Presidential Drawing

During his time in the Senate, Senator Dole was not content to just be a U.S. Senator, he had loftier goals. In 1976 he was chosen as President Gerald Ford’s running mate for his second term, giving Senator Dole his first experience of presidential campaign life. Although the Ford/Dole ticket lost, it increased Senator Dole’s visibility and gave him a national following which he would capitalize on. While he was in the Senate, Senator Dole ran for President three times (1980, 1988, 1996). He was never able to gain the momentum that he needed in the primaries, he returned to the Senate after the 1980 and 1988 campaigns and resigned from the Senate to run in 1996. These buttons represent a small glimpse of the over 100 political campaign buttons in our collection, most of which are from Presidential or Senate campaigns. Most of them focus on Bob although there are several that include his wife Elizabeth, who had her own illustrious government career.

Ford/Dole Sticker Roll

Running for vice president in 1976 on the Ford/Dole provided Senator Dole with invaluable campaign experience. Imagine how many rolls of stickers just like this would have been used at just one campaign stop.

Dole Caricature

Yellow and blue were Senator Dole's campaign colors for his 1988 presidential run, ensuring he would stand out. This drawing pokes fun at that as well as Dole's propensity for referencing himself in the third person.

Dole in '80 Button

In 1979, Bob Dole announced his candidacy for President. Although it was a fairly short campaign and Dole pulled out early on, it was a good first attempt.

Dole in '88 Button

In late November 1987, Bob Dole announced his second campaign run for President of the United States. He would do better this time around, even upsetting George H.W. Bush in the Iowa Caucuses, but was never able to win a primary.

'96 President Button

The 1996 campaign was Dole's third and most successful presidential campaign. Easily winning the Republican Party's nomination, Dole chose Jack Kemp as his running mate. Ultimately Dole would lose to President Bill Clinton

Discussion Questions

These are a sampling of campaign buttons from Senator Dole's campaigns. What would your campaign slogan be if you were running for president?
What conservation problems do you think come with preserving campaign buttons?
Why do you think Senator Dole kept consistently running for president?

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