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The primary source for U.S. presidential elections online! |
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1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960
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| 1920 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Red: Warren Harding, Blue: James Cox, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Warren Harding
| Republican
| Ohio
| 16,144,093 (60.3%)
| 404 (76.1%)
| Calvin Coolidge
| James Cox
| Democratic
| Ohio
| 9,139,661 (34.1%)
| 127 (23.9%)
| Franklin Roosevelt
| Eugene Debs
| Socialist
| Indiana
| 913,693 (3.4%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Seymour Stedman
| Parley Christensen
| Farmer-Labor
| Illinois
| 265,411 (1.0%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Maximillian Hayes
| Aaron Watkins
| Prohibition
| Indiana
| 188,787 (0.7%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| David Colvin
| James Ferguson
| American
| Texas
| 47,968 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| William Hough
| William Cox
| Socialist Labor
| Missouri
| 31,716 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| August Gilhaus
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 34,496 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 26,765,180 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I.
The wartime boom had collapsed. Diplomats and politicians were arguing
over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations.
Overseas there were wars and revolutions; at home, 1919 was marked by
major strikes in meatpacking and steel, and large race riots in Chicago
and other cities. Terrorist attacks on Wall Street produced fears of radicals and terrorists.
Outgoing President Woodrow Wilson
was deeply unpopular: the economy was in a recession, Wilson's
prosecution of the war had angered several traditionally Democratic
constituencies, and his sponsorship of the League of Nations ran
counter to American isolationism which had been strengthened by World
War I's butcher bill. Moreover, Wilson's administration had been adrift
as Wilson himself had been disabled by a stroke.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt
had hoped to contend for the 1920 Republican nomination, which was
regarded as practically his for the taking, but his death in 1919 cut short his campaign, leaving the Republican field wide open.
Both major parties turned to dark horse candidates from the
elector-rich state of Ohio. The Democrats nominated newspaper publisher
and Governor James M. Cox to take on Senator Warren G. Harding. Calling for "normalcy", Harding essentially campaigned against Wilson, and, with an almost 4-to-1 spending advantage, beat Cox in a landslide.
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| 1924 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Red: Calvin Coolidge, Blue: John Davis, Green: Robert LaFollette, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Calvin Coolidge
| Republican
| Massachusetts
| 15,723,789 (54.0%)
| 382 (71.9%)
| Charles Dawes
| John Davis
| Democratic
| West Virginia
| 8,386,242 (28.8%)
| 136 (25.6%)
| Charles Bryan
| Robert LaFollette, Sr.
| Progressive
| Wisconsin
| 4,831,706 (16.6%)
| 13 (2.5%)
| Burton Wheeler
| Herman Faris
| Prohibition
| Missouri
| 55,951 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Marie Brehm
| William Foster
| Communist
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| 38,669 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Benjamin Gitlow
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 60,750 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 29,097,107 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1924 was won by incumbent President Calvin Coolidge in a landslide as he presided over a booming economy at home and no visible crises abroad.
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| 1928 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Red: Herbert Hoover, Blue: Al Smith, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Herbert Hoover
| Republican
| California
| 21,427,123 (58.2%)
| 444 (83.6%)
| Charles Curtis
| Al Smith
| Democratic
| New York
| 15,015,464 (40.8%)
| 87 (16.4%)
| Joseph Robinson
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
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| 267,478 (0.7%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| James Maurer
| William Foster
| Communist
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| 48,551 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Benjamin Gitlow
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 48,396 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 36,807,012 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Alfred E. Smith. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s and Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from anti-Catholic prejudice, leading to a landslide victory for Hoover.
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| 1932 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: Franklin Roosevelt, Red: Herbert Hoover, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Franklin Roosevelt
| Democratic
| New York
| 22,829,277 (57.4%)
| 472 (88.8%)
| John Garner
| Herbert Hoover
| Republican
| California
| 15,761,254 (39.7%)
| 59 (11.2%)
| Charles Curtis
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
| New York
| 884,885 (2.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| James Maurer
| William Foster
| Communist
| Illinois
| 103,307 (0.3%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| James Ford
| William Upshaw
| Prohibition
| Georgia
| 81,905 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Frank Regan
| William Harvey
| Liberty
| Arkansas
| 53,425 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Frank Hemenway
| Verne Reynolds
| Socialist Labor
| New York
| 33,276 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| J.W. Aiken
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 12,569 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 39,751,898 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Hoover's popularity was falling as voters felt he was unable reverse the economic collapse, or deal with prohibition. The Democrats led by Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a New Deal
(but left the specifics vague). Roosevelt won in a landslide and this
"critical election" marked the collapse of the Fourth Party System or Progressive Era. The voters soon were realigned into the Fifth Party System, dominated by Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition.
