Cleveland: Three-Term President?

Grover Cleveland IOTL holds the unique distinction of serving two nonconsecutive terms as POTUS without serving the intervening time. What's more, the election to the intervening term (in 1888) was extraordinarily close--Cleveland won the popular vote despite losing the electoral vote to Benjamin Harrison.

What I'm asking is this: If Cleveland had won in 1888, would he have the credibility to win the 1892 election as well? Would he be interested in subverting the Washingtonian two-term tradition?
 
He would run, and might win. Probably would lose though. He's not FDR.
No, he would not.
He tried to run for a third term in 1896, but he was as popular as Hoover after the Panic. This shows he was tone deaf enough to go for third.
 
IIRC Cleveland stated that he did not want to run again in 1896, due to respect of the two-term limit. Had Cleveland won in 1888, he probably would have pushed for governor David B. Hill (his successor in NY) to be the Democratic nominee in 1892. But due to the Panic of 1890, the presidential election in 1892 is probably going to favor the republican nominee. The interesting thing, IMO, is whether Harrison would run again, seeing as he was a dark horse in OTL. His credibility might be damaged by a loss to Cleveland in 1888, and the Republican party might turn to someone else in '92...
 
IIRC Cleveland stated that he did not want to run again in 1896, due to respect of the two-term limit. Had Cleveland won in 1888, he probably would have pushed for governor David B. Hill (his successor in NY) to be the Democratic nominee in 1892. But due to the Panic of 1890, the presidential election in 1892 is probably going to favor the republican nominee. The interesting thing, IMO, is whether Harrison would run again, seeing as he was a dark horse in OTL. His credibility might be damaged by a loss to Cleveland in 1888, and the Republican party might turn to someone else in '92...

No. Harrison won't run in 1892 if he's not the incumbent, because his wife was dying of cancer.

Having Blaine fill the void would be an interesting twist in 1892, since chances are he'll die before he can be inaugurated.
 

MAlexMatt

Banned
IIRC Cleveland stated that he did not want to run again in 1896, due to respect of the two-term limit. Had Cleveland won in 1888, he probably would have pushed for governor David B. Hill (his successor in NY) to be the Democratic nominee in 1892. But due to the Panic of 1890, the presidential election in 1892 is probably going to favor the republican nominee. The interesting thing, IMO, is whether Harrison would run again, seeing as he was a dark horse in OTL. His credibility might be damaged by a loss to Cleveland in 1888, and the Republican party might turn to someone else in '92...

The Panic of 1890 only turned into depression in Europe. In America there was a small recovery until a second downturn in late 1892/1893.
 
No. Harrison won't run in 1892 if he's not the incumbent, because his wife was dying of cancer.

Having Blaine fill the void would be an interesting twist in 1892, since chances are he'll die before he can be inaugurated.
Seeing as there probably would still be some Republicans opposed to Blaine in 1892, might they settle on John Sherman or someone else as a compromise candidate?

The Panic of 1890 only turned into depression in Europe. In America there was a small recovery until a second downturn in late 1892/1893.
IIRC, despite not being a depression, the 1890 Panic still played a role in the public largely repudiating Harrison in 1892.
 
From my experience, I see McKinley as the likely nominee in 1892. He'd been pushed in 1892 and stepped aside in 1888 in favor of Ohio's favorite son, John Sherman. By 1892 he'd been discussed and as I recall some delegates even voted for him at the '92 RNC but he refused to run against Harrison. IN 1896 we all know what happens.
 
Cleveland was a staunch advocate of the gold standard at a time when the issue increasingly cleft the Democratic party, so I doubt he could have received their nomination to run for a third term. What's more, he ran as 'gold democrat' in 1896, IIRC, though that effort was desultory.
 
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