Presidents - Elections / How They Became President

Year ending in zero, percent of vote, succession

Presidents by number of States won
* = defeated
NS : WDateCandidate
50:   49 1972 Richard M Nixon
50:   49 1984 Ronald Reagan
48:   46 1936 Franklin D Roosevelt
50:   45 1964 Lyndon B Johnson
50:   44 1980 Ronald Reagan
48:   42 1932 Franklin D Roosevelt
48:   41 1956 Dwight D Eisenhower
48:   40 1912 Woodrow Wilson
48:   40 1928 Herbert Hoover
50:   40 1988 George Bush
48:   39 1952 Dwight D Eisenhower
48:   38 1940 Franklin D Roosevelt
48:   37 1920 Warren Harding
48:   36 1944 Franklin D Roosevelt
48:   35 1924 Calvin Coolidge
50:   33 1992 Bill Clinton
45:   32 1904 Theodore Roosevelt
50:   32 1968 Richard M Nixon
50:   32 1996 Bill Clinton
37:   31 1872 Ulysses S Grant
48:   30 1916 Woodrow Wilson
46:   29 1908 William H Taft
45:   28 1900 William McKinley
48:   28 1948 Harry S Truman
50:   27 1976 Gerald R Ford *
31:   26 1852 Franklin Pierce
37:   26 1868 Ulysses S Grant
50:   26 1960 Richard Nixon *
23:   23 1820 James Monroe (1)
50:   24 1976 Jimmy Carter
44:   23 1892 Grover Cleveland
45:   23 1896 William McKinley
50:   23 1960 John F Kennedy (5)
25:   22 1864 Abraham Lincoln
37:   21 1876 Rutherford B Hayes
38:   20 1884 Grover Cleveland
38:   20 1888 Benjamin Harrison
26:   19 1840 William H Harrison
31:   19 1856 James Buchanan
38:   19 1880 James Garfield
33:   18 1860 Abraham Lincoln
38:   18 1888 Grover Cleveland *
50:   18 1992 George Bush *
24:   17 1832 Andrew Jackson
18:   16 1816 James Monroe
44:   16 1892 Benjamin Harrison *
15:   15 1792 George Washington (1)
17:   15 1804 Thomas Jefferson
24:   15 1828 Andrew Jackson
24:   15 1836 Martin Van Buren
26:   15 1844 James K Polk
29:   15 1848 Zachary Taylor
17:   12 1808 James Madison
17:   11 1812 James Madison
24:   11 1824 Andrew Jackson *
10:   10 1789 George Washington (2)
15:     9 1796 John Adams
24:     9 1828 John Quincy Adams *
16:     8 1801 Thomas Jefferson (3)
15:     7 1796 Thomas Jefferson *
16:     7 1801 John Adams *
24:     7 1824 John Quincy Adams (3)
24:     7 1836 William H Harrison *
26:     7 1840 Martin Van Buren *
50:     7 1980 Jimmy Carter *
48:     6 1912 Theodore Roosevelt *(4)
48:     6 1932 Herbert Hoover *
48:     2 1912 William H Taft
31:     1 1856 Millard Fillmore *
29:     0 1848 Martin Van Buren *
 
(1) George Washington in 1792 and James Monroe in 1820 won every State.
(2) New York did not vote, and North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the Constitution.
(3) Elected by the House:
1801: Jefferson won votes of 10 States.
1825: Adams won votes of 13 States and Jackson 7 States.
(4) Theodore Roosevelt was not in office in 1912. He was running as a third party candidate.
(5) The Democrats won Alabama but 6 of its 11 electoral college representatives and all 8 from Mississippi voted for Sen Byrd who was not a candidate.

