Comparison of the popular vote totals since 1900[1]
Democratic
Republican
All other candidates together
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 since states began popularly electing presidents in the 1820s.[5]
The table below is a list of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin. It is sorted to display elections by their presidential term / year of election, name, margin by percentage in popular vote, popular vote, margin in popular vote by number, and the runner up in the Electoral College.
^ abWashington ran unopposed and was unanimously elected in both elections; John Adams received the majority of electors' second votes and became vice-president.
^Jefferson became vice-president, as both Adams's and Jefferson's electors split over their choices for vice-president.
^Jefferson and Burr ran on the same ticket; 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, who eventually elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot. The Twelfth Amendment was later enacted to prevent a recurrence of the issue.
^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), but he received endorsements from state Democratic-Republican parties (such as in New York) as well.
^The 1820 election took place at the height of the Era of Good Feelings; Monroe did not face serious opposition, though 16% of the popular vote went towards unpledged Federalist electors. Adams's only electoral vote came from a faithless elector.
^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.
^Breckinridge was the runner up in the electoral vote; Stephen A. Douglas was the runner up in the popular vote.
^The initial Democratic-backed candidate, Horace Greeley (Lib. Rep.), 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.
TimelineEdit
Presidents of the U.S. listed in a timeline graph of elections with results of the popular vote color coded for political parties. 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 as well (Ford). 5 other former vice presidents are underlined (14 total). The top line indicates the Presidency number (e.g. Reagan: 40th) with Roman numerals indicating election (and term) number.
^"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
^"Clinton on pace to win popular vote despite losing election". CBS News. November 9, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
^Bostedt, Shelbie Lynn (November 9, 2016). "How it happened: Clinton wins popular vote but loses Election". RedEye. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
^McPherson, J. (2001). To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents. Dorling Kindersly Publishing.
^Enten, Harry (December 26, 2022). "The most underdiscussed fact of the 2022 election: how historically close it was". CNN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
^McDonald, Michael P. (11 June 2014). "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Elections Project. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
Leip, David. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Peters, Gerhard. Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections.
External linksEdit
- Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
October 19, 2023
list, united, states, presidential, elections, popular, vote, margin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 However the popular vote is not used to determine who is elected as the nation s president or vice president Thus 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 the 2016 election 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 Comparison of the popular vote totals since 1900 1 Democratic Republican All other candidates togetherThe 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 since states began popularly electing presidents in the 1820s 5 Contents 1 List 2 Timeline 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksList EditThe table below is a list of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin It is sorted to display elections by their presidential term year of election name margin by percentage in popular vote popular vote margin in popular vote by number and the runner up in the Electoral College Key Parties Democratic Republican Democratic Republican Whig Progressive Liberal Republican National Republican Federalist IndependentVote outcomes Winner did not receive a majority of the