Q: Has a U.S. president ever been denied his party's nomination for a second term?
—Iris Knowles, LaGrange
A: The Democratic Party refused to re-nominate Franklin Pierce after his one term from 1853-57, instead going with James Buchanan, who was considered less controversial, according to WhiteHouse.gov. Pierce is the only elected president to be denied his party's re-nomination bid, according to the website. Four other presidents -- John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson and Chester Arthur -- who all became president when the previous president died or was assassinated, were "passed over as a matter of course," H.W. Brands, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of several books on U.S. presidents, including Franklin Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson, told Q&A on the News in an email. Brands referred to Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson and Arthur as "accidental presidents." Brands said elected presidents James Buchanan and Harry Truman would have been denied their party's nomination in 1860 and 1952, but they "had sense enough not to seek the nomination." Tyler was the first vice president to become president when William Henry Harrison died a month after taking office in 1841. Tyler -- who was called "His Accidency" by his opponents -- served the rest of the term, but was expelled from his own Whig Party while in office, according to The Miller Center, a non-partisan institute at the University of Virginia. Fillmore was the last of presidents from the Whig party.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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