United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania

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Presidential elections in Pennsylvania
Map of the United States with Pennsylvania highlighted
Number of elections59
Voted Democratic20
Voted Republican26
Voted other14
Voted for winning candidate48
Voted for losing candidate11
Elections in Pennsylvania
Federal government
U.S. President
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Auditor General
State Treasurer
State Senate
State House of Representatives
Elections by year
State elections
Philadelphia
Mayoral elections
City Council elections
Other municipal elections
Pittsburgh
Mayors
Allentown
Mayors
Lancaster
Mayors
Harrisburg
Mayors
Government

United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania occur when voters in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cast ballots for electors to the Electoral College as part of a national election to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Regularly scheduled general elections occur on Election Day, coinciding with elections in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia.[1]

As in other states in the U.S., presidential elections are indirect elections. Voters do not cast ballots directly for a presidential candidate, but rather a slate of electors pledged to support that candidate, with the victorious slate of electors casting their ballots directly for President and Vice President of the United States as part of the Electoral College.[2][3] During the first presidential election in 1789, Pennsylvania was allotted 15 electoral votes. In 2016, the most recent election, the state was allotted 20. This number, proportional to the state's population and decided every 10 years after a census, peaked at 38 from the 1912 election through the 1928 election.[4] The next presidential election in Pennsylvania, coinciding with the national election, is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

The list below contains election returns from all 59 quadrennial presidential elections in Pennsylvania, beginning with the first in 1789 and ending with the most recent in 2020. Incumbent Presidents are listed as well as presidential candidates who carried Pennsylvania and runner(s)-up in the state, including major third-party candidates (garnering 5% or more of the popular vote). Bold indicates the candidate who won the election nationally. Parties are color-coded to the left of a President's or candidate's name according to the key below. The popular vote and percentage margins listed in the "Margin" column are the differences between the total votes received and percentage of the popular vote received by the top two finishers in the corresponding election (i.e. the margin-of-victory of a candidate who carried Pennsylvania over the nearest competitor). The "E.V." section denotes the number of electoral votes cast in favor of the candidate who carried the state, which has been unanimous except for two occasions—1796 and 1800—in which the number in parentheses represents the number of votes cast for the runner-up.

In all, the Republican Party has carried Pennsylvania in 26 presidential elections, the Democratic Party in 20, the Democratic-Republican Party in 8, the Whig Party in 2, and the Progressive Party in 1 (1912). A nonpartisan candidate, George Washington, carried the state twice (in 1789 and 1792). Pennsylvania has voted for the overall victor in 48 of 59 elections (81.4% of the time) and is tied with Michigan and Wisconsin for the longest active streak of voting for the winning candidate.

List of elections[edit]

Parties

  Independent   Federalist   Democratic-Republican   Democratic   Whig   Republican   National Republican   Anti-Masonic   Know Nothing/American   Southern Democratic   National Union (1864)   Liberal Republican   Progressive (1912)   Socialist   Progressive (1924)   American Independent   Reform

