Creation
Washington and Lee University is a liberal arts institution founded in 1749 and located in the small town of Lexington, Virginia. Originally called Augusta Academy, this university has donned many different names throughout its long and deep history. Today, the name Washington and Lee is a reminder of the support and impact that both George Washington and Robert E. Lee had on this campus. In 1796, Washington donated $20,000 to help the university avoid bankruptcy. And the institution’s second name sake, Lee, was the university president from 1865 until his death in 1870.
Today, W&L is known for its beautiful campus, unique honor system and countless traditions. One longstanding institution that students and alumni both treasure is the university’s Mock Convention. In 1908, presidential candidate Williams Jennings Bryan came to visit W&L to speak to the students and generate interest in his campaign. In honor of his arrival, students on campus decided to put together a mock Democratic Convention, in which they correctly nominated Bryan. These students unknowingly caused a pivotal moment in Washington and Lee’s history and created a legacy that has now lasted 112 years.
Since 1908, every four years the university holds a mock convention for the political party not in office. Students all over campus join one of the 57 delegations and conduct thorough research to predict the way in which their delegation will vote. The culmination of this research and preparation is a three-day long event in which the university will hear from student-hired speakers and become more educated on the current elecetion year. In the last session of the weekend, the delegates vote and Washington and Lee nominates a presidential candidate.
The Washington Post calls this event "one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious mock conventinos." Newsweek calls it "the most realistic." And at the 1960 convention, Harry S. Truman said, " this is a real convention, and I ought to know because I've been looking at them since 1912." Of the 26 conventions held since 1908, W&L has predicted correclty 20 times, a 77% success rate. However, that percentage is actually skewed by the early years' nominees. Since 1976, Washington and Lee has only been incorrect once, a 91% success rate.
The students invovled in the 2020 Mock Convention hoped to increase this success rate. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The 2020 Convention predicted Bernie Sanders to be the Democratic nominee. However, on April, 8, 2020, Sanders removed himself from the running. He has since backed former Vice President Joe Biden for the nomination. So, although the Democratic Convention has yet to occur, Biden appears to be the de facto nominee.