No presidential candidate has ever drawn the crowds or enthusiasm of William Jennings Bryan. He was defeated three times as the Democrat nominee for president.
FR and other amateur political junkies wallow in exaggerated emotions, expectations and claims when it comes to candidates. The vast majority of voters are much more ho-hum, instinctually understanding elites will get their way and the overall culture will trump politics anyway.
Per Wikipedia:
After 1920 he supported Prohibition and attacked Darwinism and evolution, most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925 in Tennessee. Five days after the conclusion of the Scopes case, Bryan died in his sleep.
This is sadly like the Donks, to overdo things, even good things like temperance and creationism, both of which they turned their backs on in political cynicism later because their tempestuous approach didn't sell.