AMERICAN HISTORY - ELECTIONS

 

This summary table, hopefully, will provide a quick summary of the main information about each election - who won and who lost and the numbers of electoral votes each candidate received and percent of the popular vote. The main 'third parties' are included. In the right hand column the blue link is to the large Wikipedia entry that provides much detail on each election including issues, personalities, maps, tables and background. In this table by looking at the electoral and popular vote one can quickly see the impact of the electoral sustem which reqires a majority of votes by the Electors on presidential elections. But it does not reveal the larger national political impact. The Constitution reqires that a winner Must have an absolute majority of the vote by the Electors from each state- 50+ percent -not just a plurality as in most European elections. - And in elections to legislatures. Moreover, the initial concept was that electors would select prominent national figures and the individual receiving the second most votes would be the Vice President. The Founders did not conceive of there being 'political parties' based on ideology and policymatters. They were used to ancient republics in which 'factions' were organized around leading individuals and were not permanent nor with their own staffs. The first 'miscue' came in the first contended election when the Federalists were 'too clever' for their own good and made sure Thomas Pinckney received fewer votes that Adams - but the result was that Jefferson came in second and was therefore the Vice President. And he was totally opposed to every policy Adams suported. The Constitution provision was amended.
In the election of 1824 the requirement for an absolute majority showed its impact. Although Andrew Jackson received the most EC votes that was NOT an absolute majority due to the third party vote. The Constitutional requirement that in such case the President would be elected by the House of Representatives became effective. Henry Clay was the most powerful leader in the House and he pushed is supporters to vote for Adams. Of course Jackson and his supporters were furious. They had their revenge in the next election.
Note also the many times that the winner in the EC did not have a majority of the popular vote - and sometimes no one had a popular absolute majority. The maps show the winners for each state and indicate the sectional divisions in many elections.

 
     

Year

Winner

Vote

Loser

Vote

Others

Results, Issues and Encyclopedia

1788 George Washinton
John Adams
EC 69 - Pop 100% unopposed   Un opposed {short description of image}
1792 GeorgeWashington
John Adams
EC -132 - Pop 100%
Adams - EC 77
unopposed - VP George Clinton Democratic-Republican Clinton EC 50 Jefferson - EC - 4 {short description of image}

President George Washington was nominated by both Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties for president, but George Clinton was nominated for VP by the Democratic Republican Party. Each elector had 2 votes and the rule was the president had the most votes and the VP had the second most.

.
1796 John Adams - Federalist Thomas Pinckneyand Pinckney EC - 72 - Pop 53.4% Thomas Jefferson - Democratic Republican
Aaron Burr
EC - 68 - Pop 46.6%   {short description of image}

Although Pinckney was the Federalist candidate they hoped would be vice-president they mistakenly failed their voting calculation resulting in Thomas Jefferson being elected vice-president - The Constitution was amended to change the rules once the candidates represented opposing parties, something the authors had not forseen.

1800 Thomas Jefferson - Democratic Republican
Aaron Burr
EC - 75 - Pop 61.4% John Adams - Federalist
Charles C. Pinckney
EC - 68 - Pop 38.6%  

This election is frequently termed the 'second American Revolution" {short description of image}

1804 Thomas Jefferson - Democratic Republican George Clinton EC - 152 - Pop 72.8% Charles C. Pinckney - Federalist
Rufus King
EC -14 - Pop 27.2%   {short description of image}
1808 James Madison- Democratic Republican - George Clinton EC - 122 - Pop 64.7% Charles C. Pickney - Federalist -
Rufus King
EC -87 - Pop 32.4% G. Clinton -Independent
EC - 6
{short description of image}
1812 James Madison - Democratic Republican Elbridge Gerry EC -126 - Pop 61.4$ DeWitt Clinton - Fusion
Jared Ingersoll
EC- 88   {short description of image}
1816 James Monroe- Democrtic Republican
Daniel Tompkins
EC -183 Rufus King - Federalist
John Howard
EC - 34   {short description of image}
1820 James Monroe - Democratic Republican Daniel Tompkins EC - 231 - J. Q. Adams - Ind . Republican
Richard Stockton
EC - 1   {short description of image}
1824 John Q. Adams -
John Calhoun
EC -84 Pop 37% Andrew Jackson
John Calhoun
EC - 94 Pop 47% Henry Clay & Nathan Sanford EC37
-William Crawford & Nathanal Macon EC 41
{short description of image}

Note the vote - Jackson had more votes but not enough - 50% in the EC - that was 128 votes - so the election went to the House and Henry Clay supported Adams.