popular vote Winner lost the popular vote Winner chosen by the House of RepresentativesElection Winner and party Electoral College Popular vote Runner up and party Turnout 6 Votes Margin Votes Margin1788 89 George Washington Ind 69 69 100 00 100 00 100 00 43 782 43 782 No candidate a 11 6 1792 George Washington Ind 132 132 100 00 100 00 100 00 28 579 28 579 No candidate a 6 3 1796 John Adams Fed 71 138 51 45 53 45 6 90 35 726 4 611 Thomas Jefferson D R b 20 1 1800 Thomas Jefferson D R 73 138 52 90 61 43 22 86 41 330 15 378 Aaron Burr D R c 32 3 1804 Thomas Jefferson D R 162 176 92 05 72 79 45 58 104 110 65 191 Pinckney Charles C Pinckney Fed 23 8 1808 James Madison D R 122 175 69 72 64 74 32 33 124 732 62 301 Pinckney Charles C Pinckney Fed 36 8 1812 James Madison D R 128 217 58 99 50 37 2 74 140 431 7 650 DeWitt Clinton D R d 40 4 1816 James Monroe D R 183 217 84 33 68 16 37 24 76 592 41 852 Rufus King Fed 23 5 1820 James Monroe D R 231 232 99 57 80 61 64 69 87 343 69 878 John Quincy Adams D R e 10 1 1824 John Quincy Adams D R 84 261 32 18 30 92 10 44 113 142 38 221 Andrew Jackson D R f 26 9 1828 Andrew Jackson Dem 178 261 68 20 55 93 12 25 642 806 140 839 John Quincy Adams NR 57 3 1832 Andrew Jackson Dem 219 286 76 57 54 74 17 81 702 735 228 628 Henry Clay NR 57 0 1836 Martin Van Buren Dem 170 294 57 82 50 79 14 20 763 291 213 384 William Henry Harrison Whig 56 5 1840 William Henry Harrison Whig 234 294 79 59 52 87 6 05 1 275 583 145 938 Martin Van Buren Dem 80 3 1844 James K Polk Dem 170 275 61 82 49 54 1 45 1 339 570 39 413 Henry Clay Whig 79 2 1848 Zachary Taylor Whig 163 290 56 21 47 28 4 79 1 360 235 137 882 Lewis Cass Dem 72 8 1852 Franklin Pierce Dem 254 296 85 81 50 83 6 95 1 605 943 219 525 Winfield Scott Whig 69 5 1856 James Buchanan Dem 174 296 58 78 45 29 12 20 1 835 140 494 472 John C Fremont Rep 79 4 1860 Abraham Lincoln Rep 180 303 59 41 39 65 10 13 1 855 993 474 049 John C Breckinridge Dem g 81 8 1864 Abraham Lincoln Rep 212 233 90 99 55 03 10 08 2 211 317 405 090 George B McClellan Dem 76 3 1868 Ulysses S Grant Rep 214 294 72 79 52 66 5 32 3 013 790 304 810 Horatio Seymour Dem 80 9 1872 Ulysses S Grant Rep 286 352 81 25 55 58 11 80 3 597 439 763 729 Thomas A Hendricks Dem h 72 1 1876 Rutherford B Hayes Rep 185 369 50 14 47 92 3 00 4 034 142 252 666 Samuel J Tilden Dem 82 6 1880 James A Garfield Rep 214 369 57 99 48 31 0 09 4 453 337 1 898 Winfield Scott Hancock Dem 80 5 1884 Grover Cleveland Dem 219 401 54 61 48 85 0 57 4 914 482 57 579 James G Blaine Rep 78 2 1888 Benjamin Harrison Rep 233 401 58 10 47 80 0 83 5 443 892 90 596 Grover Cleveland Dem 80 5 1892 Grover Cleveland Dem 277 444 62 39 46 02 3 01 5 553 898 363 099 Benjamin Harrison Rep 75 8 1896 William McKinley Rep 271 447 60 63 51 02 4 31 7 112 138 601 331 William Jennings Bryan Dem 79 6 1900 William McKinley Rep 292 447 65 23 51 64 6 12 7 228 864 857 932 William Jennings Bryan Dem 73 7 1904 Theodore Roosevelt Rep 336 476 70 59 56 42 18 83 7 630 557 2 546 677 Alton Brooks Parker Dem 65 5 1908 William Howard Taft Rep 321 483 66 46 51 57 8 53 7 678 335 1 269 356 William Jennings Bryan Dem 65 7 1912 Woodrow Wilson Dem 435 531 81 92 41 84 14 44 6 296 284 2 173 563 Theodore Roosevelt Prog 59 0 1916 Woodrow Wilson Dem 277 531 52 17 49 24 3 12 9 126 868 578 140 Charles Evans Hughes Rep 61 8 1920 Warren G Harding Rep 404 531 76 08 60 32 26 17 16 144 093 7 004 432 James M Cox Dem 49 2 1924 Calvin Coolidge Rep 382 531 71 94 54 04 25 22 15 723 789 7 337 547 John W Davis Dem 48 9 1928 Herbert Hoover Rep 444 531 83 62 58 21 17 41 21 427 123 6 411 659 Al Smith Dem 56 9 1932 Franklin D Roosevelt Dem 472 531 88 89 57 41 17 76 22 821 277 7 060 023 Herbert Hoover Rep 56 9 1936 Franklin D Roosevelt Dem 523 531 98 49 60 80 24 26 27 752 648 11 070 786 Alf Landon Rep 61 0 1940 Franklin D Roosevelt Dem 449 531 84 56 54 74 9 96 27 313 945 4 966 201 Wendell Willkie Rep 62 4 1944 Franklin D Roosevelt Dem 432 531 81 36 53 39 7 50 25 612 916 3 594 987 Thomas E Dewey Rep 55 9 1948 Harry S Truman Dem 303 531 57 06 49 55 4 48 24 179 347 2 188 055 Thomas E Dewey Rep 52 2 1952 Dwight D Eisenhower Rep 442 531 83 24 55 18 10 85 34 075 529 6 700 439 Adlai Stevenson II Dem 62 3 1956 Dwight D Eisenhower Rep 457 531 86 06 57 37 15 40 35 579 180 9 551 152 Adlai Stevenson II Dem 60 2 1960 John F Kennedy Dem 303 537 56 42 49 72 0 17 34 220 984 112 827 Richard Nixon Rep 63 8 1964 Lyndon B Johnson Dem 486 538 90 33 61 05 22 58 43 127 041 15 951 287 Barry Goldwater Rep 62 8 1968 Richard Nixon Rep 301 538 55 95 43 42 0 70 31 783 783 511 944 Hubert Humphrey Dem 62 5 1972 Richard Nixon Rep 520 538 96 65 60 67 23 15 47 168 710 17 995 488 George McGovern Dem 56 2 1976 Jimmy Carter Dem 297 538 55 20 50 08 2 06 40 831 881 1 683 247 Gerald Ford Rep 54 8 1980 Ronald Reagan Rep 489 538 90 89 50 75 9 74 43 903 230 8 423 115 Jimmy Carter Dem 54 2 1984 Ronald Reagan Rep 525 538 97 58 58 77 18 21 54 455 472 16 878 120 Walter Mondale Dem 55 2 1988 George H W Bush Rep 426 538 79 18 53 37 7 72 48 886 597 7 077 121 Michael Dukakis Dem 52 8 1992 Bill Clinton Dem 370 538 68 77 43 01 5 56 44 909 806 5 805 256 George H W Bush Rep 58 1 1996 Bill Clinton Dem 379 538 70 45 49 23 8 51 47 400 125 8 201 370 Bob Dole Rep 51 7 2000 George W Bush Rep 271 537 50 47 47 87 0 51 50 455 156 537 179 Al Gore Dem 54 2 2004 George W Bush Rep 286 538 53 16 50 73 2 46 62 040 610 3 012 171 John Kerry Dem 60 1 2008 Barack Obama Dem 365 538 67 84 52 93 7 27 69 498 516 9 550 193 John McCain Rep 61 6 2012 Barack Obama Dem 332 538 61 71 51 06 3 86 65 915 795 4 982 291 Mitt Romney Rep 58 6 2016 Donald Trump Rep 304 538 56 50 46 09 2 09 62 984 828 2 868 686 Hillary Clinton Dem 57 3 2020 Joe Biden Dem 306 538 56 88 51 31 4 45 81 284 666 7 060 347 Donald Trump Rep 66 2 a b Washington ran unopposed and was unanimously elected in both elections John Adams received the majority of electors second votes and became vice president Jefferson became vice president as both Adams s and Jefferson s electors split over their choices for vice president Jefferson and Burr ran on the same ticket 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 who eventually elected Jefferson on the 36th ballot The Twelfth Amendment was later enacted to prevent a recurrence of the issue 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 but he received endorsements from state Democratic Republican parties such as in New York as well The 1820 election took place at the height of the Era of Good Feelings Monroe did not face serious opposition though 16 of the popular vote went towards unpledged Federalist electors Adams s only electoral vote came from a faithless elector 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 Breckinridge was the runner up in the electoral vote Stephen A Douglas was the runner up in the popular vote The initial Democratic backed candidate Horace Greeley Lib Rep 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 Edit nbsp Presidents of the U S listed in a timeline graph of elections with results of the popular vote color coded for political parties 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 as well Ford 5 other former vice presidents are underlined 14 total The top line indicates the Presidency number e g Reagan 40th with Roman numerals indicating election and term number See also EditList of United States presidential elections by Electoral College margin List of United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote List of United States presidential candidates by number of votes received National Popular Vote Interstate CompactReferences Edit Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections uselectionatlas org Retrieved November 12 2017 Clinton on pace to win popular vote despite losing election CBS News November 9 2016 Retrieved March 31 2019 Bostedt Shelbie Lynn November 9 2016 How it happened Clinton wins popular vote but loses Election RedEye Chicago Tribune Retrieved March 31 2019 McPherson J 2001 To the Best of My Ability The American Presidents Dorling Kindersly Publishing Enten Harry December 26 2022 The most underdiscussed fact of the 2022 election how historically close it was CNN Retrieved December 26 2022 McDonald Michael P 11 June 2014 National General Election VEP Turnout Rates 1789 Present United States Elections Project Retrieved 16 November 2016 Leip David Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections Peters Gerhard Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections External links EditHow close were U S Presidential Elections Michael Sheppard Massachusetts Institute of Technology Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin amp oldid 1170790169, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
