List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin

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Comparison of the popular vote totals from 1900 to 2020 .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Democratic Republican All other candidates together US Presidential elections popular votes since 1900.png
Comparison of the popular vote totals from 1900 to 2020
  Democratic
  Republican
  All other candidates together

In a United States presidential election, the popular vote is the total number or the percentage of votes cast for a candidate by voters in the 50 states and Washington, D.C.; the candidate who gains the most votes nationwide is said to have won the popular vote. As the popular vote is not used to determine who is elected as the nation's president or vice president, it is possible for the winner of the popular vote to end up losing the election, an outcome that has occurred on five occasions, most recently in 2016. This is because presidential elections are indirect elections; the votes cast on Election Day are not cast directly for a candidate but for members of the Electoral College. The Electoral College's electors then formally elect the president and vice president. [2] [3]

Contents

The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1804) provides the procedure by which the president and vice president are elected; electors vote separately for each office. Previously, electors cast two votes for president, and the winner and runner up became president and vice-president respectively. The appointment of electors is a matter for each state's legislature to determine; in 1872 and in every presidential election since 1880, all states have used a popular vote to do so.

The 1824 election was the first in which the popular vote was first fully recorded and reported. Since then, 19 presidential elections have occurred in which a candidate was elected or reelected without gaining a majority of the popular vote. [4] Since the 1988 election, the popular vote of presidential elections was decided by single-digit margins, the longest streak of close-election results since states began popularly electing presidents in the 1820s. [5]

