In 2016, Donald Trump (Republican) won 304 of 538 electoral votes, defeating Hillary Clinton by 77 EV during the Modern Polarization era. In 2020, Joe Biden (Democratic) won 306 of 538, defeating Donald Trump by 74 EV during the Modern Polarization era. Turnout: 60.1% vs 66.6%.
vs
2016
Modern Polarization
Donald Trump
Republican
Electoral votes
304 of 538
EV margin
77
Popular vote
46.1%
Turnout
60.1%
Runner-up
Hillary Clinton (Dem)
Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in one of the most shocking upsets in American political history, winning the Electoral College while losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. Trump flipped the 'Blue Wall' of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — states Democrats had won for decades — by narrow margins on a wave of white working-class resentment. FBI Director Comey's late October letter about Clinton's emails, and Russian social media interference, were widely seen as influential. Seven faithless electors defected, the most since 1872.
2020
Modern Polarization
Joe Biden
Democratic
Electoral votes
306 of 538
EV margin
74
Popular vote
51.3%
Turnout
66.6%
Runner-up
Donald Trump (Rep)
Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump in a high-turnout election dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had killed over 230,000 Americans before Election Day. Biden won 81.3 million votes — the most ever recorded — while Trump won 74.2 million, also a record for a losing candidate. Trump refused to concede, claiming widespread fraud, and his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Biden carried Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan — all states Trump had won in 2016.