Albert Arnold Gore Sr. (1907–1998) Democratic US Senator from Tennessee (1952-1976) Democratic nominee for President (1976 Presidential election), defeated by incumbent President Ronald Reagan. Gore is often seen as a "throwaway" candidate by the Democrats, due to the fact that Reagan was polling well over sixty percent going into the summer of 1976. He was also unfairly called "elderly", though only 4 years older than Reagan, due to his less vigorous, even un-healthy pallor compared with the energetic, sun-tanned Californian.