Red colored illustration of graduation mortarboard above red text.

Jesse Jackson ran as a candidate of the Democratic Party in 1984 and was the first African-American male to do so. He lost the nomination to former Vice President Walter F. Mondale and finished third in the tally, receiving over 18 percent of the votes and surprising pundits nationwide.  

Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns in Greenville, SC in 1941. He was adopted by his mother's husband when he was one-year-old and took his step-father's surname. Jackson graduated from a historically black university, North Carolina A&T, in 1964 and attended Chicago Theological Seminary. Rather than completing his degree there, he chose to work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). SCLC was the civil rights organization led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1966, King personally selected Jackson to head the organization's Chicago branch. After a falling out with SCLC administration, Jackson created People United to Save Humanity (PUSH). PUSH focused on political activism and aimed to place political pressure on elected officials regarding civil rights issues. Jackson resigned as president of PUSH in 1984 in order to focus on his presidential campaign. During the campaign, Jackson formed the National Rainbow Coalition, which merged with PUSH in 1996.

Photographs of Bill Clinton and Al Gore with white text on a red background.

In 1992, Democratic candidate Bill Clinton ran for the U.S. presidency against Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush. Clinton, who was at that time the governor of Arkansas, was not seen as a strong opponent and people cast doubt that the Democratic Party would choose him as their nominee. When he was nominated, Clinton decided on Al Gore as his running mate and became popular among young voters.

Clinton ended up winning the election, but a dark shadow was cast over his first term when Paula Jones—an Arkansas state employee–leveled an allegation of sexual misconduct against Clinton. Though the suit filed by Jones was eventually settled out of court, it left a permanent stain on Clinton’s reputation. In the subsequent presidential election, political opponents leveraged Clinton’s past to undermine his reelection efforts. Some deemed the Democrat to be unsuitable for the presidency given the sexual allegations made against him. Clinton, however, ended up winning the 1996 election. His second term, like the first, was met with fresh scandals including his sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Side by side photographs of Ronald Reagan and Richard Schweiker on a white background.  White text on half-red half-blue outer border of button.

In 1976 Ronald Reagan and Richard Schweiker ran for the Presidential and Vice Presidential Republican Party nominations respectively. Before the opening of the Republican National Convention, Reagan named Richard Schweiker as his candidate for Vice President in an attempt to attract liberals and centrists. When Reagan named Schweiker as his running mate it came as a surprise to Schweiker as the two did not known each other personally. Many conservatives were upset with Reagan’s choice of the liberal Schweiker and only a few moderate delegates switched to Reagan. Reagan and Schweiker lost the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominations to Gerald Ford and Bob Dole.

Illustrations of Ronald Reagan and Richard Schweiker inside a blue circle.  White outer border with red, black and blue text and blue 5-pointed stars.

Ronald Reagan and Richard Schweiker ran for the Presidential and Vice Presidential Republican Party nomination in 1976. Before the opening of the Republican National Convention, Reagan named Richard Schweiker as his candidate for Vice President in an attempt to attract liberals and centrists. Schweiker was the senator of Pennsylvania with a moderate voting record in the Senate. When Reagan named Schweiker as his running mate it came as a surprise to Schweiker himself as the two did not known each other personally. Reagan and Schweiker lost the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominations to Gerald Ford and Bob Dole repsectively.

Black ink illustration of Ronald Reagan on a white background.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He served two terms from the years 1981-1989. Prior to becoming president, Reagan worked in Hollywood appearing in 53 films. His Hollywood career was put on hold when he was drafted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942. His film skills were put to use during his active duty as he assisted making air force training videos and documentaries.

