In a United States presidential election, the popular vote is the total number or percentage of votes cast for a candidate by voters in the 50 states and Washington, D.C.; the candidate who gets the most votes nationwide is said to have won the popular vote. However, the popular vote is not used to determine who is elected as the nation’s president or vice president. Thus it is possible for the winner of the popular vote to end up losing the election, an outcome that has occurred on five occasions, most recently in the 2016 election. This is because presidential elections are indirect elections; the votes cast on Election Day are not cast directly for a candidate, but for members of the Electoral College. The Electoral College’s electors then formally elect the president and vice president (From Wiki)
Candidate |
Year |
Party |
Popular vote |
Notes |
Joe Biden |
2020 |
Democratic |
≥79,022,580 |
Winner. Exact vote count pending |
Donald Trump |
2020 |
Republican |
≥73,308,512 |
Exact vote count pending |
Barack Obama |
2008 |
Democratic |
69,498,516 |
Winner |
Barack Obama |
2012 |
Democratic |
65,915,795 |
Winner |
Hillary Clinton |
2016 |
Democratic |
65,853,514 |
Received the most votes, but lost the Electoral College. |
Donald Trump |
2016 |
Republican |
62,984,828 |
Winner. Lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. |
George W. Bush |
2004 |
Republican |
62,040,610 |
Winner |
Mitt Romney |
2012 |
Republican |
60,933,504 |
|
John McCain |
2008 |
Republican |
59,948,323 |
|
John Kerry |
2004 |
Democratic |
59,028,444 |
|
Ronald Reagan |
1984 |
Republican |
54,455,472 |
Winner |
Al Gore |
2000 |
Democratic |
50,999,897 |
Received the most votes, but lost the Electoral College. |
George W. Bush |
2000 |
Republican |
50,456,002 |
Winner. Lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. |
George H. W. Bush |
1988 |
Republican |
48,886,597 |
Winner |
Bill Clinton |
1996 |
Democratic |
47,401,185 |
Winner |
Richard Nixon |
1972 |
Republican |
47,168,710 |
Winner |
Bill Clinton |
1992 |
Democratic |
44,909,889 |
Winner |
Ronald Reagan |
1980 |
Republican |
43,903,230 |
Winner |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
1964 |
Democratic |
43,127,041 |
Winner |
Michael Dukakis |
1988 |
Democratic |
41,809,074[8] |
|
Jimmy Carter |
1976 |
Democratic |
40,831,881[14] |
Winner |
Bob Dole |
1996 |
Republican |
39,197,469[9] |
|
Gerald Ford |
1976 |
Republican |
39,148,634[14] |
|
George H. W. Bush |
1992 |
Republican |
39,104,550[11] |
|
Walter Mondale |
1984 |
Democratic |
37,577,352[6] |
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
1956 |
Republican |
35,579,180[15] |
Winner |
Jimmy Carter |
1980 |
Democratic |
35,480,115[12] |
|
John F. Kennedy |
1960 |
Democratic |
34,220,984[16] |
Winner |
Richard Nixon |
1960 |
Republican |
34,108,157[16] |
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
1952 |
Republican |
34,075,529[17] |
Winner |
Richard Nixon |
1968 |
Republican |
31,783,783[18] |
Winner |
Hubert Humphrey |
1968 |
Democratic |
31,271,839[18] |
|
George McGovern |
1972 |
Democratic |
29,173,222[10] |
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1936 |
Democratic |
27,752,648[19] |
Winner |
Adlai Stevenson II |
