Presidents Elected Without a Majority of Votes
Back to U.S. Presidency - Index Page.
Fifteen candidates (three of them twice) have become president of the United States with a popular vote less than 50% of the total cast. It should be noted, however, that in elections before 1872, presidential electors were not chosen by popular vote in all states. Adams's election in 1824 was by the House of Representatives, which chose him over Jackson, who had a plurality of both electoral and popular votes, but not a majority in the electoral college. Besides Jackson in 1824, only three other candidates receiving the largest popular vote have failed to gain a majority in the electoral college--Samuel J. Tilden (D) in 1876, Grover Cleveland (D) in 1888, and Al Gore (D) in 2000. The "minority" presidents are listed below.
Votes Received by Minority Presidents
| Year | President | Electoral percent | Popular percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1824 | John Q. Adams | 31.8% | 29.8% |
| 1844 | James K. Polk (D) | 61.8 | 49.3 |
| 1848 | Zachary Taylor (W) | 56.2 | 47.3 |
| 1856 | James Buchanan (D) | 58.7 | 45.3 |
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln (R) | 59.4 | 39.9 |
| 1876 | Rutherford B. Hayes (R) | 50.1 | 47.9 |
| 1880 | James A. Garfield (R) | 57.9 | 48.3 |
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland (D) | 54.6 | 48.8 |
| 1888 | Benjamin Harrison (R) | 58.1 | 47.8 |
| 1892 | Grover Cleveland (D) | 62.4% | 46.0% |
| 1912 | Woodrow Wilson (D) | 81.9 | 41.8 |
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson (D) | 52.1 | 49.3 |
| 1948 | Harry S. Truman (D) | 57.1 | 49.5 |
| 1960 | John F. Kennedy (D) | 56.4 | 49.7 |
| 1968 | Richard M. Nixon (R) | 56.1 | 43.4 |
| 1992 | William J. Clinton (D) | 68.8 | 43.0 |
| 1996 | William J. Clinton (D) | 70.4 | 49.0 |
| 2000 | George W. Bush (R) | 50.3 | 47.8 |
Provided by Infoplease.com.
