Pinback button promoting William Jennings Bryan for president and John W. Kern for vice president, 1908.
In 1908, Democrats once again turned to William Jennings Bryan as their best hope for taking the White House. Despite his two previous defeats, Bryan remained extremely popular among the more liberal and populist elements of the party, and ran a vigorous campaign against the nation's business elite. The choice of a conservative, Senator John W. Kern of Indiana, as a running mate, did not excite the base, however, and Bryan suffered the worst loss of his three presidential crusades.
We offer an original pinback from the 1908 campaign featuring portraits of a political odd couple.
