What is the single longest Presidential Campaign run in the United States?

Question

Looking back to 2008 it looks like Mitt Romney has been running for President ever since he was in the 2008 Republican primaries where he lost to John McCain. Considering a short stoppage while McCain was the Republican candidate, and supposing that Mitt Romney started his campaign again soon after Obama won, I know it was soon after but don't have the date, that would make him one of the longest running candidates - about 4 yeears.

Are there any other cases where a Presidential campaign in the US has gone on as long, or longer, or is about 4 years the longest on record? This should be an individual running non-stop within a single political party, in an attempt to be their nominee for President. This will consist of campaigning prior to any primaries and through those primaries to the nomination, while one could still campaign against the party nominee that is considered bad form but if the candidate continued then it could still be a single run.

Answer 1

Anyone can declare that he or she is running for president of the United States. That is essentially unrelated, however, to whether he or she will be placed on the ballot, much less have a chance of winning.

To become president, one must win a majority in the Electoral College, and barring an extraordinary bout of collegiate faithlessness, that means you will need to get electors who support you selected. The selection of electors is largely a matter of state, not federal law, but at the very least, you'll need to qualify for the ballot in every state and the District of Columbia. If you're representing a party, you'll need to be certified as that party's candidate, a process which also depends on state law and party rules.

So, determining the longest-running campaign has numerous answers depending on how you define a candidate: Anyone who declares? Anyone who won delegates? Anyone who got ballot access? Anyone nominated by a party with ballot access in XX% of the states? Anyone who received above XX% of the popular vote in a primary or the general? Anyone who won electoral votes? Anyone who had an actual chance of winning?

Some possibilities include the following:

Major party candidates

• Theodore Roosevelt 1904 and 1908 (Republican nominee), 1912 (Bull Moose nominee)
• William Jennings Bryan 1896, 1900 and 1908 (Democratic nominee)
• Adlai Stevenson II 1952 and 1956 (Democratic nominee), 1960 (Democratic primary)

Candidates who achieved ballot access for at least one state in the general election (as a party nominee or independent)

• Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) ran in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920
• Ralph Nader (Green) in 1996 and 2000, independent 2004 and 2008
• Gus Hall (Communist) ran in 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984

Candidates who achieved ballot access for at least one state primary

• Gov. Harold Strassen in 1944, 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000
• Sen. Eugene McCarthy in 1968, 1972, 1976, 1988, and 1992
• Prohibitionist Jack Fellure in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012
• Lyndon LaRouche in 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004

Joke candidates

• TV personality Pat Paulsen ran in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996 and was placed on the primary ballot several times

Answer 2

USA political campaigns are pretty much continuous these days.

Many people blame this on the rise of partisan mass media outlets. I will argue they are quite correct to do so. However, if you look back into history this is really just a return to the way things have historically been.

In the 18th and 19th centuries every major town had newspapers editorially associated with the political parties (which is why most towns used to have at least two big newspapers). These papers would be continuosly brutalizing the other party. For example, one editor in an anti-Fedralist newspaper wrote the following in 1796 after our beloved first president's farewell address (nearly 4 years before the next Presidential election):

If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washington

Objective Journalisim, the idea that a media outlet should report news in a politically neutral way, is pretty much a 20th centrury concept. Cynics claim this change was driven by the need to raise revenue through advertisements. No advertiser wants their product placed next to an article that ticks off a lot of their customers. Partisan propaganda during this period was supposed to be confined to editorial pages, and the direct efforts of the campaigns themselves. Of course spreading your own propaganda yourself is expensive, so politicians typically only bothered to do it right before elections. That left them the balance of their time to do stuff like run the country (if they so chose).

However, it is now the 21st century. The advertised print model of media is dying, and the new online and cable TV outlets find that the best way to get a loyal cadre of eyeballs is to be partisan. So now, for better or for worse, we are back to the old days of media dominated by full-time partisan propaganda outlets.