale Bumpers, Lloyd Bentsen, Bill Clinton and even popular Georgia senator Sam Nunn.

In fact, I remember seeing bumper stickers proclaiming “None But Nunn in ’88.” I also remember seeing one that declared “Sam Nunn Wants Your Gun.”

Hart’s campaign was derailed by various scandals including the infamous photos of him with his mistress.

Colorado representative Pat Schroeder briefly entered the race but like Biden withdrew months before the Iowa Caucus.

Gephardt won the Iowa caucus in a close contest edging out Simon and Dukakis. Jackson was a strong fourth followed by Babbitt.

Jackson later won the Georgia primary with 40 percent of the vote. Eventually Dukakis earned the nomination but as had been the case in 1984, the general election proved to be a disaster for the Democrats.

Those old enough to remember probably recall those commercials with Dukakis in a tank complete with a military helmet and odd looking smile on his face.

George H.W. Bush emerged as the winner of a strongly contested Republican primary in 1988. Bush and Bob Dole battled across the country although the biggest surprise in the GOP race was the campaign of Pat Robertson.

The televangelist finished in second in Iowa, won Hawaii and then finished second in New Hampshire with Dole first and Bush third.

By the time the race arrived in Georgia, Bush, who had served two terms as vice president, had taken control of the race. Bush won more than 50 percent of the GOP vote in Georgia easily outpolling Dole and Robertson.

Congressman Jack Kemp was also a strong player in the 1988 Republican contest, at least in the early voting. Kemp would later be Dole’s running mate in 1996.

Other GOP candidates in 1988 included Pete du Pont and Alexander Haig.

Bush easily won the general election against Dukakis although not by quite as large of an amount as Reagan won re-election in 1984.

Biden turned out to be a non-factor in 1988 although he would try again in two decades. Biden lost this time to eventual nominee and president Barack Obama. Biden would be chosen as Obama’s running mate, however.

Back in 1988 an interesting note is that Ron Paul was the Libertarian Party nominee. Paul would run as a Republican for president in 2008 and 2012 and his Libertarian views on war and personal freedom often clashed with die-hard Republicans. In fact at one debate he was asked if he was running for the wrong party.

Biden is trying once more for the 2020 race and is currently the Democratic front runner. His name recognition is as responsible for that as anything. He is certainly gaining more than support than he did in his first national contest more than 30 years ago.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is long-time newspaper columnist. He has earned awards for his columns from the National Newspaper Association, the Georgia Press Association and the Georgia Sports Writers Association. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.