Have Clinton and Trump been household names longer than any other nominees?

[Nichlemn]

Assuming that each win their respective party's nomination. Has there been another Presidential election where both major party nominees were household names for as long as Clinton and Trump were? And even if not, when do you think each nominee in each election first became a household name?

Of course it depends on how you define "household name". I'd ballpark it at 50% national name recognition, but that may be a bit too stringent, considering polls have shown quite shockingly low knowledge about politics and current affairs among the general public.


Preliminary guesses of when each nominee became a household name, since 2000:

2016

Hillary Clinton: Definitely some time during the 1992 campaign
Donald Trump: Not sure how widespread his fame was in the '80s. Definitely would have been well-known among New York Times readers, but would a small-town Texan have ever heard of him? Definitely at least since The Apprentice debuted in 2004.

2012

Barack Obama: No earlier than his 2004 DNC speech, no later than the 2008 Iowa caucus.
Mitt Romney: Probably some time during the 2008 campaign.

2008

Barack Obama: See above
John McCain: It seems he had some minor celebrity status when he was rescued as a POW in 1973. Otherwise, probably during the 2000 campaign.

2004

George W. Bush: Was he all that well-known being one of HW's adult sons? If not, probably when was elected Governor (which probably stood out for being the son of a former President).
John Kerry: I don't think he was ever all that well-known before his Presidential run?

2000

George W. Bush: See above
Al Gore: Probably during his '88 campaign, if not, definitely once he was picked as VP in 1992.

[Mr. Morden]

Donald Trump: Not sure how widespread his fame was in the '80s. Definitely would have been well-known among New York Times readers, but would a small-town Texan have ever heard of him? Definitely at least since The Apprentice debuted in 2004.

Trump was pretty widely known well before "The Apprentice":

[Nichlemn]

Hmm, Gallup does have quite a lot of information on numerous figures, going back a while (though often not far enough for my questions).

A lot of those name recognition numbers seem suspiciously high to me, I suspect a lot of people don't want to look ignorant, or feel obligated to give an opinion on everyone. Had a majority of Americans really heard of say, Ted Cruz in June 2013? I imagine a large amount of the "No Opinion"s are really "Never heard of", and a fair number of the approvals/disapprovals are just guesses on what they imagine a Senator from Texas to be like (generally, Republicans picking favourable, Democrats picking unfavourable).

[Mr. Morden]

Hmm, Gallup does have quite a lot of information on numerous figures, going back a while (though often not far enough for my questions).

A lot of those name recognition numbers seem suspiciously high to me, I suspect a lot of people don't want to look ignorant, or feel obligated to give an opinion on everyone. Had a majority of Americans really heard of say, Ted Cruz in June 2013? I imagine a large amount of the "No Opinion"s are really "Never heard of", and a fair number of the approvals/disapprovals are just guesses on what they imagine a Senator from Texas to be like (generally, Republicans picking favourable, Democrats picking unfavourable).

I agree, but I think 89% of voters having "an opinion" of Trump in Sept. 1999 means that his "true name recognition" was presumably still higher than 50%, even if not as high as 89%.

There is of course the possibility of name recognition going down over time in some cases.  E.g., Donald Trump flirts with a presidential campaign in 1999, then drops out and his name recognition goes down for a while when he's out of the news.  Same with, say, Al Gore and his 1988 presidential campaign.  He makes a brief splash in 1988, then drops out of the news and some people forget he exists, so that the day before he's picked as VP his name recognition is lower than it was in 1988.

There's also a distinction between "name recognition" in the sense of "I've heard this guy's name in the news and have a vague sense of what news story his name is connected to" and real knowledge of who a person is.  Cruz was in the headlines in 2013 over the budget battles in Congress, and I'm sure many people had seen his name in that context, but if you asked them cold without any supporting information "Who is Ted Cruz?" they wouldn't have been able to answer.

[Nym90]

Trump's affair with Marla Maples in the early 90's was pretty well known to the larger public and got a lot of play in the press. He was definitely a celebrity in the 1980's as well for his real estate empire and casinos.

So yes, having a Presidential election between two candidates who have each been known to most Americans for at least 24 years is probably unprecedented in American history.

The only one that would come close, if we look just at the family names as opposed to the candidates themselves, would be Bush vs. Gore in 2000 since they both had well known fathers, but you are right that most Americans wouldn't have known much of George W. himself before 1994, or Al before 1988. And Gore Sr. wasn't that much of a household name either.

[Nym90]

Pretty sure also that the age of the Presidential nominees will also be the highest combined total in American history.

[MIKESOWELL]

Ronald Reagan was well known by Americans when he first ran for President in 1980 since at least the early 1940s.

[MIKESOWELL]

Ronald Reagan was well known by Americans when he first ran for President in 1980 since at least the early 1940s.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

William Harrison was famous for 29 years before being elected in 1840.

[OSR stands with Israel]

1932

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Probably.