Election Incumbent President Pennsylvania Winner Votes E.V. PA Runner(s)-up Votes Margin Turnout
[note 1] 		Notes
1789   Office established   George Washington 7,383 (100.00%) 15   None — —
1792   George Washington   George Washington 4,576 (100.00%) 15   None — —
1796   George Washington   Thomas Jefferson 12,516 (50.58%) 14 (1)   John Adams 12,229 (49.42%) 289 (1.16%) [5]
[note 2]
1800   John Adams   Thomas Jefferson 60 (64.52%) 8 (7)   John Adams 33 (35.48%) 27 (29.04%) — [6]
[note 3]
1804   Thomas Jefferson   Thomas Jefferson 22,081 (94.69%) 20   Charles Pinckney 1,239 (5.31%) 20,842 (89.38%) [7]
1808   Thomas Jefferson   James Madison 42,508 (78.37%) 20   Charles Pinckney 11,735 (21.63%) 30,733 (56.74%) [8]
1812   James Madison   James Madison 48,816 (62.60%) 25   DeWitt Clinton 29,162 (37.40%) 19,654 (25.20%) [9]
1816   James Madison   James Monroe 25,653 (59.33%) 25   Rufus King 17,588 (40.67%) 8,065 (18.66%) [10]
1820   James Monroe   James Monroe 30,313 (94.12%) 24   DeWitt Clinton 1,893 (5.88%) 28,420 (88.24%) [11]
1824   James Monroe   Andrew Jackson 35,929 (76.04%) 28   John Q. Adams 5,436 (11.50%) 30,493 (64.54%) [12]
  William H. Crawford 4,182 (8.85%)
1828   John Q. Adams   Andrew Jackson 101,652 (66.66%) 28   John Q. Adams 50,848 (33.34%) 50,804 (33.32%) [13]
1832   Andrew Jackson   Andrew Jackson 91,949 (57.96%) 30   William Wirt 66,689 (42.04%) 25,260 (15.92%) [14]
1836   Andrew Jackson   Martin Van Buren 91,457 (51.18%) 30   William H. Harrison 87,235 (48.82%) 4,222 (2.36%) [15]
1840   Martin Van Buren   William H. Harrison 144,010 (50.00%) 30   Martin Van Buren 143,676 (49.88%) 334 (0.12%) [16]
1844   John Tyler   James K. Polk 167,447 (50.50%) 26   Henry Clay 161,125 (48.59%) 6,322 (1.91%) [17]
1848   James K. Polk   Zachary Taylor 185,313 (50.28%) 26   Lewis Cass 171,976 (46.66%) 13,337 (1.91%) [18]
1852   Millard Fillmore   Franklin Pierce 198,562 (51.20%) 27   Winfield Scott 179,104 (46.18%) 19,458 (5.02%) [19]
[note 4]
1856   Franklin Pierce   James Buchanan 230,686 (50.13%) 27   John C. Frémont 147,286 (32.01%) 83,400 (18.12%) [20]
  Millard Fillmore 82,189 (17.86%)
1860   James Buchanan   Abraham Lincoln 268,030 (56.26%) 27   John C. Breckinridge 178,871 (37.54%) 89,159 (18.72%) [21]
1864   Abraham Lincoln   Abraham Lincoln 296,391 (51.75%) 26   George B. McClellan 276,316 (48.25%) 20,075 (3.50%) [22]
[note 5]
1868   Andrew Johnson   Ulysses S. Grant 342,280 (52.20%) 26   Horatio Seymour 313,382 (47.80%) 28,898 (4.40%) [23]
[note 6]
1872   Ulysses S. Grant   Ulysses S. Grant 349,589 (62.07%) 29   Horace Greeley 212,041 (37.65%) 137,548 (24.42%) [24]
1876   Ulysses S. Grant   Rutherford B. Hayes 384,184 (50.62%) 29   Samuel J. Tilden 366,204 (48.25%) 17,980 (2.37%) [25]
1880   Rutherford B. Hayes   James A. Garfield 444,704 (50.84%) 29   Winfield Scott Hancock 407,428 (46.57%) 37,276 (4.27%) [26]
1884   Chester A. Arthur   James G. Blaine 478,804 (52.97%) 30   Grover Cleveland 392,785 (43.46%) 86,019 (9.51%) [27]
[note 7]
1888   Grover Cleveland   Benjamin Harrison 526,091 (52.74%) 30   Grover Cleveland 446,633 (44.77%) 79,458 (7.97%) [28]
1892   Benjamin Harrison   Benjamin Harrison 516,011 (51.45%) 32   Grover Cleveland 452,264 (45.09%) 63,747 (6.36%) [29]
1896   Grover Cleveland   William McKinley 728,300 (60.98%) 32   William Jennings Bryan 433,228 (36.27%) 295,072 (24.71%) [30]
1900   William McKinley   William McKinley 712,665 (60.74%) 32   William Jennings Bryan 424,232 (36.16%) 288,433 (24.58%) [31]
