William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was the last commander in chief born a British subject. He delivered the longest inaugural address in history, nearly two hours, and had the shortest presidency, being the first sitting president to die in office, just 31 days into his term.
Oh, there is one more bit of trivia about the man who gave us the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Harrison was the last politician to lose his first presidential election and then win the next one (Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson managed that before him). Richard Nixon lost only to win way down the road. (Grover Cleveland and Trump are the only two to win, lose, then win again.)
Everyone else since Harrison who lost on the first try and ran again in the next election lost again. Democrat Adlai Stevenson and Republican Thomas Dewey ran and lost twice. Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan each ran three times in a row and lost (Clay on three different party tickets).
These are not encouraging results for Kamala Harris, who announced last week she will not be running for governor in California, sparking speculation she wants another go at the White House.
But history isn’t what she should worry about. It’s the here and now. The Democratic Party is wildly unpopular. Its net favorability (minus 30 points) is nearly triple the GOP’s (minus 11 points). The Democratic Party is more unpopular than any time in the last 35 years.