William Jennings Bryan today

[DC Al Fine]

It's hard for me not to see him as Trump's VP if he were alive today.  He'd obviously have to be less of an agricultural supremacist to get anywhere today, so I'm assuming he could stomach a populist city candidate.  And keep in mind that his views on race relative to his era were akin to Trump's views relative to the modern era. 

Really?  Wasn't one of WJB's big reasons for opposing evolution that it could lead to racial bigotry (along with a socially Darwinian economic philosophy)?

Racial bigotry, not necessarily, but definitely anti-Social Darwinism.

Maybe, but I still thought he was more on the liberal side of the race debate for his day.

He was, but in an era when some politicians were openly pro-lynching. Calling him anti-racist is an anachronism.

[DC Al Fine]

He'd have difficulty advancing in either party.

Bryan was heavily involved in the fundamentalist-modernist controversy and was loudly anti-evolution and pro-prohibition. Even updating his social views to their modern equivalents, he'd still be hopelessly out of line with today's Democratic Party. Obviously his economics wouldn't fly with the Republicans either.

If he got into politics at all, he'd be some eccentric state representative that we'd only hear about in a hysterical U.S. General Discussion thread.