Presidents by share of popular vote
% Date * Democrats in italics
61.4 1964 DLyndon B Johnson
60.7 1972 RRichard Nixon
60.5 1920 RWarren G Harding
60.2 1936 DFranklin D Roosevelt
58.8 1984 RRonald Reagan
58.0 1928 RHerbert Hoover
57.4 1956 RDwight D Eisenhower
57.3 1932 DFranklin D Roosevelt
56.0 1828 DAndrew Jackson
55.6 1872 RUlysses S Grant
55.1 1952 RDwight D Eisenhower
55.0 1864 RAbraham Lincoln
54.7 1940 DFranklin D Roosevelt
54.2 1924 RCalvin Coolidge
54.2 1832 DAndrew Jackson
53.4 1988 RGeorge Bush
53.3 1944 DFranklin D Roosevelt
52.9 1840 WWilliam H Harrison
52.7 1868 RUlysses S Grant
51.6 1908 RWilliam H Taft
51.0 1896 RWilliam McKinley
50.8 1976 DJimmy Carter
50.8 1852 DFranklin Pierce
50.8 1980 RRonald Reagan
50.8 1836 DMartin Van Buren
49.7 1960 DJohn F Kennedy
49.5 1844 DJames K Polk
49.4 1948 DHarry S Truman
49.3 1996 DBill Clinton
49.2 1916 DWoodrow Wilson
48.5 1884 DGrover Cleveland
48.4 1880 RJames Garfield
48.0 1876 RRutherford B Hayes (1)
47.8 1888 RBenjamin Harrison (2)
47.3 1848 WZachary Taylor
46.1 1892 DGrover Cleveland
46.1 1904 RTheodore Roosevelt
45.3 1856 DJames Buchanan
43.4 1900 RWilliam McKinley
43.4 1968 RRichard Nixon
43.2 1992 DBill Clinton
41.8 1912 DWoodrow Wilson
39.8 1860 RAbraham Lincoln (3)
30.9 1824 #John Quincy Adams (4)
* D=Democrat R=Republican W=Whig
#=Democratic Republican
Not listed became President before beginning of recorded popular vote. For party see "Presidents By Party."
(1) The Democratic candidate, Samuel Tilden, won more votes than Hayes but was one electoral vote, 185 to 184, short of a majority in the electoral college. There were twenty disputed electoral votes from four states. An Electoral Commission was appointed by Congress to consider the disputed votes and by a majority vote of 8 to 7 the Commission gave all of them to Hayes.
(2) Grover Cleveland obtained 48.6%, but fewer electoral college votes
(3) The Democrats' 47.6% share was split between two candidates
(4) Adams received fewer popular votes than Andrew Jackson (41.3%) but was elected by the House; no candidate having had a majority of the elctoral college vote.

Year ending in zero.
1800 None (1)
1820 James Monroe
1840 William H Harrison (2)
1860 Abraham Lincoln (2)*
1880 James Garfield (2)*
1900 William McKinley (2)*
1920 Warren Harding (2)
1940 Franklin D Roosevelt (2)
1960 John F Kennedy (2)*
1980 Ronald Reagan (3)
(1) Jefferson elected on Feb. 17, 1801
(2) Died in office.
(3) Wounded by assassin
* Assassinated.

 

Presidents who were elected by the House
Thomas Jefferson February 17, 1801 (1)
John Quincy Adams February 9, 1825 (2)
(1) In the 1800 election [not decided until February 17, 1801] the Electoral College was still required to vote for two candidates, the President to be the candidate with the most votes and the Vice-President the one with the next highest number.

Jefferson and Aaron Burr both received 73 votes. There being a tie, the election went to the House where Jefferson won on the 36th ballot, and Burr became Vice-President.

(2) In the election of 1824 [following the first recorded popular vote] no candidate had a majority in the electoral college. The House elected Adams over Andrew Jackson.

Presidents defeated seeking re-election
1801 John Adams
1828 John Quincy Adams
1840 Martin Van Buren
1888 Grover Cleveland
1892 Benjamin Harrison
1912 William H Taft
1932 Herbert Hoover
1976 Gerald Ford
1980 Jimmy Carter
1992 George Bush

 

Presidents who were defeated before
becoming President
1796 Thomas Jefferson
1824 Andrew Jackson
1836 William H Harrison
1960 Richard M Nixon
Franklin D Roosevelt was an unsuccessful
Vice Presidential candidate in 1920.

