This is a list of major Democratic Party candidates for president. The Democratic Party has existed since the dissolution of the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1820s, and the Democrats have nominated a candidate for president in every presidential election since the party's first convention in 1832. The list is divided into two sections, reflecting the increasing importance of primaries and caucuses following the changes stemming from the McGovern–Fraser Commission.
Only those candidates are included who were major contenders of the primaries and caucuses, and had held significant elective office or received substantial media coverage. Also, all those people are included who received at-least one delegate in the convention.
Year | Candidate | Born[a] | Experience | State | Primaries | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Logo | Contests won[b] | % of delegates | ||||||
2020 | November 20, 1942 (age 77) Scranton, Pennsylvania |
Vice President of the United States (2009–2017) U.S. senator from Delaware (1973–2009) Candidate for President in 1988 and 2008 |
Delaware | 46
|
67.5%
|
[1] | ||
September 8, 1941 (age 78) Brooklyn, New York |
U.S. senator from Vermont (2007–present) U.S. representative from VT-AL (1991–2007) Candidate for president in 2016 |
Vermont | 9
|
27%
|
[2] | |||
June 22, 1949 (age 71) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
U.S. senator from Massachusetts (2013–present) | Massachusetts | 0
|
1.6%
|
[3] | |||
February 14, 1942 (age 78) Boston, Massachusetts |
Mayor of New York City, New York (2002–2013) CEO of Bloomberg L.P. |
New York | 1
|
1.5%
|
[4] | |||
January 19, 1982 (age 38) South Bend, Indiana |
Mayor of South Bend, Indiana (2012–2020) | Indiana | 1
|
0.5%
|
[5] | |||
May 25, 1960 (age 60) Plymouth, Minnesota |
U.S. senator from Minnesota (2007–present) | Minnesota | 0
|
0.2%
|
[6] | |||
April 12, 1981 (age 39) Leloaloa, American Samoa |
U.S. representative from HI-02 (2013–2021) | Hawaii | 0
|
0.05%
|
[7] | |||
June 27, 1957 (age 63) Manhattan, New York |
Hedge fund manager
Founder of Farallon Capital and Beneficial State Bank |
California | 0
|
0%
|
[8] | |||
July 31, 1956 (age 64) Chicago, Illinois |
Governor of Massachusetts (2007–2015) | Massachusetts | 0
|
0%
|
[9] | |||
November 28, 1964 (age 55) New Delhi, India |
U.S. senator from Colorado (2009–present) | Colorado | 0
|
0%
|
[10] | |||
January 13, 1975 (age 45) Schenectady, New York |
Entrepreneur
Founder of Venture for America |
New York | 0
|
0%
|
[11] | |||
2016 | October 26, 1947 (age 68) Chicago, Illinois |
67th U.S. Secretary of State(2009–2013) |
New York | 34
|
54%
|
[12] | ||
September 8, 1941 (age 74) Brooklyn, New York |
U.S. Senator from Vermont
(2007–present) |
Vermont | 23
|
46%
|
[13] | |||
January 18, 1963 (age 53) Washington, D.C. |
61st Governor of Maryland
(2007–2015) |
Maryland | 0
|
0%
|
[14] | |||
2012 | August 4, 1961 (age 51) Honolulu, Hawaii |
President of the United States (2009–2017) | Illinois | 56
|
100%
|
[15] | ||
April 21, 1954 (age 58) Nashville, Tennessee |
Candidate for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district elections in 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2010 | Tennessee | 0
|
0%
|
[16] | |||
2008 | August 4, 1961 (age 47) Honolulu, Hawaii |
U.S. Senator from Illinois
(2005–2008) |
Illinois | 33
|
72.2%
|
[17] | ||
October 26, 1947 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois |
First Lady of the United States(1993–2001)
U.S. Senator from New York (2001–2009) |
New York | 23
|
22.9%
|
[18] | |||
June 10, 1953 (age 55) Seneca, South Carolina |