1828 Andrew Jackson -Jacksonian Democrat - John Calhoun EC - 178 - Pop 56% J.Q. Adams - National Republican
Richard Rush
EC -83 - Pop 44%   {short description of image}
1832 Andrew Jackson - Jacksonian Democrat - Martin van Buren EC - 218 -Pop 66% Henry Clay & John Sargeant EC- 89 Pop 25% John Floyd & Henry Lee EC 11 Pop - William Wirt & Amous Ellmaker - EC 7 {short description of image}
1836 Martin van Buren- Democratic
Richard Mentor Johnson
EC - 170 Pop 57% W. H. Harrison - Whig -
Francis Granger
EC - 73 - Pop 37.5% Hugh White & John Tyler - Whig 26 EC 14- Daniel Webster& Frances Granger - Whig - EC 14 - Willie Mangum & John Tyler- Independent - EC 11 {short description of image}

The vote was split among 5 parties including 3 Whig. This election saw the change from individual factional politics to the two-party systen in which the various factions moved to either the Democratic of Whig party. It was also the last election until Bush in which a seated Vice President won election following his president

1840 W. H. Harrison - Whig John Tyler EC 234 - Pop 58% Martin van Buren - Democratic EC - 60 - Pop 46% Birney & Thomas Earle - Liberty EC 0 Pop .25% {short description of image}

Harrison died within weeks and Tyler became the 11th President.

1844 James Polk - Democratic George /Dallas EC 170 - Pop 50% Henry Clay - Whig
Theodore Frelinghuysen
EC - 105 - Pop 48% Birney & Thomas Morris- Liberty - Pop 2% {short description of image}
1848 Zachery Taylor- Whig Millard Fillmore EC - 163 Pop 47.5% Lewis Cass - Democratic William Butler EC - 127 - Pop 44.5% Martin Van Buren & Charles Adams - Free Soil - Pop 10% {short description of image}

Taylor died and Filmore became the 13th President

1852 Franklin Pierce - Democratic
William King
EC - 254 - Pop 51% Winfield Scott- Whig
William Graham
EC - 42 - Pop 44% John Hale & George Julian- Free Soil EC 0 - Pop 5% Daniel Webster & Charles Jenkins - Union
Jacob Brown & Raynall Coats Know Nothings
{short description of image}
1856 James Buchanan - Democratic
John Breckinridge
EC - 174 - Pop 45% John Fremont - Republican - William Dayton EC - 114 - Pop 33% Millard Fillmore & Andrew Donelson - Know Nothing EC 8 - Pop 22% {short description of image}
1860 Abraham Lincoln - Republican Hannibal Hamlin EC - 180 -Pop 40% John Breckinridge - Democratic Southern -
Joseph Lane
EC - 72 - Pop 18% John Bell & Edward Everett Constitutional UnionEC 39 Pop 18% -
Stephen Douglas & Henshel Johnson Democratic Northern - EC 12 - Pop 13%

{short description of image} Democrats split North and South and Constitutional Union tried to hold nation together. Consider what would have been the result if the winner would have been a candidate with a required majority of the popular vote.

1864 Abraham Lincoln - Republican
Andrew Johnson - He was a 'war Democrat' who was on National Union ticket with Lincoln
EC 212 - Pop 55% George McCellan - Democratic - George H. Pendleton EC - 21 - Pop 45%  

{short description of image} Only Northerners were eligible to vote.
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Andrew Johnson became president - He was impeached by the House but found not guilty by the Senate.

1868 Ulysses S. Grant - Republican
Schuyler Colfax
EC - 214 - Pop 53% Horatio Seymour- Democratic
Francis P. Blair Jr.
EC 80 - Pop 47%  

{short description of image}Of course neither Democrats nor Republicans would nominate Johnson. There were 294 EC votes with 148 needed to win.
The Democrats of course were Northerners. Blair during the Civil War had prevented Missouri from going Confederate and was a Union Major General at Vicksburg.
Texas, Mississippi, and Virginia did not qualify to vote - Kentucky, Georgia, and Lousiana voted Democratic.

1872 Ulysses S. Grant - Republican
Henry Wilson
EC - 286- Pop 57.5% Horace Greeley-Liberal Republican and Democratic
Benjamin Gratz Brown
Greeley EC 3 Pop 44% Brown EC 18 Thomas Hendricks -Independent Demo EC 42

Chrles Jenkins Democratic EC-2
Charles O'Conor & J.Q. Adams II- EC 0
David Davis - Liberal Reublican and Labor Reform party EC 1

{short description of image}Look what happened when insurgent Democrats ran, spitting the vote - Greeley was the official party candidate and received many popular votes but only 3 electoral votes. His VP partner received more. The EC vote in Missouri and Georgia was split 3 ways. And in Kentucky 2 ways. The Wikipedia map shows the details.

