United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania

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Presidential elections in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania in United States.svg
Number of elections60
Voted Democratic20
Voted Republican27
Voted other14
Voted for winning candidate49
Voted for losing candidate11

United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania occur when voters in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cast ballots for electors to the Electoral College as part of a national election to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Regularly scheduled general elections occur on Election Day, coinciding with elections in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. [1]

Contents

As in other states in the U.S., presidential elections are indirect elections. Voters do not cast ballots directly for a presidential candidate, but rather a slate of electors pledged to support that candidate, with the victorious slate of electors casting their ballots directly for President and Vice President of the United States as part of the Electoral College. [2] [3] During the first presidential election in 1789, Pennsylvania was allotted 15 electoral votes. In 2024, the most recent election, the state was allotted 19. This number, proportional to the state's population and decided every 10 years after a census, peaked at 38 from the 1912 election through the 1928 election. [4] The next presidential election in Pennsylvania, coinciding with the national election, is scheduled for November 7, 2028.

The list below contains election returns from all 60 quadrennial presidential elections in Pennsylvania, beginning with the first in 1789 and ending with the most recent in 2024. Incumbent Presidents are listed as well as presidential candidates who carried Pennsylvania and runner(s)-up in the state, including major third-party candidates (garnering 5% or more of the popular vote). Bold indicates the candidate who won the election nationally. Parties are color-coded to the left of a President's or candidate's name according to the key below. The popular vote and percentage margins listed in the "Margin" column are the differences between the total votes received and percentage of the popular vote received by the top two finishers in the corresponding election (i.e. the margin-of-victory of a candidate who carried Pennsylvania over the nearest competitor). The "E.V." section denotes the number of electoral votes cast in favor of the candidate who carried the state, which has been unanimous except for two occasions—1796 and 1800—in which the number in parentheses represents the number of votes cast for the runner-up.

In all, the Republican Party has carried Pennsylvania in 27 presidential elections, the Democratic Party in 20, the Democratic-Republican Party in 8, the Whig Party in 2, and the Progressive Party in 1 (1912). A nonpartisan candidate, George Washington, carried the state twice (in 1789 and 1792). Pennsylvania has voted for the overall victor in 49 of 60 elections (81.7% of the time) and is tied with Michigan and Wisconsin for the longest active streak of voting for the winning candidate.

List of elections

Parties

   Independent    Federalist    Democratic-Republican    Democratic    Whig    Republican    National Republican    Anti-Masonic    Know Nothing/American    Southern Democratic    National Union (1864)    Liberal Republican    Progressive (1912)    Socialist    Progressive (1924)    American Independent    Reform

