Below is a list of 20 influential Americans that were never elected president. I’ve made the decision by looking at American figures that were considered for the presidency. Some on this list opted against running for president.

It’s not surprising that Bernie Sanders is doing well West of the Mississippi. The West has been traditionally very progressive. The majority of the voters for the Weaver’s Populist Party (People’s Party), Deb’s Socialist Party, La Follette Progressive Republicans and Roosevelt Progressive Republican’s came from the West.

Since much is being said about a contested Republican convention in 2016, it is interesting to look back on history to see how this years convention could turn out.

I write this blog in light of the lasting discussion of a possible contested Republican convention in 2016 election. While historically common, a contested convention has not occurred 40 years.

The 1912 election is the high-watermark of 3rd party run. In this election, our traditional parties competed with two strong 3rd parties — the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party and the Socialist Party, both of which make the top 10 list.

There has been some appearance-based superficiality to the presidential process since the days before television.