1952 |
Democratic |
27,375,090[17] |
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1940 |
Democratic |
27,313,945[20] |
Winner |
Barry Goldwater |
1964 |
Republican |
27,175,754[13] |
|
Adlai Stevenson II |
1956 |
Democratic |
26,028,028[15] |
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1944 |
Democratic |
25,612,916[21] |
Winner |
Harry S. Truman |
1948 |
Democratic |
24,179,347[22] |
Winner |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1932 |
Democratic |
22,821,277[23] |
Winner |
Wendell Willkie |
1940 |
Republican |
22,347,744[20] |
|
Thomas E. Dewey |
1944 |
Republican |
22,017,929[21] |
|
Thomas E. Dewey |
1948 |
Republican |
21,991,292[22] |
|
Herbert Hoover |
1928 |
Republican |
21,427,123[24] |
Winner |
Ross Perot |
1992 |
Independent |
19,743,821[11] |
Highest vote total of any third-party candidate. |
Alf Landon |
1936 |
Republican |
16,679,543[19] |
|
Warren G. Harding |
1920 |
Republican |
16,144,093[25] |
Winner |
Herbert Hoover |
1932 |
Republican |
15,761,254[23] |
|
Calvin Coolidge |
1924 |
Republican |
15,723,789[26] |
Winner |
Al Smith |
1928 |
Democratic |
15,015,464[24] |
|
George Wallace |
1968 |
American Independent |
9,901,118[18] |
|
James M. Cox |
1920 |
Democratic |
9,139,661[25] |
|
Woodrow Wilson |
1916 |
Democratic |
9,126,868[27] |
Winner |
Charles Evans Hughes |
1916 |
Republican |
8,548,728[27] |
|
John W. Davis |
1924 |
Democratic |
8,386,242[26] |
|
Ross Perot |
1996 |
Reform |
8,085,294[9] |
|
William Howard Taft |
1908 |
Republican |
7,678,335[28] |
Winner |
Theodore Roosevelt |
1904 |
Republican |
7,630,557[29] |
Winner |
William McKinley |
1900 |
Republican |
7,228,864[30] |
Winner |
William McKinley |
1896 |
Republican |
7,112,138[31] |
Winner |
William Jennings Bryan |
1896 |
Democratic |
6,509,052[31] |
Also endorsed by the Populist Party and the Silver Party |
William Jennings Bryan |
1908 |
Democratic |
6,408,979[28] |
|
William Jennings Bryan |
1900 |
Democratic |
6,370,932[30] |
|
Woodrow Wilson |
1912 |
Democratic |
6,296,284[32] |
Winner |
John B. Anderson |
1980 |
Independent |
5,719,850[12] |
|
Grover Cleveland |
1892 |
Democratic |
5,553,898[33] |
Winner |
Grover Cleveland |
1888 |
Democratic |
5,534,488[34] |
Received the most votes, but lost the Electoral College. |
Benjamin Harrison |
1888 |
Republican |
5,443,633[34] |
Lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. |
Benjamin Harrison |
1892 |
Republican |
5,176,108[33] |
|
Alton B. Parker |
1904 |
Democratic |
5,083,880[29] |
|
Grover Cleveland |
1884 |
Democratic |
4,914,482[35] |
Winner |
James G. Blaine |
1884 |
Republican |
4,856,905[35] |
|
Robert M. La Follette |
1924 |
Progressive |
4,831,706[26] |
|
Gary Johnson |
2016 |
Libertarian |
4,489,235[4] |
|
James A. Garfield |
1880 |
Republican |
4,453,337[36] |
Winner |
Winfield Scott Hancock |
1880 |
Democratic |
4,444,976[36] |
|
Samuel J. Tilden |
1876 |
Democratic |
4,288,546[37] |
Received the most votes, but lost the Electoral College. |
Theodore Roosevelt |
1912 |
Progressive |
4,122,721[32] |
|
Rutherford B. Hayes |
1876 |
Republican |
4,034,142[37] |
Lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. |
Ulysses S. Grant |
1872 |
Republican |