U.S. Senator from North Carolina
(1999–2005) |
North Carolina | 0
|
0%
|
[19] | |||
November 15, 1947 (age 60) Pasadena, California |
30thGovernor of New Mexico
(2003–2011) |
New Mexico | 0
|
0%
|
[20] | |||
November 20, 1942 (age 65) Scranton, Pennsylvania |
U.S. senator from Delaware (1973–2009) Candidate for President in 1988 and 2008 |
Delaware | 0
|
0%
|
[21] | |||
May 27, 1944 (age 64) Willimantic, Connecticut |
U.S. Senator from Connecticut
(1981–2011) |
Connecticut | 0
|
0%
|
[22] | |||
May 13, 1930 (age 78) Springfield, Massachusetts |
U.S. Senator from Alaska
(1969–1981) |
Alaska | 0
|
0%
|
[23] | |||
October 8, 1946 (age 61) Cleveland, Ohio |
U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th
(1997–2013) |
Ohio | 0
|
0%
|
[24] | |||
2004 | December 11, 1943 (age 60) Aurora, Colorado |
U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts (1985–2013) |
Massachusetts | 52
|
98.4%
|
[25] | ||
June 10, 1953 (age 51) Seneca, South Carolina |
U.S. Senator
from North Carolina (1999–2005) |
North Carolina | 2
|
0%
|
[26] | |||
November 17, 1948 (age 55) East Hampton, New York |
Former Governor
of Vermont (1991–2003) |
Vermont | 1
|
0%
|
[27] | |||
December 23, 1944 (age 59) Chicago, Illinois |
Supreme Allied
Commander Europe (1997–2000) |
Arkansas | 1
|
0%
|
[28] | |||
October 8, 1946 (age 57) Cleveland, Ohio |
U.S. Representative
from Ohio (1997–2013) |
Ohio | 0
|
1%
|
[29] | |||
October 3, 1954 (age 49) New York City |
Activist and
television host |
New York | 0
|
0%
|
[30] | |||
February 24, 1942 (age 62) Stamford, Connecticut |
U.S. Senator
from Connecticut (1989–2013) |
Connecticut | 0
|
0%
|
[31] | |||
January 31, 1941 (age 63) St. Louis, Missouri |
House Minority Leader
(1995–2003) |
Missouri | 0
|
0%
|
[32] | |||
August 16, 1947 (age 56) Chicago, Illinois |
Former U.S. Senator
from Illinois (1993–1999) |
Illinois | 0
|
0%
|
[33] | |||
2000 | March 31, 1948 (age 52) Washington, D.C. |
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) | Tennessee | 56
|
99.8%
|
[34] | ||
July 28, 1943 (age 57) Crystal City, Missouri |
U.S. Senator from New Jersey (1979–1997) | New Jersey | 0
|
0%
|
[35] | |||
1996 | August 19, 1946 (age 50) |
President of the United States (1993–2001) | Arkansas | 34
|
99.7%
|
[36] | ||
May 15, 1943 (age 53) |
Republican primary candidate for 1976 United States Senate election in Minnesota | North Dakota | –
|
1
|
0%
|
[37] | ||
September 8, 1922 (age 73) |
Perennial candidate for President in 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992 elections. | Virginia | –
|
0
|
0%
|
[37] | ||
June 29, 1929 (age 67) |
Mayor of Buffalo (1978–1993) | New York | –
|
0
|
0%
|
[37] | ||
1992 | August 19, 1946 (age 45) |
Governor of Arkansas(1979–1981, 1983–1992) | Arkansas | 37
|
78.6%
|
[38] | ||
April 7, 1938 (age 54) |
Governor of California(1975–1983) | California | –
|
6
|
13.9%
|
[39] | ||
February 14, 1941 (age 51) |
U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts (1979–1985) |
Massachusetts | 9
|
6.7%
|
[40] | |||
August 27, 1943 (age 48) |
U.S. Senator
from Nebraska (1989–2001) |
Nebraska | 1
|
0%
|
[41] | |||
August 27, 1943 (age 48) |
U.S. Senator from Iowa
(1985–2015) |
Iowa | 3
|
0%
|
[41] | |||
February 2, 1945 (age 47) |
Mayor of Irvine, California (1982–1984, 1986–1990) | California | –
|
0
|
0.07%
|
[42] | ||
1988 | Michael Dukakis | 1933 | Governor | MA | 31 | |||
Jesse Jackson | 1941 | Minister | IL | 14 | ||||
Al Gore | 1948 | Senator | TN | 7 | ||||
Dick Gephardt | 1941 | Representative | MO | 3 | ||||
Paul Simon | 1928 | Senator | IL | 1 | ||||
Gary Hart | 1936 | F. Senator | CO | 0 | ||||
