By Will Weissert, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just when Americans thought they were done with it, Joe Biden and Donald Trump pulled them back in.
The follow-up to the 2020 election is officially confirmed as the president and his immediate predecessor secured their parties’ nominations. Biden and Trump have set up a political movie the country has seen before — even if the last version was in black and white.
The last rematch in a presidential election happened in 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson again, the Democratic opponent he had four years earlier.
Grover Cleveland was the nation’s 22nd and 24th president, winning elections in 1884 and 1892.
In terms of sequels, fans of politics and film may hope the Biden-Trump rematch turns out like the acclaimed “The Godfather II” rather than the often-criticized “The Godfather III.” But the Biden-Trump rematch is expected to be viewed alongside historical comparisons dating back to the nation's founding.
Here’s how it compares in history:
When was the last rematch of a presidential race?
Sixty-eight years ago. After Eisenhower defeated Stevenson in 1952 and won all but nine states, the incumbent president faced Stevenson again four years later and secured an even larger victory.
There are other examples of presidential race rematches, but they took place much earlier in U.S. history.
Republican President William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1896 and then again in 1900. In 1836, Democrat Martin Van Buren defeated William Henry Harrison of the Whig Party, only to have Harrison win a rematch between the two and take the presidency four years later.
John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson competed twice for the presidency. The first time was in 1824, when Adams prevailed, and the second was in 1828, when Jackson became president by defeating the incumbent Adams.
Then there was John Adams, a Federalist who was the nation’s second president, and Thomas Jefferson, its third and a Democratic-Republican. Both vied for the presidency during the first-ever contested presidential election to succeed George Washington in 1796, with Adams winning and Jefferson elected vice president. Four years later, Jefferson ran against and defeated the incumbent Adams.
How many ex-presidents have returned to the White House?
So far, just one.
Grover Cleveland is the only president in U.S. history to serve two non-consecutive terms. He successfully achieved what Trump is now attempting — regaining the White House from the opponent who took it from him.
A Democratic anti-corruption crusader and governor of New York, Cleveland barely won the presidential election of 1884. Four years later, he again won the popular vote, but was defeated in the electoral college by Republican Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland once again ran against Harrison in 1892, this time winning a second term easily.
Other former presidents have attempted but failed to reclaim their former position.
After serving two terms until 1877, Ulysses S. Grant sought the Republican nomination again during the 1880 election but lost after a convention fight to James A. Garfield. A third term would have been allowed then because the 22nd Amendment, which limited presidents to two terms in office, wasn’t ratified until 1951.
What about former presidents running for president with other political parties?
Three past presidents tried to win the White House again with parties different from the ones they originally won with. Teddy Roosevelt came closest to succeeding.
Roosevelt, who was a Republican, became president in 1901 after William McKinley was assassinated. He was reelected in 1904 but chose not to run for another full term in 1908, instead supporting his chosen GOP successor, William H. Taft.
Roosevelt was disenchanted with Taft and competed against him for the Republican nomination in 1912. When that failed, Roosevelt ran for president with his own Progressive ticket, which became known as the Bull Moose Party after Roosevelt joked that he felt “as strong as a bull moose.” Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the election, but Roosevelt came in second, winning 88 electoral votes compared to just 8 for Taft, the incumbent.
Millard Fillmore became president after Zachary Taylor, the last president elected with the Whig Party, died in 1850. Fillmore tried to win the Whig presidential nomination in 1852 but failed. Four years later, he ran for president with the Know-Nothing Party but only won in Maryland.
Democrat Martin Van Buren was president from 1837 to 1841 and lost his reelection bid to Whig Party nominee William Henry Harrison. Eight years later, Van Buren attempted to make a political comeback with the Free Soil Party but did not win any electoral votes.
