December, and then got the nomination.

According to the most recent poll from CNN, Trump is beating his nearest competitor, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, by 20 points, and he’s consistently been near the top of the pack since the summer.

Of course, the wildcard nature of this election suggests that there’s a good possibility the future might not look anything like the past.

One exception: 1964 nominee Barry Goldwater. In the fall of 1963, he was polling neck-and-neck with Nelson Rockefeller and not considered a clear frontrunner, but went on to win the nomination.

Democrats tend to be less predictable, and there are multiple examples of Democratic candidates who had wide leads a year before the election who went on to lose the nomination. Howard Dean was leading by double digits inBrandin Cooks was on the New England Patriots last year when he was knocked out of the Super Bowl in the second quarter after suffering a concussion. His team eventually fell to the Philadelphia Eagles and handed them their first Super Bowl title.

This year, Cooks has a second chance to get a ring as the star wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots traded Cooks to the Rams in the offseason. Cooks on Tuesday said he still uses the trade as “fuel.”

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“It's fuel to the fire,” he said. "I know that I can play this game at a high level, whether someone thinks it or not. For them to trade me, it's part of the game, but it also