The American Vote
2024 result

1968
1991

Era · 6 elections

Cold War Realignment

Elections

Cold War Realignment: winner of each election
YearWinnerElectoral votesPopular voteRunner-up
1968Richard Nixon
301
of 538
31,710,470
43.4%
Hubert Humphrey
191 electoral votes
1972Richard Nixon
520
of 538
47,108,459
60.7%
George McGovern
17 electoral votes
1976Jimmy Carter
297
of 538
40,825,839
50.0%
Gerald Ford
240 electoral votes
1980Ronald Reagan
489
of 538
43,898,770
50.8%
Jimmy Carter
49 electoral votes
1984Ronald Reagan
525
of 538
54,455,073
58.8%
Walter Mondale
13 electoral votes
1988George H. W. Bush
426
of 538
48,886,097
53.4%
Michael Dukakis
111 electoral votes

Popular vote is the sum of the sourced state counts, shown only where every state that held a popular vote has one; sums from county returns (1868–1972) can run a few tenths of a point below national totals published elsewhere.

Electoral votesNational Archives, Electoral College results: 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988 (public domain, read 2026-10-03). How these figures were compiled

SourcesStatistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968 (Public domain: a work of the United States government (17 U.S.C. 105), retrieved 2026-10-03); Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972 (Public domain: a work of the United States government (17 U.S.C. 105), retrieved 2026-10-03); MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. President 1976–2024 (CC0 1.0, retrieved 2026-10-03). How these figures were compiled

Closest and widest margins

Closest

1976Jimmy Carter, 297 of 538 electoral votes · margin 57

Widest

1984Ronald Reagan, 525 of 538 electoral votes · margin 512

Margin is the winner’s electoral votes minus those of the next-highest candidate, as on the closest-elections ranking. Elections of 1789–1800 (two votes per elector) and those decided by the House are not ranked.

From the National Archives

A Washington (State) elector voted for Ronald Reagan.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1976, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

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