1876 Rutherford Hayes - Republican
William A. Wheeler
EC 185 - Pop 48% Samuel Tilden - Democratic
Thomas A. Hendricks
EC -184 - Pop 51%  

This was a very contentious election. The initial results showed Tilden with his 184 EC votes (one short) and Hayes with only 160 votes. There were 20 votes from disputed states - 20 in Florida, Lousianna and South Carolina and one in Oregon. Note the obvious southern aspect. There were electors chosen from both parties in those states. Eventually the political battle was waged over 'reconstruction'. The EC vote was given to the Republicans in exchange for the withdrawal of Northern troops and control of southern states. {short description of image}Note, the looser in the EC had more popular votes. This enabled the white Democrats to gain control and institute their own "Jim Crow" laws.

1880 James A. Garfield - Republican
Chester A. Arthur
EC 214 - Pop 48.27% Winfield Scott Hancock- Democratic
William Hayden English
EC 155 - Pop 48.25%  

{short description of image}The 'solid south' went Democratic - but not enough outside states joined them. They voted Democratic despite their candidate being a famous Union general. Both candidates won 19 states but the South lacked the population to have enough EC votes. But this cemented the 'solid south'.

1884 Grover Cleveland - Democratic
Thomas A. Hendricks
EC 291 Pop 48.5% James G. Blaine - Republican
John A. Logan
EC 182 - Pop 48.5% Minor parties - EC 0 - Pop 3.25% They were Prohibition, Greenback, and Anti-Monopoly Parties

{short description of image}The 'solid south' went Democratic again plus New York, New Jersey and Indiana. With 201 EC votes required the switch of New York 36 EC votes let the Democratic machine carry the day. Cleveland won his home state - NY - by 1,047 votes. This was an example from before the Civil War and repeated many times later - a combination of solid conservative southern voters and liberal voters in New York

1888 Benjamin Harrison - Republican
Levy P. Morton
EC - 232 - Pop 48% Grover Cleveland - Democratic
Allen G.Thurman
EC -168 - Pop 49% Minor parties - EC 0 - Pop 2%

{short description of image}'The solid south' again Democratic but they lost New York and Indiana, the 'swing states'; despite Cleveland's base in NY. The Republicans were clever in nominating Morton, who was a Representative from NY..

1892 Grover Cleveland - Democratic
Adlai Stevenson I
EC -277 - Pop 46% Benjamin Harrison - Republican
Whitelaw Reed
EC -145 - Pop 48% James B. Weaver - Populist - EC -22 - Pop 9% -Minor parties 2%

{short description of image}Again the 'solid south' regained New York plus California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and 1/3 of North Dakota

1896 William Mckinley - Republican
Garret Hobart
EC - 271 - Pop 51% William J. Bryan - Democratic
Arthur Sewall
Populist Thomas Watson
EC 176 - Pop 47%  Minor parties 2%

{short description of image}The Democrats held the 'solid south' plus gained the entire midwest - the 'free silver' advocates - popular farmer and miner vote - but still insufficnent. This was the election campaign in which William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous 'Cross ofGold" speech. And the political issue over gold and silver is what the famous book "Wizard of OZ" is about. The real policy battle was over 'tight' versus 'loose' money policy.

1900 William McKinley - Republican
Theodore Roosevelt
EC - 292 - Pop 52% William J. Bryan - Democratic
Adlai Adlie E. Stevenson I
EC 155 - Pop 46% Minor parties 2% There were Populist, Fusion. Prohibition. National Socialist, Anti-Imperialist League, and other parties

{short description of image}The south remained solid Democrat but lost in the north and west. McKinley was assassinated in 1901 and succeeded by Roosevelt.

1904 T. Roosevelt - Republican
Charles W. Fairbanks
EC 336 - Pop 56% Alton B. Parker - Democrat
Henry G. Davis
EC 140 - Pop 38% Minor 6%

{short description of image}The south remained solid Democrat ( 13 states) but was overwhelmed elsewhere.

1908 William Howard Taft - Republican
James S. Sherman
EC 321 - Pop 52% William J. Bryan - Democrat -
John W. Kern
EC 162 - Pop 43%  Again, there were Socialist, Populist, Prohibition, Independence. and Soclalis Labor Parties - The Wilipedia article has great maps and tables sowing details about all the parties.

{short description of image}Roosevelt promised not to run again and personally persuaded Taft to run. Again, the south remained Democrat but could not gain in the north, except for Bryan's home- Nebraska - and silver states Nevada and Colorado. Bryan was a three time looser. He went on to support W.Wilson in exchange for becoming Secretary of State.