Presidents who became President by succession
1841 John Tyler death of William Harrison.
1850 Millard Fillmore death of Zachary Taylor.
1865 Andrew Johnson assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
1881 Chester A Arthur assassination of James Garfield.
1901 Theodore Rooseveltassassination of William McKinley.
1923 Calvin Coolidge death of Warren Harding.
1945 Harry S Truman death of Franklin Roosevelt.
1963 Lyndon B Johnson assassinatin of John Kennedy.
1974 Gerald R Ford resignation of Richard Nixon.
Presidents who had no Vice President.
Chester A Arthur
Millard Fillmore
Andrew Johnson
John Tyler
Under the 25th Amendment (1967) Presidents are required to fill vacancies by nominating a Vice President for Congressional approval. Gerald Ford was nominated Vice President by Richard Nixon in 1973, following the scandal and resignation of Spiro Agnew. The next year, 1974, Nixon resigned and Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller.

 

Presidents before the first recorded
popular vote in 1824
1789 George Washington
1797 John Adams
1801 Thomas Jefferson
1809 James Madison
1817 James Monroe


Presidents who were impeached.
Andrew Johnson
Bill Clinton
Eleven articles of impeachment against Andrew Johnson were adopted by the House March 2 and 3, 1868 and the trial began in the Senate March 5, 1868. The impeachment fell short of the required two-thirds majority by one vote on three of the articles of impeachment May 26, 1868, and no further action was ever taken on the remaining eight.
The House voted December 19, 1998 to impeach William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President on two articles of impeachment with two rejected.
The Senate voted February 12, 1999 to acquit on both articles by 45 votes for Guilty and 55 for Not Guilty on the first Article (Perjury), and 50 votes for Guilty and 50 votes for Not Guilty on the second Article (Obstruction of Justice).
Andrew Jackson was censured by the [Whig] Senate March 28, 1834. President Jackson sent the Senate a message denying its power to pass a resolution of censure. The Senate refused to receive his message. The censure was later expunged by the [Democratic] Senate on January 16, 1837.
The first attempt to impeach a President was in 1842 against John Tyler. When Tyler vetoed a tariff bill, the first impeachment resolution against a President was introduced in the House of Representatives. A committee headed by Representative John Quincy Adams (the former President) reported that the President had misused the veto power, but the resolution failed.
Articles of Impeachment against Richard Nixon were adopted by the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 but he resigned before they were considered by the full House.
Since 1789, more than fifty Impeachment proceedings have been initiated in the House of Representatives.
In addition to the two presidents, between 1797 (a senator) and 1993 (a federal judge) the House has impeached 16 federal officers: 13 federal judges (7 Convicted, 3 resigned before trial, and 3 acquitted), one Supreme Court Justice (1804: acquitted), one Secretary of War (1876: acquitted, but he had resigned before the House impeached him), and one U.S. Senator (1797: dismissed because senators cannot be impeached; he had already been expelled).

Presidents who were never
elected President
1841 John Tyler
1850 Millard Fillmore
1865 Andrew Johnson
1881 Chester A Arthur
1974 Gerald R Ford

Presidents only by succession
1841 John Tyler
1850 Millard Fillmore
1865 Andrew Johnson
1881 Chester Arthur
1974 Gerald Ford

Presidents whose cabinets included future Presidents.
PresidentCabinet Officer Position
George WashingtonThomas Jefferson Secretary of State
Thomas JeffersonJames MadisonSecretary of State
James MadisonJames Monroe Secretary of State, Secretary of War
James MonroeJohn Quincy AdamsSecretary of State
Andrew JacksonMartin Van BurenSecretary of State
James PolkJames BuchananSecretary of State
Andrew JohnsonUlysses S Grant Secretary of War *
Theodore RooseveltWilliam H. Taft Secretary of War
Warren HardingHerbert C. Hoover Secretary of Commerce
Calvin CoolidgeHerbert C. Hoover Secretary of Commerce
* ad interim, following the suspension of Edwin M. Stanton who was re-instated.

Presidents who sought a
non-consecutive term
1892 Grover Cleveland (Elected)
1848 Martin Van Buren (Defeated)
1856 Millard Fillmore (Defeated)
1912 Theodore Roosevelt (Defeated)
Presidents who were Vice President
when elected
1796 John Adams
1801 Thomas Jefferson
1836 Martin Van Buren
1988 George Bush
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