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Trivia answer
Which winning presidential candidate received the smallest share of the popular vote?
a. John Quincy Adams (1824)
b. Abraham Lincoln (1860)
c. Harry Truman (1948)
d. Bill Clinton (1992)
In the 1824 presidential election, the first in which the popular vote was recorded, John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican) was elected president by the U.S. House of Representatives over Andrew Jackson (D-R), William Crawford (D-R), and Henry Clay (D-R) after none of the four received the necessary majority of votes in the Electoral College. Adams received 30.9% of the popular vote; less than any other winning candidate in U.S. history. Jackson, the runner-up in the House election, had received 41.4% of the popular vote.[1]
The only other presidential election won by a candidate with less than 40% of the popular vote was the 1860 election. That year, the leading candidates were Abraham Lincoln (R), Stephen Douglas (D), John Breckinridge (Southern Democratic), and John Bell (Constitutional Union), each of whom carried at least one state and won at least 10% of the popular vote. Lincoln received 39.8% of the popular vote in that year's election.
There have been four elections where one candidate won more than 60% of the popular vote; all took place in the 20th century and in all but one, the winner was the incumbent president. Lyndon B. Johnson's (D) 61.1% of the popular vote in 1964 was the largest share of the vote for any presidential candidate. Johnson was followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt's (D) 60.8% in 1936 and Richard Nixon's (R) 60.7% in 1972. Warren Harding (R) received 60.4% of the vote in 1920, the largest share of the popular vote won by a non-incumbent in presidential election history.
In the 49 presidential elections between 1824 and 2016, the winner had less than 50% of the popular vote in 19 and more than 55% in 13. The average share of the vote across all 49 winners was 51.25%.[2]
| Popular vote in presidential elections, 1824-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election year | Popular vote winner | Popular vote winner % | Popular vote runner-up | Popular vote runner-up % | Margin |
| 1824 |  Andrew Jackson |
41.36% | John Quincy Adams |
30.92% | 10.44% |
| 1828 |  Andrew Jackson |
55.93% |  John Quincy Adams |
43.68% | 12.25% |
| 1832 | Andrew Jackson |
54.74% | Henry Clay |
36.93% | 17.81% |
| 1836 | Martin Van Buren |
50.79% |  William Henry Harrison |
36.59% | 14.20% |
| 1840 | William Henry Harrison |
52.87% | Martin Van Buren |
46.82% | 6.05% |
| 1844 | James Polk |
49.54% | Henry Clay |
48.09% | 1.45% |
| 1848 | Zachary Taylor |
47.28% | Lewis Cass |
42.49% | 4.79% |
| 1852 | Franklin Pierce |
50.83% | Winfield Scott |
43.88% | 6.95% |
| 1856 | James Buchanan |
45.29% |  John Fremont |
33.09% | 12.20% |
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln |
39.65% | Stephen Douglas |
29.52% | 10.13% |
| 1864 | Abraham Lincoln |
55.03% | George McClellan |
44.95% | 10.08% |
| 1868 | Ulysses Grant |
52.66% | Horatio Seymour |
47.34% | 5.32% |
| 1872 | Ulysses Grant |
55.58% | Horace Greeley |
43.78% | 11.80% |
| 1876 | Samuel Tilden |
50.92% | Rutherford B. Hayes |
47.92% | 3.00% |
| 1880 | James Garfield |
48.31% | Winfield Hancock |
48.22% | 0.09% |
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland |
48.85% | James Blaine |
48.28% | 0.57% |
| 1888 | Grover Cleveland |
48.63% | Benjamin Harrison |
47.8% | 0.83% |
| 1892 | Grover Cleveland |
46.02% | Benjamin Harrison |
43.01% | 3.01% |
| 1896 | William McKinley |
51.02% | William Jennings Bryan |
46.71% | 4.31% |
| 1900 | William McKinley |
51.66% | William Jennings Bryan |
45.51% | 6.15% |
| 1904 | Theodore Roosevelt |
56.42% | Alton Parker |
37.59% | 18.83% |
| 1908 | William Taft |
51.57% | William Jennings Bryan |
43.04% | 8.53% |
| 1912 | Woodrow Wilson |
41.83% |  Theodore Roosevelt |
27.39% | 14.44% |
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson |
49.25% | Charles Evans Hughes |
46.11% | 3.14% |
| 1920 | Warren Harding |
60.35% | James Cox |
34.12% | 26.23% |
| 1924 | Calvin Coolidge |
54.03% | John Davis |
28.82% | 25.21% |
| 1928 | Herbert Hoover |
58.22% | Alfred Smith |
40.79% | 17.43% |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
57.41% | Herbert Hoover |
39.65% | 17.76% |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
60.8% | Alfred Landon |
36.54% | 24.26% |
| 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
54.72% | Wendell Willkie |
44.77% | 9.95% |
| 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
53.39% | Thomas Dewey |
45.89% | 7.50% |
| 1948 | Harry Truman |
49.55% | Thomas Dewey |
45.07% | 4.48% |
| 1952 | Dwight Eisenhower |
55.18% | Adlai Stevenson |
44.33% | 10.85% |
| 1956 | Dwight Eisenhower |
57.37% | Adlai Stevenson |
41.97% | 15.40% |
| 1960 | John F. Kennedy |
49.72% | Richard Nixon |
49.55% | 0.17% |
| 1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
61.05% | Barry Goldwater |
38.47% | 22.58% |
| 1968 | Richard Nixon |
43.42% | Hubert Humphrey |
42.72% | 0.70% |
| 1972 | Richard Nixon |
60.67% | George McGovern |
37.52% | 23.15% |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter |
50.08% | Gerald Ford |
48.01% | 2.07% |
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan |
50.75% | Jimmy Carter |
41.01% | 9.74% |
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan |
58.77% | Walter Mondale |
40.56% | 18.21% |
| 1988 | George H.W. Bush |
53.37% | Michael Dukakis |
45.65% | 7.72% |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton |
43.01% | George H.W. Bush |
37.45% | 5.56% |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton |
49.23% | Bob Dole |
40.72% | 8.51% |
| 2000 | Al Gore |
48.38% | George W. Bush |
47.87% | 0.51% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
50.73% | John Kerry |
48.26% | 2.47% |
| 2008 | Barack Obama |
52.86% | John McCain |
45.6% | 7.26% |
| 2012 | Barack Obama |
51.01% | Mitt Romney |
47.15% | 3.86% |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton |
48.02% | Donald Trump |
45.93% | 2.09% |