3,597,439[38] |
Winner |
William Howard Taft |
1912 |
Republican |
3,486,242[32] |
|
Ulysses S. Grant |
1868 |
Republican |
3,013,790[39] |
Winner |
Ralph Nader |
2000 |
Green |
2,882,955[7] |
|
Horace Greeley |
1872 |
Liberal Republican |
2,834,761[38] |
Also endorsed by the Democratic Party |
Horatio Seymour |
1868 |
Democratic |
2,708,744[39] |
|
Abraham Lincoln |
1864 |
National Union |
2,211,317[40] |
Winner |
Abraham Lincoln |
1860 |
Republican |
1,855,993[41] |
Winner |
James Buchanan |
1856 |
Democratic |
1,835,140[42] |
Winner |
Jo Jorgensen |
2020 |
Libertarian |
≥1,834,632[1] |
Exact vote count pending |
George B. McClellan |
1864 |
Democratic |
1,812,807[40] |
|
Franklin Pierce |
1852 |
Democratic |
1,605,943[43] |
Winner |
Jill Stein |
2016 |
Green |
1,457,226[4] |
|
Winfield Scott |
1852 |
Whig |
1,386,942[43] |
|
Stephen A. Douglas |
1860 |
Northern Democratic |
1,380,202[41] |
|
Zachary Taylor |
1848 |
Whig |
1,360,235[44] |
Winner; Taylor was the last member of the Whig party elected president. |
John C. Frémont |
1856 |
Republican |
1,342,345[42] |
|
James K. Polk |
1844 |
Democratic |
1,339,570[45] |
Winner |
Henry Clay |
1844 |
Whig |
1,300,004[45] |
|
Gary Johnson |
2012 |
Libertarian |
1,275,971[3] |
|
William Henry Harrison |
1840 |
Whig |
1,275,583[46] |
Winner |
Lewis Cass |
1848 |
Democratic |
1,223,460[44] |
|
Strom Thurmond |
1948 |
Dixiecrat |
1,175,930[22] |
|
Henry A. Wallace |
1948 |
Progressive |
1,157,328[22] |
|
Martin Van Buren |
1840 |
Democratic |
1,128,854[46] |
|
John G. Schmitz |
1972 |
American Independent |
1,100,868[10] |
|
James B. Weaver |
1892 |
Populist |
1,041,028[33] |
|
Ed Clark |
1980 |
Libertarian |
921,128[12] |
|
Eugene V. Debs |
1920 |
Socialist |
913,693[25] |
|
Eugene V. Debs |
1912 |
Socialist |
901,551[32] |
|
William Lemke |
1936 |
Union |
892,378[19] |
|
Norman Thomas |
1932 |
Socialist |
884,885[23] |
Millard Fillmore |
1856 |
American |
873,053[42] |
Also endorsed by the Whig Party |
John C. Breckinridge |
1860 |
Southern Democratic |
848,019[41] |
|
Martin Van Buren |
1836 |
Democratic |
763,291[47] |
Winner |
Eugene McCarthy |
1976 |
Independent |
740,460[14] |
|
Ralph Nader |
2008 |
Independent |
739,034[2] |
|
Evan McMullin |
2016 |
Independent |
732,273[4] |
|
Andrew Jackson |
1832 |
Democratic |
702,735[48] |
Winner |
Ralph Nader |
1996 |
Green |
685,297[9] |
|
Andrew Jackson |
1828 |
Democratic |
642,806[49] |
Winner |
John Bell |
1860 |
Constitutional Union |
590,901[41] |
|
Allan L. Benson |
1916 |
Socialist |
590,524[27] |
|
William Henry Harrison |
1836 |
Whig |
550,816[47] |
|
Bob Barr |
2008 |
Libertarian |
523,715[2] |
|
John Quincy Adams |
1828 |
National Republican |
500,897[49] |
|
Harry Browne |
1996 |
Libertarian |
485,759[9] |
|
Henry Clay |
1832 |
National Republican |
484,205[48] |
|
Jill Stein |
2012 |
Green |
469,627[3] |
|
Ralph Nader |
2004 |
Independent |
465,151[5] |
Also endorsed by the Reform Party |
Pat Buchanan |
2000 |
Reform |
448,895[7] |
|
Ron Paul |
1988 |
Libertarian |
431,750[8] |
|
Eugene V. Debs |
1908 |
Socialist |
420,852[28] |
|
Eugene V. Debs |
1904 |
Socialist |
402,810[29] |
|
Michael Badnarik |
2004 |
Libertarian |
397,265[5] |
|
Harry Browne |
2000 |