List

Key
Parties:    Federalist •    Democratic-Republican •    National Republican •    Whig •    Democratic •    Republican •    Progressive •    Independent
Vote outcomes:    Winner received only a plurality of the popular vote •    Winner lost the popular vote •    Winner chosen by the House of Representatives
ElectionWinner and partyElectoral CollegePopular voteRunner-up and party Turnout [6]
Votes % %MarginVotesMargin
1788–89 George Washington Ind.69/69100%100%100%43,78243,782No candidate [a] 11.6%
1792 Ind.132/13228,57928,5796.3%
1796 John Adams Fed.71/13851.45%53.45%6.90%35,7264,611 Thomas Jefferson D-R [b] 20.1%
1800 Thomas Jefferson D-R73/13852.90%61.43%22.86%41,33015,378 Aaron Burr D-R [c] 32.3%
1804 Thomas Jefferson D-R162/17692.05%72.79%45.58%104,11065,191 Charles C. Pinckney Fed.23.8%
1808 James Madison D-R122/17569.72%64.74%32.33%124,73262,301Fed.36.8%
1812 D-R128/21758.99%50.37%2.74%140,4317,650 DeWitt Clinton D-R [d] 40.4%
1816 James Monroe D-R183/21784.33%68.16%37.24%76,59241,852 Rufus King Fed.23.5%
1820 D-R231/23299.57%80.61%64.69%87,34369,878 John Quincy Adams D-R [e] 10.1%
1824 John Quincy Adams D-R84/26132.18%30.92%−10.44%113,142−38,221 Andrew Jackson D-R [f] 26.9%
1828 Andrew Jackson Dem.178/26168.20%55.93%12.25%642,806140,839 John Quincy Adams NR57.3%
1832 Dem.219/28676.57%54.74%17.81%702,735228,628 Henry Clay NR57.0%
1836 Martin Van Buren Dem.170/29457.82%50.79%14.20%763,291213,384 William Henry Harrison Whig56.5%
1840 William Henry Harrison Whig234/29479.59%52.87%6.05%1,275,583145,938 Martin Van Buren Dem.80.3%
1844 James K. Polk Dem.170/27561.82%49.54%1.45%1,339,57039,413 Henry Clay Whig79.2%
1848 Zachary Taylor Whig163/29056.21%47.28%4.79%1,360,235137,882 Lewis Cass Dem.72.8%
1852 Franklin Pierce Dem.254/29685.81%50.83%6.95%1,605,943219,525 Winfield Scott Whig69.5%
1856 James Buchanan Dem.174/29658.78%45.29%12.20%1,835,140494,472 John C. Frémont Rep.79.4%
1860 Abraham Lincoln Rep.180/30359.41%39.65%10.13%1,855,993474,049 John C. Breckinridge Dem. [g] 81.8%
1864 Abraham Lincoln Rep.212/23390.99%55.03%10.08%2,211,317405,090 George B. McClellan Dem.76.3%
1868 Ulysses S. Grant Rep.214/29472.79%52.66%5.32%3,013,790304,810 Horatio Seymour Dem.80.9%
1872 Rep.286/35281.25%55.58%11.80%3,597,439763,729 Thomas A. Hendricks Dem. [h] 72.1%
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes Rep.185/36950.14%47.92%−3.00%4,034,142−252,666 Samuel J. Tilden Dem.82.6%
1880 James A. Garfield Rep.214/36957.99%48.31%0.09%4,453,3371,898 Winfield Scott Hancock Dem.80.5%
1884 Grover Cleveland Dem.219/40154.61%48.85%0.57%4,914,48257,579 James G. Blaine Rep.78.2%
1888 Benjamin Harrison Rep.233/40158.10%47.80%−0.83%5,443,892−90,596 Grover Cleveland Dem.80.5%
1892 Grover Cleveland Dem.277/44462.39%46.02%3.01%5,553,898363,099 Benjamin Harrison Rep.75.8%
1896 William McKinley Rep.271/44760.63%51.02%4.31%7,112,138601,331 William Jennings Bryan Dem.79.6%
1900 Rep.292/44765.23%51.64%6.12%7,228,864857,932Dem.73.7%
1904 Theodore Roosevelt Rep.336/47670.59%56.42%18.83%7,630,5572,546,677 Alton Brooks Parker Dem.65.5%
1908 William Howard Taft Rep.321/48366.46%51.57%8.53%7,678,3351,269,356 William Jennings Bryan Dem.65.7%
1912 Woodrow Wilson Dem.435/53181.92%41.84%14.44%6,296,2842,173,563 Theodore Roosevelt Prog.59.0%
1916 Dem.277/53152.17%49.24%3.12%9,126,868578,140 Charles Evans Hughes Rep.61.8%
1920 Warren G. Harding Rep.404/53176.08%60.32%26.17%16,144,0937,004,432 James M. Cox Dem.49.2%
1924 Calvin Coolidge Rep.382/53171.94%54.04%25.22%15,723,7897,337,547 John W. Davis Dem.48.9%
1928 Herbert Hoover Rep.444/53183.62%58.21%17.41%21,427,1236,411,659 Al Smith Dem.56.9%
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt Dem.472/53188.89%57.41%17.76%22,821,2777,060,023 Herbert Hoover Rep.56.9%
1936 Dem.523/53198.49%60.80%24.26%27,752,64811,070,786 Alf Landon Rep.61.0%
1940 Dem.449/53184.56%54.74%9.96%27,313,9454,966,201 Wendell Willkie Rep.62.4%
1944 Dem.432/53181.36%53.39%7.50%25,612,9163,594,987 Thomas E. Dewey Rep.55.9%
1948 Harry S Truman Dem.303/53157.06%49.55%4.48%24,179,3472,188,055 Thomas E. Dewey Rep.52.2%
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower Rep.442/53183.24%55.18%10.85%34,075,5296,700,439 Adlai Stevenson II Dem.62.3%
1956 Rep.457/53186.06%57.37%15.40%35,579,1809,551,152Dem.60.2%
1960 John F. Kennedy Dem.303/53756.42%49.72%0.17%34,220,984112,827 Richard Nixon Rep.63.8%
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem.486/53890.33%61.05%22.58%43,129,04015,953,286 Barry Goldwater Rep.62.8%
1968 Richard Nixon Rep.301/53855.95%43.42%0.70%31,783,783511,944 Hubert Humphrey Dem.62.5%
1972 Richard Nixon Rep.520/53896.65%60.67%23.15%47,168,71017,995,488 George McGovern Dem.56.2%
1976 Jimmy Carter Dem.297/53855.20%50.08%2.06%40,831,8811,683,247 Gerald Ford Rep.54.8%
1980 Ronald Reagan Rep.489/53890.89%50.75%9.74%43,903,2308,422,115 Jimmy Carter Dem.54.2%
1984 Rep.525/53897.58%58.77%18.21%54,455,47216,878,120 Walter Mondale Dem.55.2%
1988 George H. W. Bush Rep.426/53879.18%53.37%7.72%48,886,5977,077,121 Michael Dukakis Dem.52.8%
1992 Bill Clinton Dem.370/53868.77%43.01%5.56%44,909,8895,805,339 George H. W. Bush Rep.58.1%
1996 Dem.379/53870.45%49.23%8.51%47,401,1858,203,716 Bob Dole Rep.51.7%
2000 George W. Bush Rep.271/53850.47%47.87%−0.51%50,456,002−543,895 Al Gore Dem.54.2%
2004 George W. Bush Rep.286/53853.16%50.73%2.46%62,040,6103,012,166 John Kerry Dem.60.1%
2008 Barack Obama Dem.365/53867.84%52.93%7.27%69,498,5169,550,193 John McCain Rep.61.6%
2012 Dem.332/53861.71%51.06%3.86%65,915,7954,982,291 Mitt Romney Rep.58.6%
2016 Donald Trump Rep.304/53856.50%46.09%−2.09%62,984,828−2,868,686 Hillary Clinton Dem.60.1%
2020 Joe Biden Dem.306/53856.88%51.31%4.45%81,283,5017,059,526 Donald Trump Rep.66.6%
2024 Donald Trump Rep.312/53857.99%49.80%1.48%77,302,5802,284,967 Kamala Harris Dem.63.9%
  1. ↑ Washington ran unopposed and was unanimously elected in both elections; John Adams received the majority of electors' second votes and became vice-president.
  2. ↑ Jefferson became vice-president, as both Adams's and Jefferson's electors split over their choices for vice-president.
  3. ↑ Jefferson and Burr ran on the same ticket, and Jefferson's main election rival in the 1800 election was incumbent president and Federalist candidate John Adams. Due to the Democratic-Republicans failing to arrange for a different candidate to receive what was Burr's 73rd electoral vote, the election was decided by the House, which eventually elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot. The Twelfth Amendment was later enacted to prevent a recurrence of the issue.
  4. ↑ While commonly labeled as the Federalist candidate, Clinton ran as a Democratic-Republican and was not nominated by the Federalist party itself, the latter simply deciding not to field a candidate. This did not prevent endorsements from state Federalist parties, such as in Pennsylvania; he also received endorsements from state Democratic-Republican parties, such as in New York.
  5. ↑ The 1820 election took place at the height of the Era of Good Feelings, and Monroe did not face serious opposition, although 16% of the popular vote went towards unpledged Federalist electors. Adams's only electoral vote came from a faithless elector.
  6. ↑ Jackson won a plurality of electoral votes (99 compared to Adams's 84) but lost due to Adams securing a majority of state delegations in the contingent election.
  7. ↑ Breckinridge was the runner up in the electoral vote, while Stephen A. Douglas was the runner up in the popular vote.
  8. ↑ The initial Democratic-backed candidate, Horace Greeley of the Liberal Republican Party), died between the popular election and the meeting of electors; his electoral college votes scattered, with Hendricks gaining 42 of the 66 electors previously committed to Greeley.

