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William Scranton was a longtime Republican politician, who served as both a Governor to Pennsylvania and as an ambassador representing the United States in the United Nations. Scranton is known for his bipartisan appeal and would blur the line between liberal and conservative. He was in favor of social and civil rights issues such as increasing minimum wage, increasing aid to at-risk children, and making access to education easier. At the same time, he was fiscal conservative in matters relating to taxes and government spending.

Scranton became a late addition to the 1964 Presidential election, initially resisting advice to join the fray. Unfortunately for Scranton, by the time he did join, Barry Goldwater had already secured a sizable lead. His campaign became undone when a staffer wrote and published a letter highly criticizing Goldwater, but signed it as Scranton. This damaged Scranton’s reputation in the Republican party and Goldwater secured the nomination easily.

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Texan industrialist and billionaire Ross Perot unsuccessfully ran as a third-party candidate in the 1992 presidential election. Perot ran on an Independent ticket and placed third to the runner-up, George Bush, and winner, Bill Clinton. He was successful in getting his name on all 50 ballots and even got on the debate stage with the other two candidates. While he gathered no electoral votes, Perot still managed to gather almost twenty million popular votes.

It can be argued that his campaign played spoiler to Bush’s election and cost the incumbent president key votes that may have won him the election. Perot’s campaign showed that while third-party candidates may not win, they could play spoiler and affect the race. His campaign also started a trend of financial moguls entering the national political scene.

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The 1984 presidential election was a contest between incumbent President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, and the Democratic Party's ticket former Vice President Walter Mondale and New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro. Mondale had wanted to choose New York Governor Mario Cuomo as his running mate, but he declined. Ferraro, recommended by Cuomo, was the first woman nominated for Vice President by a major party, and Mondale hoped to appeal to women voters. 

President Reagan could point to a strong economic recovery and renewed national confidence during his first term, while Mondale supported the Equal Rights Amendment and the need to decrease budget deficits. The Mondale/Ferraro ticket was damaged during the campaign by questions about Ferraro's husband, real estate developer John Zaccaro. Although there were some questions about Reagan's age and capacity to continue in the office, the Reagan/Bush ticket was successful on Election Day, receiving the electoral college votes of 49 out of 50 states. 

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Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States who won his first term in 1980 with George Bush as his Vice President. He won 489 electoral votes against his opponent, Jimmy Carter. Before he was president, Reagan was governor of California and a well-known Hollywood actor with his most famous roll in Kings Row (1942). A few months into office there was an assassination attempt.

Reagan’s goal in office was to make the American people less reliant on the government. He cut funding and social services. He tried to stimulate the economy and lower the unemployment rate. He supported and expanded Medicare and social security. The term “Reaganomics” was coined during this time as he proposed the idea of trickle down economics. 

Reagan believed that negotiating with the Soviet Union was important to restore International relations and aid in peaceful negotiations. Reagan is known for the line, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall,” in 1987 referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. He wanted to stop the expansion of communism, so he pushed for more military spending and American influence. Reagan and Gorbachev would sign the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty in 1987 which eliminated intermediate-range nuclear missiles from both sides. The Iran Hostage Crisis continued into the beginning of Reagan's presidency. After a long series of televised talks, weapons were exchanged for the hostages.

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Charles H. Percy was born September 27, 1919, in Pensacola, Florida. He was a senator for Illinois from 1967 to 1985 and he was the Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois in 1964, but did not win. Percy was anti-isolationist and supported low-cost housing. Prior to his role in politics, Percy became the president of Bell & Howell, a firm in the film industry, in 1949 and expanded the firm to a multinational scale.

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Paul Simon was a native of Oregon who later became an Illinois citizen. He entered the political arena in 1954 by winning a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. In a surprising victory, Simon became a Senator in 1984. He defeated three-time incumbent, Charles Percy, in a narrow victory securing 50% of the vote. He had a failed presidential nomination in 1988.

Simon won re-election for the Senate in 1990 by defeating Lynn Martin. Simon won the election with 65% of the vote and had over 1 million more votes than Martin. This marks one of the largest margins of victory for any Senator.

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George McGovern was the Democratic nominee for the US Presidency in 1972, running against Nixon in his second term and ultimately losing in a landslide defeat in which he carried only Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. He entered the race as an underdog compared to Edmund Muskie, who most assumed would be the candidate. However, McGovern's progressive policies and promise to withdraw from Vietnam if elected made him a popular candidate with the youth vote and the women's and civil rights movements. McGovern suffered from a divided party, with many more modern Democrats publicly siding with Nixon. In the end, the McGovern campaign took 17 electoral votes to Nixon's 520. However, the Washington Post later broke the news that Nixon had conspired in a break-in to the DNC headquarters and a subsequent coverup that resulted in his resignation just two years later.

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Democratic incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson with running mate Hubert Humphrey successfully won the 1964 election against Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. The election is one of the most lopsided in history, with Johnson winning 44 states and receiving 15 million more votes. Johnson, as then Vice President, had assumed office in 1963 after John F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated.

Kennedy was one of the most popular politicians in the nation who had his support trickle down to Johnson by association. Johnson advocated for more social welfare reminiscent of the 1930's under Franklin Roosevelt. After winning the election, Johnson did just that by instituting Medicare, Medicaid, and starting a fight against poverty.

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District 63B comprises parts of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in Hennepin County. John Drew was an Independent candidate, although he held several Republican ideals and was endorsed by the party. He served in several legislative sessions from 1979 to 1982. He ran for a position as a State Representative in 1982, but lost to Dick Cohen. The election was notable for Drew losing by a mere 14 votes causing a recount to be needed. The recount only confirmed his loss. He tried to enter politics once more in 1986 for Minnesota Treasurer, but lost that election as well.