Libertarian |
384,431[7] |
|
Howie Hawkins |
2020 |
Green |
≥383,771[1] |
Exact vote count pending |
James B. Weaver |
1880 |
Greenback |
308,649[36] |
|
Martin Van Buren |
1848 |
Free Soil |
291,501[44] |
|
Andre Marrou |
1992 |
Libertarian |
290,087[11] |
|
John Bidwell |
1892 |
Prohibition |
270,879[33] |
|
Norman Thomas |
1928 |
Socialist |
267,478[24] |
|
Parley P. Christensen |
1920 |
Farmer–Labor |
265,398[25] |
|
Silas C. Swallow |
1904 |
Prohibition |
259,102[29] |
|
Eugene W. Chafin |
1908 |
Prohibition |
254,087[28] |
|
Clinton B. Fisk |
1888 |
Prohibition |
249,819[34] |
|
Barry Commoner |
1980 |
Citizens |
233,052[12] |
|
David Bergland |
1984 |
Libertarian |
228,111[6] |
|
Frank Hanly |
1916 |
Prohibition |
221,302[27] |
|
Lenora Fulani |
1988 |
New Alliance |
217,221[8] |
|
John G. Woolley |
1900 |
Prohibition |
210,864[30] |
|
Eugene W. Chafin |
1912 |
Prohibition |
208,156[32] |
|
Darrell Castle |
2016 |
Constitution |
203,091[4] |
|
Chuck Baldwin |
2008 |
Constitution |
199,750[2] |
|
Aaron S. Watkins |
1920 |
Prohibition |
188,787[25] |
|
Norman Thomas |
1936 |
Socialist |
187,910[19] |
|
Howard Phillips |
1996 |
Taxpayers |
184,656[9] |
|
Roger MacBride |
1976 |
Libertarian |
172,557[14] |
|
Lester Maddox |
1976 |
American Independent |
170,274[14] |
|
Cynthia McKinney |
2008 |
Green |
161,797[2] |
|
Thomas J. Anderson |
1976 |
American |
158,271[14] |
|
John P. Hale |
1852 |
Free Soil |
155,210[43] |
|
Andrew Jackson |
1824 |
Democratic-Republican |
151,271[50] |
Received the most votes, but lost the election.[51] |
John St. John |
1884 |
Prohibition |
147,482[35] |
|
Alson Streeter |
1888 |
Union Labor |
146,602[34] |
|
Hugh Lawson White |
1836 |
Whig |
146,109[47] |
|
Michael Peroutka |
2004 |
Constitution |
143,630[5] |
|
Vincent Hallinan |
1952 |
Progressive |
140,746[17] |
|
James Madison |
1812 |
Democratic-Republican |
140,431[52] |
Winner; a limited number of states counted the popular vote |
Norman Thomas |
1948 |
Socialist |
139,569[22] |
|
John M. Palmer |
1896 |
National Democratic |
134,645[31] |
|
Benjamin Butler |
1884 |
Anti-Monopoly |
134,294[35] |
Also endorsed by the Greenback Party |
DeWitt Clinton |
1812 |
Democratic-Republican |
132,781[52] |
Also endorsed by much of the Federalist Party. A limited number of states counted the popular vote |
Joshua Levering |
1896 |
Prohibition |
131,312[31] |
|
James Madison |
1808 |
Democratic-Republican |
124,732[53][54] |
Winner; a limited number of states counted the popular vote |
David Cobb |
2004 |
Green |
119,859[5] |
|
Norman Thomas |
1940 |
Socialist |
116,599[20] |
|
Thomas E. Watson |
1904 |
Populist |
114,070[29] |
|
John Hagelin |
1996 |
Natural Law |
113,670[9] |
|
John Quincy Adams |
1824 |
Democratic-Republican |
113,142[50] |
Lost the popular vote, but won the election.[51] |
T. Coleman Andrews |
1956 |
States’ Rights |
107,929[15] |
|
Bo Gritz |
1992 |
Populist |
106,152[11] |
|
Thomas Jefferson |
1804 |
Democratic-Republican |
104,110[55][56] |
Winner; a limited number of states counted the popular vote |
Claude A. Watson |
1948 |
Prohibition |
103,708[22] |
|
William Z. Foster |
1932 |
Communist |
103,307[23] |
|
William Wirt |
1832 |
Anti-Masonic |
100,715[48] |