MSNBC reporter Chris Jansing offered a not-quite-inspiring bit of spin on behalf of Hillary Clinton's candidacy Monday: If the nominee, she would likely do better than the only other Chappaqua, New York, resident to win a major party's presidential nomination.
The first one, however, was Horace Greeley, and he was beaten so thoroughly that he died in despair before the electoral college vote was cast. It is the only U.S. election to date where one of the major party nominees died before its completion. Incumbent Republican president and Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant defeated Greeley easily in the popular vote, and Greeley died on November 29 of that year.
Jansing filled Chris Matthews in on this bit of history during a report from Chappaqua, the Clintons' adopted hometown where they purchased a $1.7 million home before leaving the White House.
"I know you love history, Chris," Jansing said. "This is not the first time that Chappaqua could produce a nominee for president of the United States. 1872, Horace Greeley, who as you may recall got his clock cleaned by Ulysses S. Grant and was said to be so despondent that three weeks later, before the Electoral College met, he actually died.
"Hillary Clinton's prospects here, far better. This is a Democratic town. She is expected to win here handily, Chris," Jansing added, laughing.
Clinton served New York in the U.S. Senate for eight years before becoming secretary of state. She leads Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in state polling with the primary just a day away.