Has any formal Presidential nominee withdrawn prior a General Election?

[Sheepshank]

I wonder.... if Trump makes it through the GOP Convention and thereafter turns into a black hole and withdraws prior to the GE. Has anything like that happened before?

[NYC Liberal]

1. Never. But here's a good write up of the close-calls and

what would happen:

http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/20431

[Sheepshank]

2. Thank you!!!!

It would appear that Trump's VP pick then would carry on the mantle.....maybe

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. LOVE your sig line. LOVE!!!

[Sheepshank]

6. thanks

[tonyt53]

3. I have never heard of any, but the VP pick of McGovern dropped out 18 days after being picked

Seems Eagleton was not vetted properly, hell actually none at all. Even his staff knew of some potential issues. This debacle was just part of the reason for the Nixon landslide win.

[Sheepshank]

5. loving this type of historical perspective!! thanks

[The Second Stone]

12. Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in 1972

presents the issues for this quite well. Remember that the narrator presents himself as intentionally unreliable so that you think about everything everyone is saying and why. Brilliant presentation.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. I don't think he'll make through the convention

[jamese777]

9. My Favorite Convention Story

At the 1880 Republican National Convention, Senator-elect James A. Garfield attended as the campaign manager for Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman, and Garfield gave the presidential nominating speech for him.

When neither Sherman nor his rivals – Ulysses S. Grant and James G. Blaine – could get enough votes to secure the nomination, delegates chose Garfield as a compromise on the 36th ballot. Garfield received no votes before the 35th ballot, when he got support from 50 delegates.

In the 1880 presidential election, Garfield conducted a low-key front porch campaign, and narrowly defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock to become the 20th President of the United States. Out of 9.2 million votes cast, Garfield won by about 2,000 popular votes but the Electoral College was 214-155 for Garfield.

From newly elected 1st term Senator to campaign manager-nominating speech-maker to nominee to President.

[Sheepshank]

10. very cool Convention story!!! thanks

[TwilightZone]

11. If anyone wonders how much things have changed over the years...

that story is a pretty good indicator. Seems kind of crazy now, but politics has always been about compromise.

[Sheepshank]

14. speaking of compromises and getting along...have you seen this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026559945

it's quite dramatic

[TwilightZone]

15. Holy cow.

I'm kind of a stats, math, data junkie, but I hadn't seen that before. That's pretty incredible.

Without putting a lot of thought into it, one would have thought that there would have been significant polarization during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement through the mid stages of Vietnam, but it's much more polarized now.

1969 looks like a love fest. So to speak. haha

Thanks!

[SheilaT]

16. And to add to this,

I encourage everyone to read Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard, about Garfield, his election, and his assassination. Garfield is almost unknown today, and yet his short time in office mattered.

[LAS14]

13. I was wondering just last night...

... what would happen if Trump were to withdraw AFTER the convention. I guess we'd just get Hillary? Or Hillary and Jill Stein? Or the Libertarian? Or???

The prospect seems a tiny bit more likely having heard stories about a dozen or more very rich Republicans offering Trump millions to withdraw.