We've heard so much about how the US is divided politically, and how Nader screwed up the race last time for Gore, so I thought I'd take a trip down history lane to see how divided we are in context. As it turns out, there have been lots of times when the US has been divided politically almost right down the middle.
Here's an election we don't hear about much -- 1916. The Socialist candidate got 3.19% of the popular vote and was the difference between Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, red @ 49.24% of the vote) and Charles Hughes (Republican, blue @ 46.12% of the vote).
The high water mark for the socialists in the US was the good economic times of 1920. Eugene Debs garnered 3.41% of the popular vote.
Edit: As Ramo points out, the high water mark for the socialists in the US was the 1912 elections, where Eugene Debs garnered 5.99% of the vote.
Here's an election we don't hear about much -- 1916. The Socialist candidate got 3.19% of the popular vote and was the difference between Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, red @ 49.24% of the vote) and Charles Hughes (Republican, blue @ 46.12% of the vote).
The high water mark for the socialists in the US was the good economic times of 1920. Eugene Debs garnered 3.41% of the popular vote.
Edit: As Ramo points out, the high water mark for the socialists in the US was the 1912 elections, where Eugene Debs garnered 5.99% of the vote.
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