Less than 3 candidates won states during the Democratic primaries of 2004 .
The large field made possible the fact that the 2016 Republican primaries were the first since 1968 ( and the first in which every state held a contest ) in which more than three candidates won at least one state ( though in 2012 three candidates ( Mitt Romney , Rick Santorum , and Newt Gingrich ) won states and a fourth ( Ron Paul ) won a territory ( Virgin Islands ) while Democratic primaries have historically been more divided ; examples are the Democratic primaries in 1968 ( five candidates won states ) , 1972 ( seven ) , 1976 ( six ) , 1988 ( five ) , 1992 ( five ) , and 2004 ( four ) ) .Prior to the Iowa caucuses on February 1 , Perry , Walker , Jindal , Graham and Pataki withdrew due to low polling numbers .
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries