Other candidates campaigning for the nomination but receiving less than 1 % of the national vote included : Having been badly defeated in the 1984 presidential election , the Democrats in 1985 and 1986 were eager to find a new approach to win the presidency . They created the Democratic Leadership Council ( DLC ) . They felt more optimistic this time due to the continuing Iran Contra scandal plus the large gains in the 1986 mid-term elections which resulted in the Democrats taking back control of the Senate after six years of Republican rule . They were looking for a young , inspiring candidate who could appeal to women , national security Democrats , and minorities . To this end party leaders tried to recruit the New York Governor , Mario Cuomo , to be a candidate . Cuomo had impressed many Democrats with his stirring keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention , and they believed that he would be a strong candidate . However , Cuomo chose not to run and as a result , the Democratic front-runner for most of 1987 was former Colorado Senator Gary Hart . He had made a strong showing in the 1984 presidential election and , after Mondale 's defeat , had positioned himself as the moderate centrist many Democrats felt their party would need to win
1984 Democratic Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries