1980 Election (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The result of the 1980 primary season was a blow to the establishment forces in both parties, seeing insurgent candidates from the left and right defeat their more moderate opponents by overwhelming margins. In the Populist primary, a worsening recession allowed Senator Cliff Finch of Mississippi defeat President Frank Church by a nearly 2 to 1 margin in the popular vote, making Church the first incumbent president since John W. Bricker to loose reelection to a primary challenger. Meanwhile, conservative activists within the American Party coalesced around the candidacy of Congressman Jack Kemp, a disciple of supply-side economics and hero of the "militant conservatives" who united to elect Barry Goldwater in 1964. Talk of a moderate third party candidate to oppose the "radicals" nominated by the Populists and the Americans ultimately fizzled out as the Summer wore on, leaving voters to choose between two candidates who are in effect polar opposites.

Though the divide between Finch and Kemp is somewhat less than the vast chasm that separated Barry Goldwater and A. Phillip Randolph in the '64 campaign, similarities between the two candidates are few and far between. Nominated with the support of labor unions and African-American voters in the South, Finch has pitched himself as the champion of traditional Populist causes: economic relief for the country's poor, opposition to the monied interests, and a moderate stance on social issues. If elected, Finch has promised vigorous action to reverse the recession, including new regulations of the financial sector. Among those supporting Finch is former California Governor Ronald Reagan, who twice ran for the American Party's presidential nomination with the support of organized labor and whose endorsement has rallied support for the Populists among West Coast liberals. Kemp, by contrast, has argued that such policies as Finch proposes are what caused the recession in the first place, and has called for the repeal of "burdensome regulations" that limit economic growth.

[Mr. Smith]

Finch!

[Classic Conservative]

Kemp/Crane for Real Change!!!!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Finch, I guess.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Kemp/Crane!!!!!

[Potus]

Kemp, enthusiastically.

[Zioneer]

So I'm guessing it's going to be two-term Kemp, then the forum conservatives will lose interest again and the Populists will win. Very predictable.

[Boston Bread]

Finch. Odd to see no Anderson-like moderate running as an independent.

[Blair]

I feel like a hack for voting for Finch

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

If these numbers hold, Kemp will become the first person since John W. Bricker to be elected president without first serving in the Senate. That would be the second Bricker-related record broken during this election cycle.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

1980 Presidential Election

Congressman Jack Kemp (American-New York)/ Senator Phil Crane (American-Illinois): 492 Electoral Votes; 56.8% popular votes
Senator Cliff Finch (People's-Mississippi)/ Senator William Proxmire (People's-Wisconsin): 46 Electoral Votes; 43.2% popular votes

The Populist Party took the blame for the recession of '77, and while Cliff Finch did his best to distance himself from the Administration, his efforts were not enough to prevent a massive sweep by the American Party. In the electoral college, Congressman Jack Kemp defeated Finch by an astounding margin, winning a total of 492 electoral votes (more than any American Party candidate in history). The popular vote was just as lopsided, with Kemp defeating Finch by nearly 14 points. Thus, the "militant conservatives" were returned to power for the first time since the Goldwater days,  and the Populists surrendered the White House after 12 years of uninterrupted dominance.

[Zioneer]

Ouch, that was a painful loss for the Populists. And again, due to Kemp's inexplicable Grover Cleveland-esque popularity with the forum conservatives, I'm guessing that he will get a second term.

[NeverAgain]

Ouch, that was a painful loss for the Populists. And again, due to Kemp's inexplicable Grover Cleveland-esque popularity with the forum conservatives, I'm guessing that he will get a second term.

Let's see how he does over the next few years, I think he may have a hard re-election battle upcoming...

[Zioneer]

Ouch, that was a painful loss for the Populists. And again, due to Kemp's inexplicable Grover Cleveland-esque popularity with the forum conservatives, I'm guessing that he will get a second term.

Let's see how he does over the next few years, I think he may have a hard re-election battle upcoming...

Maybe, but this entire election series has the predictable effect of forum conservatives voting en mass for a conservative "superstar", then losing interest after said superstar stops running. It's happened several times, Grover Cleveland being a notable one that I remember.