Rep
Republican
43 runs · 25 wins · 1856 — 2024.
Wins
25
Total runs
43
First cycle
1856
Latest cycle
2024
Elections won · 25
Civil War
1860
Abraham Lincoln
Four-way race where Lincoln won with 39.65% popular vote; triggered Southern secession
Civil War1864
Abraham Lincoln
First wartime re-election since 1812; Lincoln feared defeat until Sherman took Atlanta
Reconstruction1868
Ulysses S. Grant
Grant's popular vote margin came largely from newly enfranchised Black Southern voters
Reconstruction1872
Ulysses S. Grant
Nominee Horace Greeley died before electoral votes were cast; his 66 EV scattered among others
Gilded Age1876
Rutherford B. Hayes
Most disputed election ever; Hayes won despite losing popular vote; ended Reconstruction
Gilded Age1880
James A. Garfield
Closest popular vote ever (1,898 votes); Garfield was assassinated after just 6 months
Gilded Age1888
Benjamin Harrison
Cleveland won popular vote but lost Electoral College; became the only president to serve non-consecutive terms
Progressive Era1896
William McKinley
'Cross of Gold' election; realigned politics for a generation toward Republican dominance
Progressive Era1900
William McKinley
McKinley assassinated in 1901, making Theodore Roosevelt — at 42 — the youngest president
Progressive Era1904
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt declared he would not seek a third term — a promise he later tried to break in 1912
Progressive Era1908
William Howard Taft
Taft was Roosevelt's chosen successor; Bryan's third and final presidential defeat
Roaring Twenties1920
Warren G. Harding
First election with women's suffrage nationwide; Harding won by 26-point popular vote margin
Roaring Twenties1924
Calvin Coolidge
Democrats took 103 ballots to choose nominee; La Follette won 13 electoral votes as Progressive
Roaring Twenties1928
Herbert Hoover
First Catholic nominee (Al Smith); stock market crashed 8 months into Hoover's term
New Deal Coalition1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower
First major use of TV political ads; Nixon's 'Checkers speech' saved his VP candidacy
New Deal Coalition1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower
First president since Taylor to win while his party lost both houses of Congress
Cold War Realignment1968
Richard Nixon
Wallace won 46 EC votes; year of assassinations and riots; Nixon won with 43.4% popular vote
Cold War Realignment1972
Richard Nixon
Nixon won 49 states but resigned 2 years later due to Watergate; McGovern carried only Massachusetts and DC
Cold War Realignment1980
Ronald Reagan
Reagan Revolution began; 'Reagan Democrats' realigned; hostages released 20 minutes after his inauguration
Cold War Realignment1984
Ronald Reagan
Most electoral votes ever against a major-party opponent (525); first female VP nominee (Ferraro)
Cold War Realignment1988
George H. W. Bush
Willie Horton ad pioneered modern negative campaigning; Dukakis tank photo was mocked nationally
Modern Polarization2000
George W. Bush
Bush lost popular vote but won presidency; Supreme Court decided election; Nader spoiler in Florida
Modern Polarization2004
George W. Bush
First popular vote majority for a Republican since 1988; Swift Boat ads defined opposition research
Modern Polarization2016
Donald Trump
Trump lost popular vote by 2.9 million yet won EC; 7 faithless electors — most since 1872
Modern Polarization2024
Donald Trump
Trump became second president to win non-consecutive terms (like Cleveland); first Republican to win popular vote since 2004
Contested but not won · 18
Antebellum Crisis
1856
James Buchanan
First Republican presidential candidate ran; Know-Nothing Party won Maryland's electoral votes
Gilded Age1884
Grover Cleveland
First Democrat elected president since 1856; 'Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion' gaffe cost Blaine NY
Gilded Age1892
Grover Cleveland
Cleveland became the only president to serve non-consecutive terms; Populists won 22 electoral votes
Progressive Era1912
Woodrow Wilson
Roosevelt's best-ever third-party finish (27.4% popular, 88 EV); best third-party performance in history
Progressive Era1916
Woodrow Wilson
'He kept us out of war' — Wilson declared war 5 weeks after his inauguration; Hughes led on election night
New Deal Coalition1932
Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR's landslide ushered in the New Deal era and Democratic dominance for a generation
New Deal Coalition1936
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Greatest 20th-century EC landslide; only Maine and Vermont voted Republican; Literary Digest poll famously wrong
New Deal Coalition1940
Franklin D. Roosevelt
First and only third term in US history; FDR broke Washington's two-term precedent
New Deal Coalition1944
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Only fourth-term presidency; FDR died 83 days later; Truman chosen as VP sealed the atomic bomb decision
New Deal Coalition1948
Harry S. Truman
'Dewey Defeats Truman' — greatest upset in US political history; 4-party race
New Deal Coalition1960
John F. Kennedy
First Catholic president; first televised debate transformed campaigning; won by just 112,827 popular votes
New Deal Coalition1964
Lyndon B. Johnson
Largest popular vote landslide in history (61.05%); 'Daisy' ad pioneered negative political advertising
Cold War Realignment1976
Jimmy Carter
Ford's Nixon pardon cost him heavily; Carter was the first Deep South president since before the Civil War
Modern Polarization1992
Bill Clinton
Perot won 18.9% — best third-party popular vote since TR 1912; Clinton won with only 43%
Modern Polarization1996
Bill Clinton
First Democrat re-elected since FDR; Perot ran again but won only half his 1992 support
Modern Polarization2008
Barack Obama
First African American president; financial crisis collapsed McCain's lead in September
Modern Polarization2012
Barack Obama
Obama's data-driven campaign pioneered modern voter targeting; Romney's '47 percent' remark proved fatal
Modern Polarization2020
Joe Biden
Record turnout (66.6%); most votes ever (81.3M); Trump's refusal to concede led to January 6 Capitol riot
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Curated picksWhy We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
How modern American politics got this way.
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John Sides et al.
How Trump and the 2020 election reshaped the parties.
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Maggie Haberman
Trump in his own habitat.
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