xkcd: Electoral Precedent

Electoral Precedent

Permanent link to this comic: https://xkcd.com/1122/
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The Problem with Statements Like "No <party> candidate has won the election without <state>" or "No President has been reelected under <circumstances>" [[Each panel is a variation on the others, with the date in a small box at the top left, a stick figure speaking the line in the main panel, and the concluding sentence underneath.]] 1788 No one has been elected President before. but Washington was. 1792 No incumbent has ever been selected. until Washington. 1796 No one without false teeth has become President. but Adams did. 1800 No challenger has beaten an incumbent. but Jefferson did. 1804 No incumbent has beaten a challenger. until Jefferson. 1808 No congressman has ever become President. until Madison. 1812 No one can win without New York. but Madison did. 1816 No candidate who doesn't wear a wig can get elected. until Monroe was. 1820 No one who wears pants instead of breeches can be reelected. but Monroe was. 1824 No one has ever won without a popular majority. J.Q. Adams did. 1828 Only people from Massachusetts and Virginia can win. until Jackson did. 1832 The only Presidents who get reelected are Virginians. until Jackson. 1836 New Yorkers always lose. until Van Buren. 1840 No one over 65 has won the Presidency. until Harrison did. 1844 No one who's lost his home state has won. but Polk did. 1848 The Democrats don't lose when they win Pennsylvania. but they did in 1848. 1852 New England Democrats can't win. until Pierce did. 1856 No one can become President without getting married. until Buchanan did. 1860 No one over 6'5" can get elected. until Lincoln. 1864 No one with a beard has been reelected. but Lincoln was. 1868 No one can be President if their parents are alive. until Grant. 1872 No one with a beard has been reelected in peacetime. until Grant was. 1876 No one can win a majority of the popular vote and still lose. Tilden did. 1880 As goes California, so goes the nation. until it went Hancock. 1884 Candidates named 'James' can't lose. until James Blaine. 1888 No sitting President has been beaten since the Civil War. Cleveland was. 1892 No former President has been elected. until Cleveland. 1896 Tall Midwesterners are unbeatable. Bryan wasn't. 1900 No Republican shorter than 5'8" has been reelected. until McKinley was. 1904 No one under 45 has been elected. Roosevelt was. 1908 No Republican who hasn't served in the military has won. until Taft. 1912 After Lincoln beat the Deocrats while sporting a beard with no mustache, the only Democrats who can win have a mustache with no beard. Wilson had neither. 1916 No Democrat has won without Indiana. Wilson did. 1920 No incumbent senator has won. until Harding. 1924 No one with two Cs in their name has become President. until Calvin Coolidge. 1928 No one who got ten million votes has lost. until Al Smith. 1932 No Democrat has won since women secured the right to vote. until FDR did. 1936 No President's been reelected with double-digit unemployment. until FDR was. 1940 No one has won a third term. until FDR did. 1944 No Democrat has won during wartime. until FDR did. 1948 Democrats can't win without Alabama. Truman did. 1952 No Republican has won without winning the House or Senate. Eisenhower did. 1956 No Republican has won without Missouri. until Eisenhower. 1960 Republicans without facial hare are unbeatable. Kennedy beat Nixon. 1964 No Democrat has won without Georgia. Johnson did. 1968 No Republican Vice President has risen to the Presidency through an election. until Nixon. 1972 No wartime candidate has won without Massachusetts. until Nixon did. 1976 No one who lost New Mexico has won. but Carter did. 1980 No one has been elected President after a divorce. until Reagan was. 1984 No left-handed President has been reelected. until Reagan was. 1988 No Democrat who has won Wisconsin (without being from there) has lost. until Dukakis did. 1992 No Democrat has won without a majority of the Catholic vote. until Clinton did. 1996 No Dem. incumbent without combat experience has beaten someone whose first name is worth more in Scrabble. until Bill beat Bob. 2000 No Republican has won without Vermont. until Bush did. 2004 No Republican without combat experience has beaten someone two inches taller. until Bush did. 2008 No Democrat can win without Missouri. until Obama did. [[The next two panels share a date and ending caption.]] 2012 Panel 1: Alliterative tickets (e.g. Romney Ryan) are undefeated. Panel 2: No nominee whose first name contains a "K" has lost. Which streak will break? {{Title text: No white guy who's been mentioned on Twitter has gone on to win.}}