1912 Woodrow Woodrow Wilson - Democratic
Thomas R. Marshall
EC 435 - Pop 42% William H. Taft- Republican
Nicholas Murray Nicholas Murray Butler
EC 8 - Pop 27.5% T. Roosevelt - Hiram Johnson Progressive - EC 88 - Pop 27%
Eugene V. Debs - Socialist - There were also the Prohibition and Socialist Labor Parties

{short description of image}The Democrats swept all but 8 states in the north and far west as the Republicans split between Roosevelt and Taft. Having placed Taft in the Presidency in 1908, Roosevelt felt betrayed by Taft's policies and chose to disrupt the election of his friend. Roosevelt won 6 states and Taft won only 2 states - a remarkable loss for a sitting President. Probably Wilson's policies actually appealed more to Roosevelt than did Taft's.

1916 Woodrow Wilson - Democratic
Thomas R. Marshall
EC 277 - Pop 49% Charles Evans Hughes - Republican
Charles Fairbanks
EC 254 - Pop 46% Minor parties 5% - There were the same four 'minor' parties.

{short description of image} Charles Evans Hughes was a Supreme Court Justice

1920 Warren G. Harding - Republican
Calvin Coolidge
EC 404 - Pop 60% James M. Cox - Democratic
Franklkin_D._Roosevelt
EC 127 -Pop 34.5% Minor parties 5.5%

{short description of image}Harding was assassinated and Coolidge became President - The south remained Democratic.

1924 Calvin Coolidge - Republican
Charles G. Dawes
EC 382 - Pop 54% John B. Davis - Democratic
Charles W. Bryan
EC 136 -Pop 29% Robert M. La Follette Sr.- Progressive - EC 13 - Pop 16.5% - Minor Pop .5%
These were Prohibition, Communist, Socialist Labor, and American Parties

{short description of image}La Follette carried only his home state - Wisconsin. The Democrats in the south added Tennessee and Oklahoma.

1928 Herbert Hoover - Republican
Charles Curtis
EC 444 - Pop 58% Al Smith - Democratic
Joseph Taylor Robinson
EC - 87 - Pop 47% Norman Thomas Socialist - Vern Reynolds, Socialist Labor,
William Foster, Communist
William Varney, Prohibition
Frank Webb, Farmer-Labor

{short description of image}The Democrats retained only 6 southern states but added Massachusetts.

1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt - Democratic
John Nance Garner
EC 472 - Pop 57% Herbert Hoover - Republican
Charles Curtis
EC 59 - Pop 40% Minor 2% {short description of image}
1936 Franklin D. Roosevent - Democratic
John Nance Garner
EC -528 -Pop 67% Alf Landon - Republican
Frank Knox
EC - 8 - Pop 36.5%   {short description of image}
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt - Democratic
Henry A. Wallace
EC 449 - Pop 54.9% Wemdel Wilkie - Republican
Charles L. McNary
EC 82 - Pop 44.5%   {short description of image}

This was an unprecedented third term for Roosevelt

1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt - Democratic
Harry S. Truman
EC 432 - Pop 53.5% Thomas Dewey- Republican
John W. Bricker
EC 99 - Pop 46%   {short description of image}

There were 531 total EC votes. The winner required 266 EC votes Franklin Roosevelt died in office and was succeeded by Harry Truman

1948 Harry Truman - Democratic
Alben W. Barkley
EC 303 - Pop 49.5% Thomas Dewey - Republican
Earl Warren
EC 189 - Pop 46% Strom Thurmond - States Rights EC 39 Pop 2.5%=Minor .5%
Henry Wallace - Progressive Labor
Norman Thomas Socialist Claude Watson Prohiibition

{short description of image} There were still 531 EC votes with 266 required for the winner.

1952 Dwight Eisenhower - Republican
Richard Nixon
EC 442 - Pop 55% Adlai Stevenson II - Democratic
John Sparkman
EC - 89 - Pop 44.5%   {short description of image}
1956 Eisenhower - Republican
Richard Nixon
EC 457 - POP 57.5% Adlai Stevenson II- Democratic
Estes Kefauver
EC 73 - 42%  

{short description of image} The winner still required 266 votes.

1960 John F. Kennedy - Democratic
Lyndon B. Johnson
EC 303 - Pop 49.5% Richard Nixon - Republican
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
EC 219 - 49.6% He won the popular vote by about 160,000 Harry F. Byrd - Indepndent Democrat - EC 15
There were usual other parties

{short description of image}The winner required 269 EC votes with the additions of Alaska and Hawaii.
Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon Johnson became President

1964 Lyndon Johnson - Democrat
Hubert Humphrey
EC -486 Pop 68.1% Barry Goldwater - Republican
William E. Miller
EC -52 - Pop 38.5%  

{short description of image} The winner needed 270 EC votes, because the District of Columbia was added.