Timeline

Presidents of the U.S. listed in a timeline graph of elections with results of the popular vote color coded for political parties from 1788 to 2024. A gray arrow points to the name of a person who became president without having been elected as president (9 total). The double arrow indicates becoming president without having been elected as vice president (e.g. Ford). 5 other former vice presidents are underlined (14 total). The top line indicates the presidency number (e.g. 40th for Reagan) with Roman numerals indicating election and term number. PartyVotes-Presidents.png
Presidents of the U.S. listed in a timeline graph of elections with results of the popular vote color coded for political parties from 1788 to 2024.
A gray arrow points to the name of a person who became president without having been elected as president (9 total). The double arrow indicates becoming president without having been elected as vice president (e.g. Ford). 5 other former vice presidents are underlined (14 total). The top line indicates the presidency number (e.g. 40th for Reagan) with Roman numerals indicating election and term number.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Leip, Dave (1993). "U.S. Presidential Elections Results". U.S. Election Atlas. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2025. Updated through the years.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ↑ "Clinton on pace to win popular vote despite losing election". CBS News. November 9, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  3. ↑ Bostedt, Shelbie Lynn (November 9, 2016). "How it happened: Clinton wins popular vote but loses Election". RedEye. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ McPherson, J. (2001). To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents. Dorling Kindersly Publishing.
  5. ↑ Enten, Harry (December 26, 2022). "The most underdiscussed fact of the 2022 election: how historically close it was". CNN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ McDonald, Michael P. (June 11, 2014). "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Elections Project. Retrieved November 16, 2016.

Bibliography

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