Bruce Babbitt | 1938 | F. Governor | AZ | 0 | ||||
1984 | Walter Mondale | 1928 | F. Vice President | MN | 21 | |||
Gary Hart | 1936 | Senator | CO | 26 | ||||
Jesse Jackson | 1941 | Minister | IL | 3 | ||||
John Glenn | 1921 | Senator | OH | 0 | ||||
George McGovern | 1922 | F. Senator | SD | 0 | ||||
Reubin Askew | 1928 | F. Governor | FL | 0 | ||||
Alan Cranston | 1914 | Senator | CA | 0 | ||||
Ernest Hollings | 1922 | Senator | SC | 0 | ||||
1980 | Jimmy Carter | 1924 | President | GA | 38 | |||
Ted Kennedy | 1932 | Senator | MA | 12 | ||||
Jerry Brown | 1938 | Governor | CA | 0 | ||||
Cliff Finch | 1927 | Governor | MS | 0 | ||||
1976 | Jimmy Carter | 1924 | F. Governor | GA | 30 | |||
Jerry Brown | 1938 | Governor | CA | 3 | ||||
George Wallace | 1919 | Governor | AL | 3 | ||||
Mo Udall | 1922 | Senator | AZ | 3 | ||||
Henry M. Jackson | 1912 | Senator | WA | 4 | ||||
Frank Church | 1924 | Senator | ID | 5 | ||||
Robert Byrd | 1917 | Senator | WV | 1 | ||||
Birch Bayh | 1928 | Senator | IN | 0 | ||||
Lloyd Bentsen | 1921 | Senator | TX | 0 | ||||
Walter E. Fauntroy | 1933 | Delegate | DC | 0 | ||||
Fred R. Harris | 1930 | F. Senator | OK | 0 | ||||
Sargent Shriver | 1915 | F. Ambassador | MD | 0 | ||||
1972 | George McGovern | 1922 | Senator | SD | 11 | |||
Hubert Humphrey | 1911 | F. Vice President | MN | 4 | ||||
Edmund Muskie | 1914 | Senator | ME | 3 | ||||
George Wallace | 1919 | Governor | AL | 6 | ||||
Henry M. Jackson | 1912 | Senator | WA | 0 | ||||
Terry Sanford | 1917 | F. Governor | NC | 0 | ||||
John Lindsay | 1921 | Mayor | NY | 0 | ||||
Walter E. Fauntroy | 1933 | Delegate | DC | 1 | ||||
Shirley Chisholm | 1924 | Representative | NY | 0 | ||||
Eugene McCarthy | 1916 | F. Senator | MN | 0 |
These pre-1972 candidates won at least 10% of the delegates on at least one convention ballot.
Year | Position | Name | Home[c] | Born | First ballot % |
Final contested ballot %[d] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | Vice President | Hubert Humphrey | MN | 1911 | 67.5 | - |
Senator | Eugene McCarthy | MN | 1916 | 23.1 | - | |
1964 | President | Lyndon B. Johnson | TX | 1908 | 100 | - |
1960 | Senator | John F. Kennedy | MA | 1917 | 52.9 | - |
Senator | Lyndon B. Johnson | TX | 1908 | 26.8 | - | |
1956 | F. Governor | Adlai Stevenson II | IL | 1900 | 65.9 | - |
Governor | W. Averell Harriman | NY | 1891 | 15.3 | - | |
1952 | Governor | Adlai Stevenson II | IL | 1900 | 10.2 | |
Senator | Estes Kefauver | TN | 1903 | 24.4 | 22.7 | |
Senator | Richard Russell, Jr. | GA | 1897 | 21.7 | 21.3 | |
F. Ambassador | W. Averell Harriman | NY | 1891 | 10.2 | 0 | |
1948 | President | Harry S. Truman | MO | 1916 | 75 | |
Senator | Richard Russell, Jr. | GA | 1897 | 21.6 | - | |
1944 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 92.4 | - |
1940 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 86.3 | - |
1936 | President | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 100 | - |
1932 | Governor | Franklin D. Roosevelt | NY | 1882 | 57.7 | - |
F. Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 17.5 | 16.5 | |
1928 | Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 77.2 | - |
1924 | F. Ambassador | John W. Davis | WV | 1873 | 2.8 | 18.7[e] |
F. Sec. of the Treasury | William Gibbs McAdoo | CA | 1863 | 39.4 | 17.5[f] | |
Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 30.4 | 32.4[g] | |
1920 | Governor | James M. Cox | OH | 1870 | 12.7 | - |
F. Sec. of the Treasury | William Gibbs McAdoo | CA | 1863 | 25.1 | 25.5 | |
Attorney General | A. Mitchell Palmer | PA | 1872 | 24.2 | 0.1 | |
Governor | Al Smith | NY | 1873 | 10.3 | 0 | |