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| 1936 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: Franklin Roosevelt, Red: Alfred Landon, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Franklin Roosevelt
| Democratic
| New York
| 27,752,648 (60.8%)
| 523 (98.5%)
| John Garner
| Alfred Landon
| Republican
| Kansas
| 16,681,862 (36.5%)
| 8 (1.5%)
| Frank Knox
| William Lemke
| Union
| North Dakota
| 892,378 (2.0%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Thomas O'Brien
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
| New York
| 187,910 (0.4%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| George Nelson
| Earl Browder
| Communist
| Kansas
| 79,315 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| James Ford
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 53,586 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 45,647,699 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1936 took place as the Great Depression entered its eighth year. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was still working to push the provisions of his New Deal economic policy through Congress and the courts.
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| 1940 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: Franklin Roosevelt, Red: Wendell Willkie, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Franklin Roosevelt
| Democratic
| New York
| 27,313,945 (54.7%)
| 449 (84.6%)
| Henry Wallace
| Wendell Willkie
| Republican
| New York
| 22,347,744 (44.8%)
| 82 (15.4%)
| Charles McNary
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
| New York
| 116,599 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Maynard Krueger
| Roger Babson
| Prohibition
| Massachusetts
| 57,903 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Edgar Moorman
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 65,922 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 49,902,113 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1940 was fought in the shadow of World War II, which had started the previous September. Incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with tradition and ran for a third term, which became a major issue.
|
| 1944 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: Franklin Roosevelt, Red: Thomas Dewey, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Franklin Roosevelt
| Democratic
| New York
| 25,612,916 (53.4%)
| 432 (81.4%)
| Harry Truman
| Thomas Dewey
| Republican
| New York
| 22,017,929 (45.9%)
| 99 (18.6%)
| John Bricker
| (none)
| Texas Regulars
| (n/a)
| 135,439 (0.3%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (none)
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
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| 79,017 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Darlington Hoopes
| Claude Watson
| Prohibition
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| 74,758 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Andrew Johnson
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 57,004 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 47,977,063 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1944 took place while the homefront was preoccupied with fighting World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been in office longer than any other president, but remained popular.
|
| 1948 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: Harry Truman, Red: Thomas Dewey, Orange: Strom Thurmond, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Harry Truman
| Democratic*
| Missouri
| 24,179,347 (49.6%)
| 303 (57.1%)
| Alben Barkley
| Thomas Dewey
| Republican**
| New York
| 21,991,292 (45.1%)
| 189 (35.6%)
| Earl Warren
| Strom Thurmond
| Dixiecrat
| South Carolina
| 1,175,930 (2.4%)
| 39 (7.3%)
| Fielding Wright
| Henry Wallace
| Progressive/American Labor
| Iowa
| 1,157,328 (2.4%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Glen Taylor
| Norman Thomas
| Socialist
| New York
| 139,569 (0.3%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Tucker Smith
| Claude Watson
| Prohibition
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| 103,708 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Dale Learn
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 46,361 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 48,793,535 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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| * In New York,
the Truman vote was a fusion of the Democratic and Liberal slates.
There, Truman obtained 2,557,642 votes on the Democratic ticket and
222,562 votes on the Liberal ticket. ** In Mississippi,
the Dewey vote was a fusion of the Republican and Independent
Republican slates. There, Dewey obtained 2595 votes on the Republican
ticket and 2448 votes on the Independent Republican ticket.
Comments: The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most
historians as the greatest election upset in American history.
Virtually every prediction (with or without public opinion polls)
indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way split in his own party.
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| 1952 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Red: Dwight Eisenhower, Blue: Adlai Stevenson, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Dwight Eisenhower
| Republican
| New York
| 34,075,529 (55.2%)
| 442 (83.2%)
| Richard Nixon
| Adlai Stevenson
| Democratic
| Illinois
| 27,375,090 (44.3%)
| 89 (16.8%)
| John Sparkman
| Vincent Hallinan
| Progressive
| California
| 140,746 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Charlotta Bass
| Stuart Hamblen
| Prohibition
|
| 73,412 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Enoch Holtwick
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 87,165 (0.1%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 61,751,942 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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Comments: The United States presidential election of 1952 took place after over two years of stalemate in the Korean War and a volatile economy. Incumbent President Harry S. Truman decided not to run, so the Democratic Party instead nominated Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. The Republican Party countered with war hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower and won in a landslide, ending twenty years of Democratic control of the White House.
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| 1956 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Red: Dwight Eisenhower, Blue: Adlai Stevenson, Dark Green: Walter Jones, Brown: Territories
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| Dwight Eisenhower
| Republican
| Pennsylvania*
| 35,579,180 (57.4%)
| 457 (86.1%)
| Richard Nixon
| Adlai Stevenson
| Democratic
| Illinois
| 26,028,028 (42.0%)
| 73 (13.7%)
| Estes Kefauver
| Walter Jones
| Democratic
| Alabama
| --**
| 1 (0.2%)
| Herman Talmadge
| (unpledged electors)
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 196,145 (0.3%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| T. Coleman Andrews
| States' Rights
| Virginia
| 107,929 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| Thomas Werdel
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 110,046 (0.2%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 62,021,328 (100%)
| 531 (100%)
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| * There is some confusion about Eisenhower's home state in this election.
Both [Leip] and the National Archives give Eisenhower's home state as
New York. There are strong reasons to believe that these two sources
are erroneous: The National Archives cites the Senate Manual as a source, and the Senate Manual has Eisenhower's home state as Pennsylvania. The brief description for the book Republican Party National Convention (26th : 1956 : San Francisco) in the Library of Congress' online catalog refers to “Dwight D. Eisenhower of Pennsylvania”. Finally, the Maryland Manual has Eisenhower residing in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. ** Alabama faithless elector W. F. Turner, who was pledged to Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver, instead cast his votes for Walter Burgwyn Jones, who was a circuit court judge in Turner's home town, and Herman Talmadge, governor of the neighboring state of Georgia.
Comments: The United States presidential election of 1956 saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election after his first term.
Incumbent President Eisenhower was popular, but had health
conditions that became a quiet issue. Stevenson remained popular with a
core of liberal Democrats but held no office and had no real base. He
(and Eisenhower) largely ignored the civil rights issue. Eisenhower had
ended the war of Korea and the nation was prosperous, so a landslide
for the charismatic Eisenhower was never in doubt.
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| 1960 presidential election |
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 Color Key: Blue: John F. Kennedy, Red: Richard Nixon, Brown: Harry Byrd
Presidential Candidate
| Party
| Home State
| Popular Vote (%)
| Electoral Vote (%)
| Running Mate
| John F. Kennedy
| Democratic
| Massachusetts
| 34,220,984 (49.7%)*
| 303 (56.4%)
| Lyndon Johnson
| Richard Nixon
| Republican
| California
| 34,108,157 (49.5%)
| 219 (40.8%)
| Henry Cabot Lodge
| Harry Byrd
| (none)
| Virginia
| --**
| 15 (2.8%)
| Strom Thurmond, Barry Goldwater***
| (unpledged electors)
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 286,359 (0.4%)
| 0 (0.0%)
| (n/a)
| Other
| (n/a)
| (n/a)
| 216,982 (0.3%)
| 0 (0.0%)****
| (n/a)
| TOTAL
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| 68,832,482 (100%)
| 537 (100%)
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| * This figure is problematic; see Alabama popular vote. ** Byrd was not directly on the ballot. Instead, his electoral votes came from unpledged Democratic electors and a faithless elector. *** Oklahoma faithless elector Henry D. Irwin, though pledged to vote for Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., instead voted for independent Harry F. Byrd. However, unlike other electors who voted for Byrd and Strom Thurmond as Vice President, Irwin voted for Barry Goldwater as Vice President. **** In Mississippi, the slate of unpledged Democratic electors won. They cast their 8 votes for Byrd and Thurmond.
Comments: The United States presidential election of 1960 marked the end of the eight years of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. Richard M. Nixon, who had transformed the office of Vice President into a national political base, easily won the Republican nomination. The Republican Party had been a minority party for 30 years, giving a strong advantage to the Democrats, who had solid control of Congress.
The Democrats nominated Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy. He was only the second Catholic nominee in history. Kennedy charged that America was slipping behind in the Cold War, both militarily and economically. The vote was the closest in any presidential election dating to 1916, and Kennedy's margin of victory in the popular vote is among the closest ever in American history.
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