Presidential Elections 1876–2024
Presidential elections reflect different eras of American history. Some eras, like our current political alignment, are characterized by relatively predictable swings back and forth between the Democratic and Republican parties. Other eras have seen more political hegemony, such as the period between 1896–1928 during which Republican candidates won seven out of nine presidential elections.
This page stops at 1876 because that was the first election in which voters in all states were given the right to choose their state's electoral votes. Before 1876, state legislatures often chose a state's electoral votes, leaving voters little say in the decision.
Eras:
Tech Age (2024–2000) | Modern (1996–1976) | Civil Rights (1972–1952)
New Deal (1948–1932) | Republican (1928–1896) | Gilded Age (1892–1876)
Elections:
2024 | 2020 | 2016 | 2012 | 2008 | 2004 | 2000 | 1996 | 1992 | 1988 | 1984 | 1980 | 1976 | 1972 | 1968 | 1964 | 1960 | 1956 | 1952 | 1948 | 1944 | 1940 | 1936 | 1932 | 1928 | 1924 | 1920 | 1916 | 1912 | 1908 | 1904 | 1900 | 1896 | 1892 | 1888 | 1884 | 1880 | 1876
Former President Donald J. Trump won a second term in office during the 2024 presidential election, beating incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris with 312 electoral votes. Trump became the second president to win a second non-consecutive term after Grover Cleveland.
Incumbent President Joe Biden initially chose to run for reelection, but dropped out of the race in July 2024 amid sustained pressure over his age and popularity. Harris was the first Black woman, and the first Asian-American, to win the nomination of a major political party.
Trump is the first convicted felon elected to the presidency, as well as the first president to win election after being impeached during a previous term. Trump will also be the oldest person to ever assume the presidency; he will be 78 years and 220 days old at his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Popular vote totals are estimates until states finalize and certify their elections in December.
Former Vice President Joe Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump in 2020 with 306 electoral votes. The election took place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tens of millions of ballots were cast by mail, necessitating a longer-than-usual count in the days following the election.
Trump did not take his loss well; he used the lengthy vote count to falsely accuse Democrats of rigging the election against him. Months of legal wrangling ensued. Trump instigated a mob of angry supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol during the electoral vote count on January 6, 2021, the first organized attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. Trump was impeached for a second time on January 13 as a consequence for his actions on January 6.
Biden became the oldest person to ever assume the presidency at the age of 78 years and 61 days on January 20, 2021. Former California Senator Kamala Harris became the first woman to serve as vice president.
Joe Biden's raw vote total of 81,283,501 remains the greatest number of raw votes ever received by a candidate in a single election in American history.
Businessman and reality television star Donald J. Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the presidency in 2016 with 304 electoral votes. The election results are widely considered to be one of the largest upsets in American history, given that Clinton held a steady lead in the polls leading up to the election. Seven faithless electors cast ballots for individuals other than Trump (2) and Clinton (5).
Clinton was the first woman nominated for president by a major political party. This was the fourth time in American history the candidate who won the popular vote did not win the electoral college. Clinton won 2.86 million more votes than Trump, the largest margin by which a losing candidate has ever won the popular vote.
Incumbent President Barack Obama defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2012 with 332 electoral votes. Obama became the first Democrat to win reelection with a majority of the popular vote since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama defeated Arizona Senator John McCain for the presidency in 2008 with 365 electoral votes. Obama became the first Black person to be nominated for and elected President of the United States. North Carolina and Indiana went blue for the first time since 1964.
McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, was the second woman, and the first Republican woman, nominated for vice president by a major political party.
Incumbent President George W. Bush secured reelection over Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, winning the 2004 presidential election with 286 electoral votes. This was the first time a Republican won the national popular vote since 1988, and it would be the last until 2024. One faithless elector accidentally cast their presidential ballot for Kerry's running mate, North Carolina Senator John Edwards.
Texas Governor George W. Bush narrowly won the presidency with 271 electoral votes, beating incumbent Vice President Al Gore. One faithless elector from Washington D.C. abstained in protest.
The outcome hinged on a razor-thin margin in Florida, where intense legal battles raged over recounts for more than a month after the election. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ordered an end to Florida's recounts, solidifying Bush's 537-vote (0.009%) lead over Gore—handing him the state's electoral votes and, with them, the presidency.
Incumbent President Bill Clinton won a comfortable reelection victory over Kansas Senator Bob Dole. Clinton secured a second term with 379 electoral votes, becoming the last Democratic candidate to win a number of southern states, including Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky.
Clinton was the first Democrat reelected to a second term since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.
Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeated incumbent President George H.W. Bush in 1992, carrying 32 states and Washington D.C. for a total of 370 electoral votes. Bush became one of ten incumbent presidents defeated for reelection—the first since Jimmy Carter in 1980, and the last until Donald Trump in 2020.
