The Ballad of Wendell Willkie

Photo by Jimmy Tyler

Wendell Willkie was the Republican Party nominee who ran against Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940 U.S. Presidential election. As you’ve probably heard, poor old Wendell didn’t win the election. In fact, he died of a heart attack in 1944.

This campaign button is an original from his 1940 effort. It’s a testament to the noble medium of buttons that, 70+ years later, campaign buttons are still employed in much the same way.