[mianfei]

Assessment for candidates between 1960 and 1996 in reverse chronological order:

1996:

• Bill Clinton: Had been Governor of Arkansas throughout much of 1980s, but not widely known elsewhere
• Bob Dole: Known since 1970s as Ford’s running mate and had been chairman of the Republican National Committee as early as 1971

1992:

• Bill Clinton: See above
• George Bush senior: Was Republican National Committee chairman in 1974, but not widely known until becoming Reagan’s running mate in 1980
• Ross Perot: Had been known as a businessman for EDS since the 1960s, but never a household name before his campaign

1988:

• George Bush senior: See above
• Michael Dukakis: Was known as Massachusetts Governor who lost renomination in the 1970s, but not a household name before the middle 1980s

1984:

• Ronald Reagan: A famous actor since the 1940s, and famous as Governor of California since the 1960s. He had by 1984 been as well-known for as long as Trump and Hilary.
• Walter Mondale: Had been well-known as Minnesota Senator since the 1960s, and had been Vice-President from 1977 to 1981

1980:

• Ronald Reagan: See above
• Jimmy Carter: Burst onto the scene as a reformist Governor of Georgia in the early 1970s – not known for nearly as long as Reagan despite being the incumbent President

1976:

• Jimmy Carter: See above
• Gerald Ford: Had been the representative for Michigan’s 5th Congressional District since 1949 (and a top-class Wolverines football player in the 1930s) but not a household name until becoming House Minority Leader in 1965

1972:

• Richard Nixon: The most prominent United States politician of the “dealignment era”, he had been a household name for over two decades – as long as Hilary Clinton – when he swept over three thousand counties in 1972.
• George McGovern: First gained prominence in the early 1960s as a “Food for Peace” director.

1968:

• Richard Nixon: See above
• Hubert Humphrey: Had been well-known for over two decades as the first Democrat to develop a concerted Civil Rights plan, and prominent since as Senator and Vice-President. Like Nixon and Reagan, Humphrey was prominent for as long as Trump and Hilary
• George Wallace: Came into spotlight as Governor of Alabama with his uncompromising support for segregation during the “Bombingham” era in the middle 1960s

1964:

• Lyndon Johnson: A household name from the time of his controversial election to the United States Senate in 1949, and very well-known for over a decade as Democratic Senate leader
• Barry Goldwater: First gained prominence as only Arizona’s second-ever Republican Senator and for his criticism of Eisenhower in the 1950s

1960:

• John F. Kennedy: Although his family had been well-known since before 1940, he was first famous when elected to the Senate in 1953 against his rival’s running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge junior
• Richard Nixon: See above

So, it’s fair to say that Hilary and Trump have at least four rivals – Reagan, Nixon, Humphrey and perhaps Dole – for being a household name the longest prior to a presidential nomination.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Ronald Reagan was well known by Americans when he first ran for President in 1980 since at least the early 1940s.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Hard to judge based on access to news at the time.

But Washington gained a lot of attention at the beginning of the French and Indian Wars, over 30 years prior to becoming President.

John Adams gained a lot of attention associated with the trial after the Boston Tea Party, which is  over 25 years before becoming President.

Though not as attention grabbing as people would think of it as now, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence 24 years before becoming President.

Madison's presence at the Constitutional Convention was 21 years before becoming President.

[Abner Beech]

Andrew Jackson & Henry Clay

[Tekken_Guy]

I'd say Trump first became a household name sometime in the mid '80s.

[Phony Moderate]

Donald Trump: Not sure how widespread his fame was in the '80s. Definitely would have been well-known among New York Times readers, but would a small-town Texan have ever heard of him? Definitely at least since The Apprentice debuted in 2004.

Trump was pretty widely known well before "The Apprentice":

I saw the movie "54" (released in 1998 and set around the late 1970s) recently. The club of the same name that the movie revolved around had a special VIP room. Among the guests were Andy Warhol, Grace Kelly, and, yes, Donald Trump.

Carter, in modern times at least, seems to be cited the most as the 'unknown, out of nowhere' winner of a presidential election. He is a rather rare example of someone who was both unknown *and* not regarded as a serious contender to win a major party's nomination.

Then you have the guys who persistently ran for years. There were twenty years between Henry Clay's first and third runs. Had William Jennings Bryan been successfully nominated in 1924 then he'd have a been a nominee well-known to the public for almost thirty years (three previous nominations, a stint as SoS, as well as being a highly charismatic and controversial figure in general).

[kcguy]

Trump was pretty widely known well before "The Apprentice":

. . .

Carter, in modern times at least, seems to be cited the most as the 'unknown, out of nowhere' winner of a presidential election. He is a rather rare example of someone who was both unknown *and* not regarded as a serious contender to win a major party's nomination.

From the book "Dave Barry Slept Here:  A Sort of History of the United States" (published 1989):

You must be logged in to read this quote.

So obviously, it was assumed that a moderately educated American would know who Donald Trump was in 1989.

Regarding Carter, I heard a story that he appeared on the TV show To Tell the Truth circa 1974, and the panelists failed to identify him.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Trump was pretty widely known well before "The Apprentice":

. . .

Carter, in modern times at least, seems to be cited the most as the 'unknown, out of nowhere' winner of a presidential election. He is a rather rare example of someone who was both unknown *and* not regarded as a serious contender to win a major party's nomination.

Regarding Carter, I heard a story that he appeared on the TV show To Tell the Truth circa 1974, and the panelists failed to identify him.

It was What's My Line. Took them 4 minutes and they barely managed to peg him as a governor.

In contrast, Gerald Ford appeared as a "mystery guest" around 1970 and it took them under 2 minutes to narrow it down to a republican congressman. His certainly felt like a celebrity appearance

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Ronald Reagan was well known by Americans when he first ran for President in 1980 since at least the early 1940s.

Reagan first ran in 1968.

[The Mikado]

1808? Madison was famous for writing the Constitution in the 1780s, but had first become prominent in the Continental Congress in the 1770s. Pinckey was a Revolutionary War hero also from the 1770s.

Both had first come to public notice 30 years before the election.