# List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin

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.
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. Since the 1988 election, the popular vote of presidential elections has been decided by single-digit margins, the longest streak of close-election results since states began popularly electing presidents in the 1820s.

## 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
| Election | Winner and party | Winner and party | Electoral College | Electoral College | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote | Runner-up and party | Runner-up and party | Turnout |
| Election | Winner and party | Winner and party | Votes | % | % | Margin | Votes | Margin | Runner-up and party | Runner-up and party | Turnout |
| 1788–89 | George Washington | Ind. | 69/69 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 43,782 | 43,782 | ,No candidate | ,No candidate | 11.6% |
| 1792 | George Washington | Ind. | 132/132 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 28,579 | 28,579 | ,No candidate | ,No candidate | 6.3% |
| 1796 | John Adams | Fed. | 71/138 | 51.45% | 53.45% | 6.90% | 35,726 | 4,611 | Thomas Jefferson | D-R | 20.1% |
| 1800 | Thomas Jefferson | D-R | 73/138 | 52.90% | 61.43% | 22.86% | 41,330 | 15,378 | Aaron Burr | D-R | 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 | 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 | 10.1% |
| 1824 | John Quincy Adams | D-R | 84/261 | 32.18% | 30.92% | −10.44% | 113,142 | −38,221 | Andrew Jackson | D-R | 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. Frémont | Rep. | 79.4% |
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln | Rep. | 180/303 | 59.41% | 39.65% | 10.13% | 1,855,993 | 474,049 | John C. Breckinridge | Dem. | 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. | 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% | 43,129,040 | 15,953,286 | 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 | 8,422,115 | 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% | 44,909,889 | 5,805,339 | George H. W. Bush | Rep. | 58.1% |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton | Dem. | 379/538 | 70.45% | 49.23% | 8.51% | 47,401,185 | 8,203,716 | Bob Dole | Rep. | 51.7% |
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Rep. | 271/538 | 50.47% | 47.87% | −0.51% | 50,456,002 | −543,895 | Al Gore | Dem. | 54.2% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush | Rep. | 286/538 | 53.16% | 50.73% | 2.46% | 62,040,610 | 3,012,166 | 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. | 60.1% |
| 2020 | Joe Biden | Dem. | 306/538 | 56.88% | 51.31% | 4.45% | 81,283,501 | 7,059,526 | Donald Trump | Rep. | 66.6% |
| 2024 | Donald Trump | Rep. | 312/538 | 57.99% | 49.80% | 1.48% | 77,302,580 | 2,284,967 | Kamala Harris | Dem. | 63.9% |
* ↑ 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, 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.
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ 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, while Stephen A. Douglas was the runner up in the popular vote.
* ↑ 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.