| @ImpromptuJ: While the data you present would make it seem like some custom of the time to bow out for another candidate, that in fact is not true. Most of those Presidents have a story behind why they were not re-nominated: Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, and Arthur were all VPs added to the ticket to win opponents' support, only to assume the Presidency and act against the whims of their supposed "supporters", Polk accomplished all of his campaign promises in one term and voluntarily resigned, seeing no reason to continue in the office, Pierce and Buchanan were embroiled in controversy over the "bleeding Kansas" incident (the latter was actually selected to distance the Democrats from "bleeding Kansas"), and Hayes was a Prohibitionist, who was only nominated in 1876 to distance the Republicans from the corruption of the Grant years (even though Grant himself was not particularly corrupt, and was willing to run for an unprecedented 3rd term). It is interesting, however, that there was no case in the 20th century where an incumbent, 1st-term President didn't run for re-election. Even Herbert Hoover ran for reelection! |
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