Adlai Stevenson decided to make one final run for the Presidency through the primaries, rather than waiting for a draft movement to win him the nomination at the convention. His major obstacle was the very man he had originally favored to be his running mate four years previously, Senator John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts. Both held similar views; however, Kennedy had a youthful and handsome appearance, something which Adlai could not attain. To counter this, he decided to remark that Kennedy, while an admirable statesman, was not yet suited to hold the executive office. While Kennedy would politely deny these claims, he was caught off guard when making a remark; "Stevenson is complaining about me not having enough experience to run this country, while he does. After being kicked away from the White House twice by the American people, I am not sure he does, or he would have sense enough not to run again."
LBJ had originally intended not to run in the primaries and get involved in the mudslinging that usually followed, but with the liberal vote being split by multiple candidates, he decided to make a few limited appearances; however, these were all in states he was sure he was going to win.
Despite his best effort, Adlai failed to win the New Hampshire Primary, losing forty four to fifty one. However, for Stevenson and his supporters, it was a victory; many had considered that Kennedy’s victory would be larger since New Hampshire was only a stone’s throw away from Massachusetts. Wisconsin would be taken by Hubert Humphrey with thirty nine percent of the vote; Stevenson managed to best Kennedy with thirty one percent to his twenty three. Needing a decisive victory, Adlai contacted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and asked for his support in the upcoming Illinois primary. Until this point he was evenly divided between the two, one a native son and the other having the look of a winner; still, they both had exposed flaws that might make them lose, and Kennedy’s lack of support outside of Roman communities was deadly. After throwing his lot with Stevenson, many discounted the Illinois primary, which Stevenson won seventy two to twenty eight.
After Massachusetts was closer than expected, and Adlai carried Pennsylvania, Kennedy threw in the towel and jumped out of the race. Stevenson would face no opposition until the Nebraska and West Virginia primaries; the later he won, the former he lost to Lyndon Johnson by a narrow margin. In hopes of trying to get more support in the North, Johnson asks to debate Stevenson before the Maryland primary, which Stevenson accepts. The move backfires and Johnson subsequently loses Maryland to Stevenson, who goes on to sweep the remaining primaries. A Stop-Stevenson movement is made around Kennedy (withdrew but kept his delegates and controlled the New England delegations), Humphrey, and Symington, but none can agree on endorsing the other, resulting in the plan falling apart. Adlai therefore wins on the first ballot. In a surprise he chooses Lyndon Johnson as his Vice President who is overwhelmingly nominated over Kennedy, who tried again to get the second seat on the ballot.
And the rest we know is history. Due to many factors which included Nixon’s poor campaigning tactics, Republican over-confidence of victory until the final days before the election, strenuous campaigning by both Stevenson and Johnson; all of this finally allowed for Adlai Stevenson to receive the key from the American people to the White House. Third time’s a charm as they say; apparently it was Irish and not Scottish blood in his veins.