Photograph of Jesse Jackson on a white background.

Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist,  and politician. Jackson is the founder of two non-profit organizations, National Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. The organization focuses on social justice, civil rights and activism. Jackson ran for the United States presidency twice, but has never held an elective office.

Image is dividen into three horizontal stripes, green upper and lower stripes, and white in the middle.  White stars on green stipes, red text on white stripe.

Mario Cuomo was an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of New York between 1983 and 1994, the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1979 to 1982, and also the Secretary of State from New York from 1975 to 1978. Noted for his liberal views, Cuomo was a popular figure within the Democratic party by the late twentieth-century. His rise in popularity warranted many to consider him a front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President in both 1988 and also 1992. During the 1988 election, Cuomo announced his lack of interest in running and personally declined draft movements to enter the election. Cuomo showed similar disinterest for the 1992 election. Regardless, Cuomo remained a popular figure within the party and went on write numerous essays and books, while also speaking regularly at many functions across the country.

Photograph of Richard Nixon and Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon on opposite ends of button on a white background with black text in between.

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969-1974. Prior to serving as president, he was a U.S. Representative, a Senator from California, and the 36th Vice President of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Nixon ran for the U.S. presidency for the first time in 1960, but was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy. During the 1960 campaign, his wife Pat Nixon was featured in campaign advertisements and was known for being involved and assisting in her husband's subsequent political campaigns as well. Nixon was successful in his second presidential run in 1968, defeating Hubert Humphrey. He won a reelection bid in 1972, but resigned two years later in 1974 after the Watergate scandal, becoming the only President to resign from office.

Photograph of Michael and Kitty Dukakis with white text on a white background.

Michael Dukakis ran as the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. President in 1988. His presidential bid was based around the "Massachusetts Miracle," in which the Commonwealth experienced a strong economic uptick after two generations of de-industrialization and unemployment. The idea was that Dukakis could do for the nation what he had done for Massachusetts. Unfortunately for Dukakis, then U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush painted a picture of Dukakis not as a leader but as someone who would be soft on crime and uneducated on foreign policy. To combat this image, Dukakis infamously donned a helmet and rode a ballistic-missile submarine, which gave an unintended comic effect. The America public ultimately agreed with Bush, and Dukakis lost the race by a margin of 315 electoral votes.

Katharine “Kitty” Dukakis is Michael’s wife and had a number of rumors swirling around her during the 1988 presidential race. She was accused of burning an American flag in protest of the Vietnam War, but this piece of gossip was later found to be unsubstantiated. In addition, Kitty had an ongoing battle with alcoholism and depression, and was hospitalized in 1989 for drinking rubbing alcohol. She is a proponent of electroconvulsive therapy and credits it for treating her severe depression. As a descendant of European Jews, Kitty also served on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Half-tone printed photograph of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro on a white background inside a blue circle with blue and red text.  Red outer border.

Democrat Walter Mondale and his running mate Geraldine Ferraro ran against Republican President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush in the 1984 election. Ferraro, a U.S. Representative from New York, was the first woman nominated by a major party for the vice presidency. Reagan won his re-election bid, receiving 58.8 percent of the vote while Mondale captured 40.6 percent. Mondale only carried his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Reagan took 525 electoral votes, he was the second president to do so. The first was President Richard Nixon in 1972.

Black and red text on a white background

This button is part of a series that General Electric designed in the mid 1960s. The buttons were distributed to high school students throughout New York to encourage them to do well and complete their education. While different slogans were used, each button featured the word GENIUS, with GE highlighted to emphasize General Electric's involvement in the campaign. 

Black and red text on a white background.

This button is part of a series that General Electric designed in the mid 1960s. The buttons were distributed to high school students throughout New York to encourage them to do well and complete their education. While different slogans were used, each button featured the word GENIUS, with GE highlighted to emphasize General Electric's involvement in the campaign. 

Black and red text on a white background

This button is part of a series that General Electric designed in the mid 1960s. The buttons were distributed to high school students throughout New York to encourage them to do well and complete their education. While different slogans were used, each button featured the word GENIUS, with GE highlighted to emphasize General Electric's involvement in the campaign. 

Black text on a bright green background

Jimmy Carter ran as the Democratic candidate in the 1976 Presidential Election.  It was well-known that Carter was a former peanut farmer from Georgia and served as that state’s governor for two terms.  It was hoped that the reference to “grits” would help emphasize his Southern roots and would capture the votes of the Southern states.  Walter Frederick Mondale served as Carter’s running mate. 

Mondale was known to his family and friends as “Fritz” which was a possible shortening of his middle name.  The Carter-Mondale ticket won the 1976 election, and served for one administration.  Mondale later ran for President in the 1984 election, but lost by a land-slide to Ronald Reagan.

Portraits of President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, green text above photographs.

Voters elected Democrat Jimmy Carter as the 39th United States President in 1976. His Vice President was U.S. Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota. They took 50.1 percent of the vote compared to Republican candidate Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole who captured 48 percent of the vote. Carter and Mondale remained in the White House until 1981 after losing the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush. After losing the election, Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, and his peanut farm.