If you are a Baby Boomer, there's a good chance that Adlai Stevenson was the first Also-Ran of your lifetime. The Illinois governor ran against Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, losing both times.
Stevenson's loss showed a growing problem within the electorate: eloquence, urbanity, and wit-- all of which he had in abundance-- were now seen as political liabilities in a Cold War era that required a different kind of leader.