His political views shifted from liberal to conservative after his time in active duty. This is when his political career began. In 1954, he became a television host for the General Electric Company. Off screen, General Electric had him give speeches about various conservative topics. He would travel to various General Electric plants to give speeches and connect with the employees on a personal level. This went on until 1962. In 1966, he was elected governor of California where he served two terms. He started campaigning for the Republican Party’s presidential candidate for the 1976 election. Reagan and his running-mate, George H. W. Bush, beat sitting president Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory in the 1980 election. Running as the incumbents in 1984, Reagan and Bush won 49 out of 50 states against former Vice President Walter Mondale. Reagan is remembered for his fiscal policies, also known as “Reaganomics,” and is often referenced as a hero-figure by the Republican Party.  

Blue-tinted photograph of Ronald Reagan with the word 'DIXON' in red repeated over the entirety of the white background.

Before he was the 40th President of the United States, Governor of California, or even an actor, Ronald Reagan spent his time in Illinois. Born in 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan's poor family moved around the state many times. Finally, the family settled down in the town of Dixon in 1920. Reagan attended the local high school and graduated in 1928. He stuck around the area for college, attending Eureka University and graduating in 1932. Reagan finally left the area for Iowa, where he was hired to be a radio sports announcer.

Due to his origins in Illinois and the Presidency, many drew a comparison from Reagan to Abraham Lincoln during his campaigns. Lincoln served as a Senator for the state before rising to the Presidency. In 1955, the official state slogan of Illinois became "Land of Lincoln." Due to these similarities, the phrase was also applied to Ronald Reagan, resulting in "Illinois, Land of Reagan."

Outline of the state of California with superimposed text in dark green on a yellow background.

Before running for president, Ronald Reagan was the governor of California for two terms, from 1967-1975. Pat Brown, the incumbent and his opponent, tried to use Reagan’s career as an actor and lack of political experience against him. However, Reagan managed to win Californians over, promising to run the state more efficiently. In the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections, Reagan won more votes than his Democratic opponents and carried the state, though it was the last time a Republican presidential candidate would win the state. In later life, Reagan retired to his home in Los Angeles, which was no longer “Reagan Country.”

Red, white and blue horizontal stripes with white text.

Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson is a minister, civil rights activist, and politician who ran for President of the United States in 1984 and 1988 as a Democrat. He also founded organizations which became Rainbow/PUSH and hosted the show Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000. Jackson was also a U.S. Shadow Senator during the 1990s for the District of Columbia. He has garnered several awards related to this activism and public service work which includes the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom given by former President Bill Clinton. 

Black text on a rainbow gradient background.

In 1988, Baptist minister and Democratic politician Jesse Jackson campaigned for the presidency for his second time. The noted activist’s first campaign in 1984 had put him in third place in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination, which was much farther than many had believed he could go. Jackson’s 1988 platform was much the same as it had been in 1984, calling for a “Rainbow Coalition” of minorities, the LGBT community, and the poor. He also campaigned for an end to the War on Drugs, the creation of more jobs, and raising taxes on the wealthy. The campaign went well but was hindered by allegations of his brother’s criminal past. Jackson won second place in the race for the Democratic nomination, with first place going to Michael Dukakis who eventually lost the presidential election to George H. W. Bush. Jackson continued to serve in politics and social activism throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2023, he announced that he was stepping down from the Rainbow/PUSH organization—a non-profit founded by Jackson dedicated to promoting social justice and civil rights causes.

Sharing a similar message as Jackson, Illinois representative Cardiss Collins aligned herself with the presidential hopeful. Collins is a Democratic politician who served as a long-time representative for the state of Illinois. She was in office from 1973 to 1997 and became the first African-American congresswoman to represent the Midwest. She first entered the world of politics after she replaced her husband George, who died in a plane crash, as the representative of the state’s seventh congressional district. Throughout her time in Congress, she was a crusader for women’s rights and championed welfare issues.

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The 1980 United States presidential election was a race between front-runner Ronald Reagan and incumbent president Jimmy Carter. “Carter Must Go” was a phrase used in promoting the Republican party, and the button seen here blatantly expresses qualms republican's had with decisions made during Carter’s presidency. Many republican advertisements didn’t promote a republican candidate, but rather presented a vote of no confidence in the current leadership at the time. Reagan went on to win the presidency in a landslide.