1916 | President | Woodrow Wilson | NJ | 1856 | 100 | - |
1912 | Governor | Woodrow Wilson | NY | 1856 | 29.8 | - |
Speaker | Champ Clark | MO | 1850 | 40.5 | 7.7 | |
Governor | Judson Harmon | OH | 1846 | 13.6 | 1.1 | |
Representative | Oscar Underwood | AL | 1862 | 10.8 | 0 | |
1908 | F. Representative | William Jennings Bryan | NE | 1860 | 88.7 | - |
1904 | State judge | Alton Parker | NY | 1852 | 65.8 | - |
Representative | William Randolph Hearst | NY | 1863 | 20 | - | |
1900 | F. Representative | William Jennings Bryan | NE | 1860 | 100 | - |
1896 | F. Representative | William Jennings Bryan | NE | 1860 | 14.7 | - |
F. Representative | Richard P. Bland | MO | 1835 | 25.3 | 1.2 | |
F. Governor | Robert E. Pattison | PA | 18 | 10.4 | 10.2 | |
1892 | F. President | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 67.8 | - |
Senator | David B. Hill | NY | 18 | 12.5 | - | |
Governor | Horace Boies | IA | 18 | 11.3 | - | |
1888 | President | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 100 | - |
1884 | Governor | Grover Cleveland | NY | 1837 | 64 | - |
Senator | Thomas F. Bayard | DE | 1828 | 27.8 | 24.8 | |
F. Senator | Allen G. Thurman | OH | 1813 | 14.4 | 9.8 | |
F. Speaker | Samuel J. Randall | PA | 1828 | 10 | 0.7 | |
1880 | General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 23.1 | - |
Senator | Thomas F. Bayard | DE | 1828 | 20.8 | 15.2 | |
Speaker | Samuel J. Randall | PA | 1828 | 0.8 | 17.4 | |
F. Representative | Henry B. Payne | NY | 18 | 11 | 0 | |
1876 | Governor | Samuel J. Tilden | NY | 1814 | 54.4 | - |
Governor | Thomas A. Hendricks | IN | 1819 | 19 | 11.5 | |
General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 10.2 | 7.9 | |
1872 | F. Representative | Horace Greeley | NY | 1811 | 93.7 | - |
1868 | F. Governor | Horatio Seymour | NY | 1810 | 0 | - |
F. Representative | George H. Pendleton | OH | 1825 | 33.1 | 0 | |
Senator | Thomas A. Hendricks | IN | 1819 | 0.7 | 45.9 | |
General | Winfield Scott Hancock | PA | 1824 | 10.5 | 32.6 | |
President | Andrew Johnson | TN | 1808 | 20.5 | 1.3 | |
F. Lt. Governor | Sanford E. Church | NY | 1815 | 10.7 | 0 | |
1864 | General | George B. McClellan | NJ | 1826 | 77 | - |
F. Governor | Thomas H. Seymour | CT | 1807 | 16.8 | - | |
1860 | Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 57.7 | - |
F. Sec. of the Treasury | James Guthrie | KY | 1792 | 14.1 | 26[h] | |
Senator | Robert M. T. Hunter | VA | 1809 | 16.7 | 6.3[i] | |
1856 | F. Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 45.8 | - |
President | Franklin Pierce | NH | 1804 | 41.4 | 0 | |
Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 11.1 | 41.2 | |
1852 | F. Senator | Franklin Pierce | NH | 1804 | 0 | - |
Senator | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 39.2 | 0.7 | |
F. Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 31.4 | 0 | |
F. Sec. of War | William L. Marcy | NY | 1786 | 9.1 | 0 | |
Senator | Stephen A. Douglas | IL | 1813 | 6.8 | 0.7 | |
1848 | Senator | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 49 | - |
Sup. Court Justice | Levi Woodbury | NH | 1789 | 10 | 0 | |
Sec. of State | James Buchanan | PA | 1791 | 10 | 0 | |
1844 | F. Speaker | James K. Polk | TN | 1795 | 0 | - |
F. President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 54.9 | 0 | |
F. Sec. of War | Lewis Cass | MI | 1782 | 31.2 | 10.9 | |
F. Vice President | Richard Mentor Johnson | KY | 1780 | 9 | 0 | |
1840 | President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 100 | - |
1836 | Vice President | Martin Van Buren | NY | 1782 | 100 | - |
1832 | President | Andrew Jackson | TN | 1767 | 100 | - |