ElectionIncumbent presidentPennsylvania winnerVotes E.V. PA runner(s)-upVotesMargin Turnout
[note 1]
Notes
1789  Office established  George Washington 7,383 (100.00%)15 None
1792  George Washington George Washington4,576 (100.00%)15 None
1796  George Washington  Thomas Jefferson 12,516 (50.58%)14 (1)  John Adams 12,229 (49.42%)289 (1.16%) [5]
[note 2]
1800  John Adams Thomas Jefferson60 (64.52%)8 (7) John Adams33 (35.48%)27 (29.04%) [6]
[note 3]
1804  Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson22,081 (94.69%)20  Charles Pinckney 1,239 (5.31%)20,842 (89.38%) [7]
1808  Thomas Jefferson  James Madison 42,508 (78.37%)20 Charles Pinckney11,735 (21.63%)30,733 (56.74%) [8]
1812  James Madison James Madison48,816 (62.60%)25  DeWitt Clinton 29,162 (37.40%)19,654 (25.20%) [9]
1816  James Madison  James Monroe 25,653 (59.33%)25  Rufus King 17,588 (40.67%)8,065 (18.66%) [10]
1820  James Monroe James Monroe30,313 (94.12%)24 DeWitt Clinton1,893 (5.88%)28,420 (88.24%) [11]
1824  James Monroe  Andrew Jackson 35,929 (76.04%)28  John Q. Adams 5,436 (11.50%)30,493 (64.54%) [12]
  William H. Crawford 4,182 (8.85%)
1828  John Q. Adams Andrew Jackson101,652 (66.66%)28 John Q. Adams50,848 (33.34%)50,804 (33.32%) [13]
1832  Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson91,949 (57.96%)30  William Wirt 66,689 (42.04%)25,260 (15.92%) [14]
1836  Andrew Jackson  Martin Van Buren 91,457 (51.18%)30  William H. Harrison 87,235 (48.82%)4,222 (2.36%) [15]
1840  Martin Van Buren William H. Harrison144,010 (50.00%)30 Martin Van Buren143,676 (49.88%)334 (0.12%) [16]
1844   John Tyler   James K. Polk 167,447 (50.50%)26  Henry Clay 161,125 (48.59%)6,322 (1.91%) [17]
1848  James K. Polk  Zachary Taylor 185,313 (50.28%)26  Lewis Cass 171,976 (46.66%)13,337 (1.91%) [18]
1852   Millard Fillmore   Franklin Pierce 198,562 (51.20%)27  Winfield Scott 179,104 (46.18%)19,458 (5.02%) [19]
[note 4]
1856  Franklin Pierce  James Buchanan 230,686 (50.13%)27  John C. Frémont 147,286 (32.01%)83,400 (18.12%) [20]
 Millard Fillmore82,189 (17.86%)
1860  James Buchanan  Abraham Lincoln 268,030 (56.26%)27  John C. Breckinridge 178,871 (37.54%)89,159 (18.72%) [21]
1864  Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln296,391 (51.75%)26  George B. McClellan 276,316 (48.25%)20,075 (3.50%) [22]
[note 5]
1868   Andrew Johnson   Ulysses S. Grant 342,280 (52.20%)26  Horatio Seymour 313,382 (47.80%)28,898 (4.40%) [23]
[note 6]
1872  Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant349,589 (62.07%)29  Horace Greeley 212,041 (37.65%)137,548 (24.42%) [24]
1876  Ulysses S. Grant  Rutherford B. Hayes 384,184 (50.62%)29  Samuel J. Tilden 366,204 (48.25%)17,980 (2.37%) [25]
1880  Rutherford B. Hayes  James A. Garfield 444,704 (50.84%)29  Winfield Scott Hancock 407,428 (46.57%)37,276 (4.27%) [26]
1884   Chester A. Arthur   James G. Blaine 478,804 (52.97%)30  Grover Cleveland 392,785 (43.46%)86,019 (9.51%) [27]
[note 7]
1888  Grover Cleveland  Benjamin Harrison 526,091 (52.74%)30 Grover Cleveland446,633 (44.77%)79,458 (7.97%) [28]
1892  Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison516,011 (51.45%)32 Grover Cleveland452,264 (45.09%)63,747 (6.36%) [29]
1896  Grover Cleveland  William McKinley 728,300 (60.98%)32  William Jennings Bryan 433,228 (36.27%)295,072 (24.71%) [30]
1900  William McKinley William McKinley712,665 (60.74%)32 William Jennings Bryan424,232 (36.16%)288,433 (24.58%) [31]
1904   Theodore Roosevelt  Theodore Roosevelt840,949 (68.00%)34  Alton B. Parker 337,998 (27.33%)502,951 (40.67%) [32]
[note 8]
1908  Theodore Roosevelt  William Howard Taft 745,779 (58.84%)34 William Jennings Bryan448,782 (35.41%)296,997 (23.43%) [33]
1912  William Howard Taft Theodore Roosevelt444,894 (36.53%)38  Woodrow Wilson 395,637 (32.49%)49,257 (4.04%) [34]
 William Howard Taft273,360 (22.45%)
  Eugene V. Debs 83,614 (6.87%)
1916  Woodrow Wilson  Charles Evans Hughes 703,823 (54.26%)38 Woodrow Wilson521,784 (40.22%)406,826 (14.04%) [35]
1920  Woodrow Wilson  Warren G. Harding 1,218,216 (65.76%)38  James M. Cox 503,843 (27.20%)714,373 (38.56%) [36]
1924   Calvin Coolidge  Calvin Coolidge1,401,481 (65.34%)38  John W. Davis 409,192 (19.08%)992,289 (46.26%) [37]
[note 9]
  Robert M. La Follette, Sr. 307,567 (14.34%)
1928  Calvin Coolidge  Herbert Hoover 2,055,382 (65.24%)38  Al Smith 1,067,586 (33.89%)987,796 (31.35%) [38]
1932  Herbert Hoover Herbert Hoover1,453,540 (50.84%)36  Franklin D. Roosevelt 1,295,948 (45.33%)157,592 (5.51%) [39]
1936  Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt2,353,987 (56.88%)36  Alf Landon 1,690,200 (40.84%)663,787 (16.04%) [40]
1940  Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt2,171,035 (53.23%)36  Wendell Willkie 1,889,848 (46.33%)281,187 (6.90%) [41]
1944  Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt1,940,479 (51.14%)35  Thomas E. Dewey 1,835,054 (48.36%)105,425 (2.78%) [42]
1948   Harry S. Truman  Thomas E. Dewey1,902,197 (50.93%)35 Harry S. Truman1,752,426 (46.92%)149,771 (4.01%) [43]
[note 10]
1952  Harry S. Truman  Dwight D. Eisenhower 2,415,789 (52.74%)32  Adlai Stevenson II 2,146,269 (46.85%)269,520 (5.89%) [44]
1956  Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower2,585,252 (56.49%)32 Adlai Stevenson II1,981,769 (43.30%)603,483 (5.89%) [45]
1960  Dwight D. Eisenhower  John F. Kennedy 2,556,282 (51.06%)32  Richard Nixon 2,439,956 (48.74%)116,326 (2.32%)70.3% [46] [47]
1964   Lyndon B. Johnson  Lyndon B. Johnson3,130,954 (64.92%)29  Barry Goldwater 1,673,657 (34.70%)1,457,297 (30.22%)67.9% [46] [48]
[note 11]
1968  Lyndon B. Johnson  Hubert Humphrey 2,259,405 (47.59%)29 Richard Nixon2,090,017 (44.02%)169,388 (3.57%)65.3% [46] [49]
  George Wallace 378,582 (7.97%)
1972  Richard Nixon Richard Nixon2,714,521 (59.11%)27  George McGovern 1,796,951 (39.13%)917,570 (19.98%)56.0% [46] [50]
1976   Gerald Ford   Jimmy Carter 2,328,677 (50.40%)27 Gerald Ford2,205,604 (47.73%)123,073 (2.67%)54.2% [46] [51]
[note 12]
1980  Jimmy Carter  Ronald Reagan 2,261,872 (49.59%)27 Jimmy Carter1,937,540 (42.48%)324,332 (7.11%)51.9% [46] [52]
  John B. Anderson 292,921 (6.42%)
1984  Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan2,584,323 (53.34%)25  Walter Mondale 2,228,131 (45.99%)356,202 (7.35%)54.0% [46] [53]
1988  Ronald Reagan  George H. W. Bush 2,300,087 (50.70%)25  Michael Dukakis 2,194,944 (48.39%)105,143 (2.31%)50.1% [46] [54]
1992  George H. W. Bush  Bill Clinton 2,239,164 (45.15%)23 George H. W. Bush1,791,841 (36.12%)447,323 (9.03%)54.3% [46] [55]
  Ross Perot 902,667 (18.20%)
1996  Bill Clinton Bill Clinton2,215,819 (49.17%)23  Bob Dole 1,801,169 (39.97%)414,650 (9.20%)48.9% [46] [56]
 Ross Perot430,984 (9.56%)
2000  Bill Clinton  Al Gore 2,485,967 (50.61%)23  George W. Bush 2,281,127 (46.44%)204,840 (4.17%)52.4% [46] [57]
2004  George W. Bush  John Kerry 2,938,095 (50.96%)21 George W. Bush2,793,847 (48.46%)144,248 (2.50%)60.0% [46] [58]
2008  George W. Bush  Barack Obama 3,276,363 (54.65%)21  John McCain 2,655,885 (44.30%)620,478 (10.35%)62.1% [46] [59]
2012  Barack Obama Barack Obama2,990,274 (52.08%)20  Mitt Romney 2,680,434 (46.68%)309,840 (5.40%)58.1% [46] [60]
2016  Barack Obama Donald Trump2,970,733 (48.17%)20  Hillary Clinton 2,926,441 (47.46%)44,292 (0.72%)60.27% [61]
2020  Donald Trump  Joe Biden 3,458,229 (49.85%)20 Donald Trump3,377,674 (48.84%)80,555 (1.16%)70.93% [62]
2024  Joe Biden Donald Trump3,543,308 (50.37%)19  Kamala Harris 3,423,042 (48.66%)67,856 (0.96%)76.60% [63]

