# Ever been election where both candidates were so disliked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 27, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850 "2012-08-27T20:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/21 "2012-08-28T16:58:29Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Choosing the lesser of two evils has been a constant in presidential politics. What may be a bit different this time is the number of people deciding they aren’t required to make that choice. So? For whom will **they** vote? Not Gary Johnson, I daresay. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/22 "2012-08-29T01:35:51Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > How about Humphrey-Nixon in 1968? If you voted for Humphrey, you were voting for the unrepentive VP in an administration that was waging a very unpopular war, and if you voted for Nixon, well, you were voting for Nixon. 'Nuff said. > > Of course if you didn’t like either of those two choices, you could always cast your ballot for George Wallace. > > All three choices, all well to the right of center. When was the last time there was a serious choice to the **left** of center? Only one I can think of is Nader in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/23 "2012-08-29T01:42:29Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Oh, yeah! Where the winner won the popular vote by negative half-a-million. Mandate! No, no, I’m pretty sure a mandate has something to do with a bromance . . . ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/24 "2012-08-29T01:51:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > When was the last time there was a serious choice to the **left** of center? Only one I can think of is Nader in 2000. McGovern, for sure. Obama and to a lesser extent Clinton ran (for the first time) on left of center platforms though they governed as centrists. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/25 "2012-08-29T03:23:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > When was the last time there was a serious choice to the **left** of center? Only one I can think of is Nader in 2000. Gore had a left of center image, but except for the environmental thing he wasn’t really. Carter was a little left of center. Humphrey had a very left of center image except for his support for the war. I never could really tell where Dukakis or Mondale stood. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/26 "2012-08-29T06:42:47Z")
Nader was a serious candidate only in his own mind. Kind of like Michelle Bachmann and Ross Perot. I would have thrown in Herman Cain and Donald Trump, but I don’t think even _they_ took themselves seriously. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/27 "2012-08-29T07:36:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Humphrey had a very left of center image except for his support for the war. > > . Correct, but that was THE issue in 1968, so anyone opposed to the war had 0 candidates to choose among, and there were a lot of people opposed to that war, though not as many as there would be by Nixon’s second term. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850/28 "2012-08-29T08:42:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I never could really tell where Dukakis or Mondale stood. No clue about Mondale, but one of the issues which sunk Dukakis’ presidential race was his lack of support for capital punishment. I haven’t seen a Democrat since come out strongly against it (though I’d be delighted if you could find an example). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-election-where-both-candidates-were-so-disliked/632850.md?page=1)