Democratic Nominees

While Barack Obama is unique in terms of being the first African-American to earn either the Republican or Democratic Party nomination for the presidency, the Illinois Senator has an even bigger hurdle to overcome in November.

WInning as a Democrat.

It hasn’t happened often over the last 40 years. Spanning 10 elections, only Jimmy Carter (1976) and Bill Clinton (1992, ‘96) have carried the day in the general election, giving the Republicans a 7-3 edge over that period.

Here are the Democratic nominees since 1968, with the election result in parentheses:

2004 — John Kerry (L)

2000 — Al Gore (L)

1996 — Bill Clinton (W)

1992 — Bill Clinton (W)

1988 — Michael Dukakis (L)

1984 — Walter Mondale (L)

1980 — Jimmy Carter (L)

1976 — Jimmy Carter (W)

1972 — George McGovern (L)

1968 — Hubert Humphrey (L)