1968 Richard Nixon - Republican
Spiro Agnew
EC - 301 - Pop 43.4% Hubert Humphrey - Democratic
Edmund Muskie
EC 191=Pop 42.7% George WallaceAmerican Independenyt - EC 46 Pop 13.5%
Curtis LeMay

{short description of image} The EC vote needed was 270 - fortunately Wallace did not take too many that would put the election into the House.

1972 Richard Nixon - Republican
Spiro Agnew
EC 520 - Pop 60.7% George McGovern - Democratic
Sargent Shriver
EC 17 - Pop 37.5%  

{short description of image}Richard Nixon resigned and was succeeded by Gerald Ford. Agnew had already resigned and Nixon appointed Ford as VP.

1976 Jimmy Carter - Democratic
Walter Mondale
EC 297 - Pop 50.1% Gerald Ford - Republican
Bob Dole
EC 240 - Pop 48%  

{short description of image} The EC requirement remained at 270 - This election was unique in that Gerald Ford had been appointed VP by Nixon and then when Nixon resigned Ford became the sitting president - thus he was the only sitting president to run for election who had never been elected as either VP or President.
As expected Carter took the entire south and Ford took the entire west. A shift of 30 EC votes would have changed the winner. The map will show in which states that might have occured.

1980 Ronald Reagan - Republican
George H. W. Bush
EC 489 - Pop 50.7% Jimmy Carter - Democratic
Walter Mondale
EC 49 - Pop 41% John B. Anderson - Independent EC 0 - Pop 6.6% {short description of image}
1984 Ronald Reagan - Republican
George H. W. Bush
EC 522 - Pop 68.4% Walter Mondale - Democratic
Geraldine Ferraro
EC - 13 -Pop 40.6%   {short description of image}
1988 George H. W. Bush - Republican
Dan Quayle
EC 426 - Pop 53.4% Michael Dukakis - Democratic
Lloyd Bentson
EC 111 - Pop 45.6%   {short description of image}
1992 William Clinton - Democratic
Al Gore
EC - 370 -pop 43% George H. W. Bush - Republican
Dan Quyale
EC 168 - Pop 37.4% Ross Perot - Independent James Stockdale EC 0 - Pop 18.9%

{short description of image} Again, the maps will show in which states Perot's vote - if for Bush - might have changed the outcome or if for Clinton would have increased his win.

1996 William Clinton - Democratic
Al Gore
EC 379 Pop 49.2% Bob Dole - Republican
Jack Kemp
EC 159 - Pop 40.7% Ross Perot - Reform
Pat Choate EC 0 - Pop 8.4%

{short description of image} With Perot's influence declining Clinton gained 9 EC voites.

2000 George W. Bush- Republican
Dick Dick Cheney
EC 271 -Pop 47.9% Al Gore - Democratic
Joe Liberman
EC 266 - Pop 48.4%  

{short description of image}This is the election with the famous 'hanging chad' in Florida - Note that Bush won by 1 vote in the EC. and Gore had the larger popular vote. The election was decided by the Supreme Court.

2004 George W. Bush - Republican
Dick Cheney
EC 286 - Pop 50.7% John Kerry - Democratic
John Edwards
EC 261 -Pop 48.3%   {short description of image}
2008 Barack Obama - Democrat
Joe Biden
EC 365 - Pop 52.9 John McCain - Republican
Sarah Palin
EC 173 - Pop 45.7%   {short description of image}
2012 Barack Obama - Democrat
Joe Biden
EC 332 -Pop 51.1% Mitt Romney - Republican
Paul Ryan
EC 206 - Pop 47.2% Gary Johnson - Libertarian - There were other 'minor' parties as well

{short description of image} Obama has 26 states plus DC to Romney's 24. The states were showing more the liberal vs conservative split with the south, except Florida now conservative. The vote by counties map shows the split even more forcefully. With the census of 2010 and shift of EC votes 8 states gained and 10 lost electors.

2016 Donald Trump - Republican
Mike Mike Pence
EC 304 - Pop 46.1% Hillary Clinton - Democrat
Tim Kaine
EC 227 - Pop 48.2% Faithless voters - 7 in EC- 3 in Washington state - 2 in Texas - One in Hawaii and One in Maine

{short description of image}Not frequently mentioned are the 'faithless voters' for Colin Powell, John Kaisich, Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders and Faith Spotted Eagle

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