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Quiz about Republican Presidential Losers

Republican Presidential Losers Quiz

This quiz is on members of the GOP who ran for president but were defeated. Good luck and have fun.

A multiple-choice quiz by jessejimmy. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
jessejimmy

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
187,059

Updated
Feb 24 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
827

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This Republican was the first to be nominated by his party. He was one of California's first senators and almost had Abraham Lincoln as a running mate. He lost the 1856 election to James Buchanan. Who was this candidate? Hint

Winfield Scott

John McLean

William Dayton

John C. Fremont

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Question 2 of 10

2. This Republican served as secretary of state under Garfield and Arthur. He was known as the "Plumed Knight", but also attracted the nickname of "continental liar from the state of Maine", due to his participation in a railroad scandal. He narrowly lost the 1884 election to Grover Cleveland. Who was this candidate? Hint

James G. Blaine

Arthur Logan

Benjamin Harrison

Levi P. Morton

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Question 3 of 10

3. This Republican, a New York Supreme Court justice, was actually declared the winner of the 1916 election. Late returns from California, however, gave the state, as well as the election, to Woodrow Wilson. Who was this unfortunate candidate? Hint

Charles E. Hughes

Elihu Root

Theodore Roosevelt

Harry Daugherty

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Question 4 of 10

4. This Republican was a governor of Kansas. According to literary's digest, he was predicted to win the 1936 election in a landslide. Instead he was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in one of the greatest electoral landslides in history. He only got 8 electoral votes from two states, Maine and Vermont. Who was this candidate? Hint

Hiram Johnson

Herbert Hoover

Alfred M. Landon

Frank Knox

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Question 5 of 10

5. This Republican was defeated by Roosevelt in 1940. All he had to campaign on was his party's opposition to Roosevelt's third term. Who was this candidate? Hint

Wendell L. Willkie

Arthur Vandenberg

Thomas E. Dewey

Charles McNeary

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Question 6 of 10

6. This Republican was governor of New York. He was the last to be defeated by Roosevelt, and was heavily expected to win the 1948 election. In the biggest political upset, however, Harry S. Truman came out from under and defeated him. Who was this candidate? Hint

Thomas E. Dewey

John Bricker

Wendell L. Willkie

Earl Warren

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Question 7 of 10

7. This Republican, a senator from Arizona, lost an overwhelming defeat in the 1964 election to Lyndon B. Johnson. Who was this candidate? Hint

Nelson A. Rockefeller

William Miller

Henry Cabot Lodge

Barry M. Goldwater

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Question 8 of 10

8. This Republican succeeded to the presidency after Nixon resigned. He was defeated in his attempt to be elected in his own right by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election. Who was this?

Answer: (Two Words)

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Question 9 of 10

9. This Republican was an Illinois representative. He lost the nomination in the 1980 campaign. He then ran as an independent and finished a poor third behind Jimmy Carter and the winner, Ronald Reagan. Who was this? Hint

George Bush

Phillip Crane

Pat Robertson

John Anderson

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Question 10 of 10

10. This Republican was a Kansas senator for nearly three decades. He was previously an unsuccessful candidate for Vice-President. He lost the 1996 election to Bill Clinton. Who was this? Hint

Dan Quayle

George W. Bush

Bob Dole

Lamar Alexander

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: John C. Fremont

Fremont's campaign slogan was "free speech, free press, free soil, free men, Fremont and victory". One reason for Fremont's defeat was that Democrats claimed it would lead to secession because the south would not tolerate a Republican victory.

Answer: James G. Blaine

The 1884 campaign was one of the most negative and bitter ones in American history. The Republican slogan was "Ma, ma, where's my pa?", due to charges of Cleveland having an illegitimate son. After the election, the Democrats answered with "gone to the White House, ha,ha,ha".

Answer: Charles E. Hughes

Theodore Roosevelt campaigned for Hughes. This caused many progressives who supported Wilson in 1912 to turn to Hughes. Many Catholics also supported Hughes because of Wilson's hostile policy toward Catholic Mexico. Wilson, however, was elected because of his efforts to keep us neutral during World War 1. The successful Democratic slogan "he kept us out of war".

Answer: Alfred M. Landon

Landon and the Republicans campaigned against Roosevelt's New Deal goals and his policies that, according to them, gave too much power to the federal government. They also claimed Roosevelt had not kept his promise to balance the budget. Roosevelt responded by pointing to his actions that were alleviating the depression.

5. This Republican was defeated by Roosevelt in 1940. All he had to campaign on was his party's opposition to Roosevelt's third term. Who was this candidate?

Answer: Wendell L. Willkie

Willkie was once a Democrat and strongly supported Roosevelt and the New Deal. He broke with Roosevelt over the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the New Deal projects that competed with Willkie's utility company. Even though Roosevelt didn't match up to his previous victory, Willkie still didn't come close to beating him.

Answer: Thomas E. Dewey

Dewey had campaigned against Roosevelt on the issues of his health and overlong time in office. In 1948, he campaigned against Truman on the waste and corruption by the Democrats. Truman campaigned more against the Republicans against Dewey. He called them the "do nothing" congress and "Grand Old Platitude". Dewey and his supporters were so confident of victory that they didn't even bother to vote.

7. This Republican, a senator from Arizona, lost an overwhelming defeat in the 1964 election to Lyndon B. Johnson. Who was this candidate?

Answer: Barry M. Goldwater

Johnson , who succeeded to the Presidency after Kennedy was assasinated continued many of Kennedy's domestic policies. Also,in the wake of the Vietnam War, Johnson appeared as the peace candidate while Goldwater seemed to want to escalate our involvement in the war.

8. This Republican succeeded to the presidency after Nixon resigned. He was defeated in his attempt to be elected in his own right by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election. Who was this?

Answer: Gerald Ford

Ford's pardon of Nixon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal and the increasing unemployment and inflation contributed to his defeat. Not to mention, Ford had an image of being clumsy and uncoordinated.

Answer: John Anderson

Anderson had a Democrat, Patrick Lucey, governor of Wisconsin, as his running mate. Because of his presence, the election was predicted to be so close it would take many months for the House of Representatives to decide the vote. However, Reagan won a landslide victory.

10. This Republican was a Kansas senator for nearly three decades. He was previously an unsuccessful candidate for Vice-President. He lost the 1996 election to Bill Clinton. Who was this?

Answer: Bob Dole

Dole ran for Vice-President in 1976 under Ford. In 1996, he was seventy-three years old, older than Reagan when he was elected President. Clinton's popularity and the prosperous economy further weakened Dole's chances.

Source: Author jessejimmy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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