Businessman Ross Perot ran a strong independent campaign for president, securing 18.2% of the vote in the best showing for a non-major party candidate since 1912. Perot's strength held Bush and Clinton below 50% of the vote in every state but Clinton's home state of Arkansas.
The 1992 election began a political realignment that started a nearly unbroken streak of West Coast and New England states voting for Democratic presidential candidates.
Incumbent Vice President George H.W. Bush resoundingly defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis for the presidency, securing Republicans a third consecutive term in the White House. Bush won 426 electoral votes and 40 states in this election. One faithless elector voted for Dukakis' running mate, Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsten, in protest.
This was the first election in 20 years without an incumbent president on the ballot. Bush was the first incumbent vice president elected to the presidency in his own right since Martin Van Buren in 1836.
Incumbent President Ronald Reagan won a landslide victory against former Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984, winning 49 of the 50 states to secure 525 electoral votes—the largest electoral vote victory in American history. Mondale locked Reagan out of a 50-state sweep after winning Minnesota by a 3,761-vote (0.18%) margin.
Mondale's running mate, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, was the first woman nominated for the vice presidency by a major political party.
Former California Governor Ronald Reagan scored a decisive victory over incumbent President Jimmy Carter to win the 1980 presidential election. Reagan won 489 electoral votes and 44 out of the 50 states.
At the time, Reagan was the oldest person to ever assume the presidency. He was 69 years and 349 days old at the start of his term on January 20, 1981.
Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter narrowly defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford with 297 electoral votes to win the presidency in 1976. One faithless elector voted for Ronald Reagan instead of Gerald Ford. Carter was the last Democrat to win a majority of the southern states in a presidential campaign.
Incumbent President Richard Nixon decisively secured reelection against South Dakota Senator George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. Nixon won 520 electoral votes, carrying every state but Massachusetts. One faithless elector voted for Libertarian candidate John Hospers instead of Nixon.
The events of the ensuing Watergate Scandal would unfold during Nixon's reelection campaign, precipitating his resignation in 1974. Nixon would become the first person to ever resign the presidency. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon in office.
Ford was the first president to assume the office having never received a single vote in a presidential election. He became Richard Nixon's vice president on December 6, 1973, after Vice President Spiro Agnew's resignation, and Ford assumed the presidency ten months later when Richard Nixon himself resigned on August 9, 1974.
Former Vice President Richard Nixon defeated incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey to win the turbulent 1968 presidential election. The assassinations of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. took place during the campaign, as well as subsequent riots and widespread protests over the Vietnam War.
Alabama Governor George Wallace became the last third-party presidential candidate to win electoral votes at the ballot box. Wallace's deeply racist pro-segregation campaign won him five southern states, amounting to 46 electoral votes.
Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson secured a landslide reelection against Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Johnson carried 44 states to win 486 electoral votes. He won 61.1% of the popular vote, the largest margin of victory since the universal adoption of voters choosing electors in 1876.
This race took place against the backdrop of President John F. Kennedy's assassination less than one year earlier, as well as several significant legislative victories for the Civil Rights movement.
Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon to win 303 electoral votes in the 1960 presidential election. Kennedy won the second-narrowest popular vote victory in American history. Fifteen electors—one faithless, fourteen unpledged—voted for West Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd for president.
Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president bound by the Twenty-Second Amendment, which forbids a president from serving more than two full terms in office. Kennedy was the first Catholic and the youngest person to ever assume the presidency; he was 43 years and 236 days old at his inauguration on January 20, 1961.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower won a comfortable victory in his rematch against former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower won 457 electoral votes among 41 states, a slightly larger victory than the one that propelled him to the White House in 1952. One faithless elector from Alabama voted for Judge Walter Burgwyn Jones for president.
Former Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson to win the presidency in 1952. Incumbent President Harry S. Truman chose not to run for reelection. Eisenhower became the first Republican elected president since 1928.
Incumbent President Harry S. Truman defeated New York Governor Thomas Dewey in one of the most shocking political upsets in American history. Truman won 303 electoral votes in an election where most observers expected Dewey to easily defeat Truman.
South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond ran a third-party campaign focused on preserving segregation and racist Jim Crow laws. He won four states—Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina—to carry 39 electoral votes. He would be the last third-party candidate to win a state until George Wallace in 1968.
Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a fourth term in office in 1944, defeating New York Governor Thomas Dewey in a rout. Roosevelt secured 432 electoral votes; his smallest share of the electoral college in four elections. This election unfolded in the midst of World War II.
Vice President Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency after Roosevelt died just three months into his fourth term.
Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a historic third term in office over businessman Wendell Willkie in 1940. Buoyed by popular support for his New Deal policies and weariness in the shadow of World War II, Roosevelt won reelection with 449 electoral votes.
Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt sailed to reelection over Kansas Governor Alf Landon in the 1936 presidential election. The campaign occurred in the midst of the Great Depression.
The popularity of Roosevelt's New Deal policies, combined with Landon's ineffective (and largely absent) campaign, helped Roosevelt carry all but two states to win 523 electoral votes and three-fifths of the popular vote.
New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt unseated incumbent President Herbert Hoover during the 1932 presidential campaign. Promising a “New Deal” and criticizing Hoover's response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt claimed victory in 42 states for a total of 472 electoral votes.
This was the first time a Democrat was elected president since 1916, and it ended the 36-year-long Fourth Party System that largely saw Republican candidates dominate presidential elections.
Incumbent President Calvin Coolidge chose not to run for reelection. Former Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover won the 1928 presidential election over Governor Al Smith of New York. Hoover's landslide victory of 444 electoral votes was the third commanding Republican performance in a row.
Incumbent President Calvin Coolidge comfortably won election in his own right against former Congressman John W. Davis in the 1924 presidential election. He won 35 states for a total of 382 electoral votes.
Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette won his home state and carried its 13 electoral votes for the Progressive Party. This would be the last time a third-party candidate won a state in a presidential election until Strom Thurmond in 1948.
Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding defeated Ohio Governor James M. Cox to carry the presidency in the 1920 campaign. Harding won 404 electoral votes and 37 states, securing three-fifths of the national popular vote.
This was the first presidential election conducted since women secured the right to vote after ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.
Harding died on August 2, 1923. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge.
Incumbent President Woodrow Wilson narrowly beat former Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes to secure a second term in 1916. Wilson won 277 electoral votes, just over the 266 needed at the time to win the presidency.
This would be the last time a Democrat won the presidency until Franklin D. Roosevelt's election in 1932.
New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson convincingly won a messy four-way race in the presidential election of 1912. Wilson's opponents were incumbent President William Howard Taft, former President Theodore Roosevelt, and former Congressman Eugene V. Debs.
Wilson carried 40 states for a total of 435 electoral votes. Roosevelt won six states and 88 electoral votes for his Progressive Party. Taft suffered the worst defeat of an incumbent president in American history, winning just two states and 23.2% of the popular vote.
Statesman William Howard Taft comfortably won the 1908 presidential election over William Jennings Bryan, securing 321 electoral votes. This was Bryan's third and final nomination for the presidency, and it featured his worst performance against the Republican nominee.
Incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt secured a full term in office in 1904 when he won 336 electoral votes over his opponent, former New York judge Alton B. Parker.
Incumbent President William McKinley easily won reelection over William Jennings Bryan, securing 292 electoral votes and just over half of the national popular vote.
McKinley was assassinated six months into his second term. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him as president to finish the term.
Former Ohio Governor William McKinley defeated former Congressman William Jennings Bryan to win the presidency in 1896 with 271 electoral votes. A candidate at the time needed 224 electoral votes to win the White House.
This would begin a 36-year era of American politics known as the Fourth Party System, during which Republicans largely dominated presidential politics.
In their third and final election against one another, former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent President Benjamin Harrison to return to the White House in 1892. Cleveland won a commanding 277 electoral votes, becoming the first of two presidents elected to serve non-consecutive terms. James B. Weaver of the Populist Party won 22 electoral votes.
Former Indiana Senator Benjamin Harrison defeated incumbent President Grover Cleveland in the 1888 election, narrowly securing victory with 233 of the 201 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Harrison was the second president to win the electoral college despite losing the popular vote—the last time this would happen until the 2000 presidential election.
Incumbent president Chester A. Arthur chose not to run for election. New York Governor Grover Cleveland won a tight race against Maine Senator James G. Blaine, securing 219 of the 201 electoral votes needed to win the 1884 presidential election.
Cleveland was the first Democrat elected president since 1856.
Incumbent President Rutherford B. Hayes chose not to run for reelection. Former congressman James A. Garfield beat Winfield Scott Hancock in a closely fought race. This was the last of six consecutive presidential election victories for the Republican Party.
Garfield died from a gunshot wound on September 19, 1881; he was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur.
Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes defeated New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden in one of the closest elections in American history. Hayes secured 185 electoral votes, the exact number needed for a candidate to win the presidency. Tilden won 50.9% of the popular vote, the first time the victorious candidate lost the popular vote.
This was the first election in which voters in every state were afforded the opportunity to vote for electors to cast ballots in the electoral college. Before 1876, state legislatures often chose a state's electoral votes, leaving voters little say in the decision.