A Tale of Two Cycles
At this point during the 2020 cycle, eight Democrats had already jumped into the race for president: Maryland U.S. Representative John Delaney (July 28, 2017), New York businessman Andrew Yang (November 6, 2017), West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda (November 11, 2018), former HUD Secretary Julian Castro of Texas (January 12, 2019), California U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (January 21, 2019), California author and spiritualist Marianne Williamson (January 28, 2019), New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker (February 1, 2019), and Hawaii U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (February 2, 2019). U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (February 9, 2019) and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota (February 10, 2019) also launched their campaigns four years ago this week. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is poised to become just the second Republican in the race next week, joining former President Donald Trump.
In fact, by this point last cycle one major candidate had already withdrawn: Richard Ojeda withdrew on January 25, 2019, after struggling to attain funds and media coverage. About a year afterwards, he launched a campaign for U.S. Senate, but lost in the primary.
Of the 9 presidential candidates who subsequently ran for an office other than president in 2020, only Ojeda lost in the primary. Steve Bullock also ran for U.S. Senate but lost in the general election. Seth Moulton, Tim Ryan, Eric Swalwell, Cory Booker, and Jay Inslee were re-elected to the offices they were already holding. John Hickenlooper won a U.S. Senate seat, while Kamala Harris was elected vice-president.
I believe that Dr. Eric did an article in the past that discussed failed presidential candidates later running for senate in the same cycle. John Hickenlooper was the 1st to be successful at that if I’m not mistaken.
Kamala Harris was also the latest of many failed presidential candidates to later be picked as the VP candidate in the same cycle. I’ll start in 1972, which I think is agreed to be the start of the modern primary era. Walter Mondale (1976), George HW Bush (1980), John Edwards (2004), and Joe Biden (2008). There could be more, but that’s all that I could recall. Al Gore previously ran in 1988 before his VP election in 1992 (he did not run for pres. in 1992) and Joe Lieberman ran in 2004 after losing as the VP candidate in 2000 with Al Gore up top.