Note: Bold candidate indicates president elected nationally.

See also

Notes

  1. Percentage of voting age population (VAP) unless otherwise noted.
  2. One electoral vote was cast for John Adams.
  3. Electors in 1800 were chosen by the state legislature. In addition to eight electoral votes for Jefferson, Pennsylvania cast seven for Adams.
  4. Zachary Taylor died in July 1850. Millard Fillmore served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  5. Abraham Lincoln sought re-election on the National Union ticket in 1864.
  6. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865. Andrew Johnson served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  7. James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Chester Arthur served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  8. William McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. Theodore Roosevelt served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  9. Warren Harding died in August 1923. Calvin Coolidge served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  10. Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April 1945. Harry S. Truman served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  11. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  12. Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974. Gerald Ford served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought election to a full term.

References

  1. 3 U.S.C.   § 1
  2. "Electoral College". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. "U.S. Electoral College". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  4. "Historical Election Results". U.S. Electoral College. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  5. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1796". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  6. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1800". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1804". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  8. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1808". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  9. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1812". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  10. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1816". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  11. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1820". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  12. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1824". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  13. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1828". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  14. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1832". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  15. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1836". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  16. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1840". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  17. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1844". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  18. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1848". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  19. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1852". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  20. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1856". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  21. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1860". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  22. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1864". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  23. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1868". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  24. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1872". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  25. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1876". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  26. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1880". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  27. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1884". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  28. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1888". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  29. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1892". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  30. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1896". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  31. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1900". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  32. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1904". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  33. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1908". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  34. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1912". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  35. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1916". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  36. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1920". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  37. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1924". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  38. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1928". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  39. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1932". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  40. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1936". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  41. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1940". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  42. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1944". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  43. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1948". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  44. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1952". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  45. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1956". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Voter Registration Statistics". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  47. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1960". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  48. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1964". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  49. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1968". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  50. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1972". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  51. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1976". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  52. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1980". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  53. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1984". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  54. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1988". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  55. "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1992". Wilkes University. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  56. "1996 Presidential General Election Results - Pennsylvania". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  57. "2000 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  58. "2004 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  59. "2008 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  60. "2012 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  61. "2016 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  62. "2020 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  63. "2024 Presidential Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Election Results. Retrieved December 19, 2024.