2016 United States presidential election

2012 ←
November 8, 2016
→ 2020

538 members of the Electoral College

270 electoral votes needed to win

Nominee
**Mark Chamberlain**
Edwin McIver

Party
Republican
Democratic

Home state
Illinois
Arizona

Running mate
**Randolph Watson**
Jonathan Miller

Electoral vote
**289**
249

States carried
**27 + DC**
23

Popular vote
**71,244,638**
68,212,739

Percentage
**49.1%**
47.0%

Presidential election results map (2020 census). Red denotes states won by Chamberlain/Watson and blue denotes those won by McIver/Miller. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.

The **2016 United States presidential election** was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Mark Chamberlain and Illinois governor Randolph Watson defeated the Democratic ticket of U.S. Senator from Arizona Edwin McIver and U.S. Representative from California Jonathan Miller, in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in American history. Chamberlain took office as the 45th president, and Watson as the 48th vice president, on January 20, 2017.

Per the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, incumbent president Benjamin Wright was ineligible to seek a third term. McIver defeated incumbent Vice President Nicholas Redden in the Democratic primary. Chamberlain was trailing in second place for most of the campaign, but just clenched the nomination after eventual running mate Watson was the frontrunner for the majority of the campaign.

McIver led in almost every nationwide and swing-state poll, albeit usually by relatively small margins. On Election Day, Chamberlain over-performed his polls and won several key swing-states. Chamberlain received the majority in the Electoral College, with 289 electoral votes to McIver's 249, as fears of a contingent election rose. The final state, Illinois, was yet to be called and Chamberlain, with one electoral vote required to win the presidency. McIver led in Illinois in the final minutes and had he won Illinois, the election would have went to the House of Representatives and the Senate. Chamberlain was the first president with neither prior public service nor military experience.

On Election Night, the McIver campaign accused the Chamberlain campaign of colluding with Russia and Ukraine in order to influence the results of the election. An investigation by the FBI and Department of Justice found no evidence of this, and McIver eventually conceded that it was a lie to damage the President's reputation.

## Background

Article Two of the United States Constitution provides that the President and Vice President of the United States must be natural-born citizens of the United States, at least 35 years old, and residents of the United States for a period of at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the political parties, in which case each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. Traditionally, the primary elections are indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the president and vice president.

President Benjamin Wright, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator and Representative from Virginia, was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to the restrictions of the American presidential term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment; in accordance with Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expired at noon eastern standard time on January 20, 2017.

Likewise, ineligible to run for re-election for an additional term as president were past two-term presidents Leonard Peterson and Harris Rooney. While neither of them ran, former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush, each having served only one term, were both eligible to run for a second term as president.

## Nominations

### Republican Party

#### Nominees

**2016 Republican Party ticket**
for President
Chamberlain Holdings
(1988-2017)
Governor of Illinois
(2011-2016)

### Democratic Party

#### Nominees

**2016 Democratic Party ticket**
for President
(1999-2021)
(2011-2021)