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Trivia answer
Which presidential election featured the smallest margin in the popular vote?
a. 1880
b. 1968
c. 2000
d. 1860
The presidential election with the smallest margin in the popular vote occurred in 1880. That year, James Garfield (R) defeated Winfield Scott Hancock (D) by a margin of 214-155 in the Electoral College. In the popular vote, Garfield's margin over Hancock was 0.09%. Out of the 38 states at the time of the election, six were decided by margins of 2% or fewer, giving Hancock five of California's six Electoral College votes and all of New Jersey's nine votes and Garfield a combined 59 votes from Indiana, Oregon, New York, and Connecticut.[1] The 1880 election was also among the top five in recorded voter turnout with an 80.5% turnout rate among the voting-eligible population.[2]
The 1884 and 1888 presidential elections also featured popular vote margins under 1%. The 1884 election was the first election after the Civil War to be won by a Democrat. Grover Cleveland (D) defeated James Blaine (R) by a 219-182 margin in the Electoral College while winning a 0.57% margin in the popular vote. There were five states decided by margins of 2% or smaller; Blaine won Michigan's 13 Electoral College votes while Cleveland won a combined 66 votes from New York, Connecticut, Indiana, and New Jersey.[3] In 1888, Benjamin Harrison (R) unseated Cleveland with a 233-168 Electoral College victory while losing the popular vote to Cleveland by a margin of 0.83%. Again, five states were decided by margins of 2% or smaller; Cleveland won a combined 24 Electoral College votes from Connecticut, West Virginia, and Virginia, while Harrison won 51 votes from Indiana and New York.[4]
Three other elections had popular vote margins smaller than 1%. In the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy (D) defeated Richard Nixon (R) 303-219 in the Electoral College while winning the popular vote by a margin of 0.17%. Ten states were decided by margins under 2% that year, giving Nixon a combined 35 Electoral College votes and Kennedy a combined 101 votes.[5] In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush (R) defeated Al Gore (D) 271-266 in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote to Gore by a margin of 0.51%. Six states were decided by margins under 2%, with Florida and New Hampshire's combined 29 Electoral College votes going to Bush and New Mexico, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Oregon's combined 30 votes to Gore.[6] Finally, in 1968, Richard Nixon (R) defeated Hubert Humphrey (D) by a 301-191 margin in the Electoral College while winning the popular vote by a margin of 0.70%. Three states were decided by margins under 2%; Nixon won Missouri's 12 Electoral College votes while Humphrey won 35 votes from Texas and Maryland.[7]
In the 49 presidential elections between 1824 and 2016, 11 were decided by a margin of 15% or larger and 17 were decided by a margin of 5% or smaller. The average margin across all 49 elections was 9.39%.[8]
| 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% |
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "1880 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ United States Elections Project, "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "1884 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "1888 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "1960 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "2000 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "1968 Presidential General Election Data - National by State," accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "United States Presidential Election Results," accessed June 24, 2019