1904   Theodore Roosevelt   Theodore Roosevelt 840,949 (68.00%) 34   Alton B. Parker 337,998 (27.33%) 502,951 (40.67%) [32]
[note 8]
1908   Theodore Roosevelt   William Howard Taft 745,779 (58.84%) 34   William Jennings Bryan 448,782 (35.41%) 296,997 (23.43%) [33]
1912   William Howard Taft   Theodore Roosevelt 444,894 (36.53%) 38   Woodrow Wilson 395,637 (32.49%) 49,257 (4.04%) [34]
  William Howard Taft 273,360 (22.45%)
  Eugene V. Debs 83,614 (6.87%)
1916   Woodrow Wilson   Charles Evans Hughes 703,823 (54.26%) 38   Woodrow Wilson 521,784 (40.22%) 406,826 (14.04%) [35]
1920   Woodrow Wilson   Warren G. Harding 1,218,216 (65.76%) 38   James M. Cox 503,843 (27.20%) 714,373 (38.56%) [36]
1924   Calvin Coolidge   Calvin Coolidge 1,401,481 (65.34%) 38   John W. Davis 409,192 (19.08%) 992,289 (46.26%) [37]
[note 9]
  Robert M. La Follette, Sr. 307,567 (14.34%)
1928   Calvin Coolidge   Herbert Hoover 2,055,382 (65.24%) 38   Al Smith 1,067,586 (33.89%) 987,796 (31.35%) [38]
1932   Herbert Hoover   Herbert Hoover 1,453,540 (50.84%) 36   Franklin D. Roosevelt 1,295,948 (45.33%) 157,592 (5.51%) [39]
1936   Franklin D. Roosevelt   Franklin D. Roosevelt 2,353,987 (56.88%) 36   Alf Landon 1,690,200 (40.84%) 663,787 (16.04%) [40]
1940   Franklin D. Roosevelt   Franklin D. Roosevelt 2,171,035 (53.23%) 36   Wendell Willkie 1,889,848 (46.33%) 281,187 (6.90%) [41]
1944   Franklin D. Roosevelt   Franklin D. Roosevelt 1,940,479 (51.14%) 35   Thomas E. Dewey 1,835,054 (48.36%) 105,425 (2.78%) [42]
1948   Harry S. Truman   Thomas E. Dewey 1,902,197 (50.93%) 35   Harry S. Truman 1,752,426 (46.92%) 149,771 (4.01%) [43]
[note 10]
1952   Harry S. Truman   Dwight D. Eisenhower 2,415,789 (52.74%) 32   Adlai Stevenson II 2,146,269 (46.85%) 269,520 (5.89%) [44]
1956   Dwight D. Eisenhower   Dwight D. Eisenhower 2,585,252 (56.49%) 32   Adlai Stevenson II 1,981,769 (43.30%) 603,483 (5.89%) [45]
1960   Dwight D. Eisenhower   John F. Kennedy 2,556,282 (51.06%) 32   Richard Nixon 2,439,956 (48.74%) 116,326 (2.32%) 70.3%[46] [47]
1964   Lyndon B. Johnson   Lyndon B. Johnson 3,130,954 (64.92%) 29   Barry Goldwater 1,673,657 (34.70%) 1,457,297 (30.22%) 67.9%[46] [48]
[note 11]
1968   Lyndon B. Johnson   Hubert Humphrey 2,259,405 (47.59%) 29   Richard Nixon 2,090,017 (44.02%) 169,388 (3.57%) 65.3%[46] [49]
  George Wallace 378,582 (7.97%)
1972   Richard Nixon   Richard Nixon 2,714,521 (59.11%) 27   George McGovern 1,796,951 (39.13%) 917,570 (19.98%) 56.0%[46] [50]
1976   Gerald Ford   Jimmy Carter 2,328,677 (50.40%) 27   Gerald Ford 2,205,604 (47.73%) 123,073 (2.67%) 54.2%[46] [51]
[note 12]
1980   Jimmy Carter   Ronald Reagan 2,261,872 (49.59%) 27   Jimmy Carter 1,937,540 (42.48%) 324,332 (7.11%) 51.9%[46] [52]
  John B. Anderson 292,921 (6.42%)
1984   Ronald Reagan   Ronald Reagan 2,584,323 (53.34%) 25   Walter Mondale 2,228,131 (45.99%) 356,202 (7.35%) 54.0%[46] [53]
1988   Ronald Reagan   George H. W. Bush 2,300,087 (50.70%) 25   Michael Dukakis 2,194,944 (48.39%) 105,143 (2.31%) 50.1%[46] [54]
1992   George H. W. Bush   Bill Clinton 2,239,164 (45.15%) 23   George H. W. Bush 1,791,841 (36.12%) 447,323 (9.03%) 54.3%[46] [55]
  Ross Perot 902,667 (18.20%)
1996   Bill Clinton   Bill Clinton 2,215,819 (49.17%) 23   Bob Dole 1,801,169 (39.97%) 414,650 (9.20%) 48.9%[46] [56]
  Ross Perot 430,984 (9.56%)
2000   Bill Clinton   Al Gore 2,485,967 (50.61%) 23   George W. Bush 2,281,127 (46.44%) 204,840 (4.17%) 52.4%[46] [57]
2004   George W. Bush   John Kerry 2,938,095 (50.96%) 21   George W. Bush 2,793,847 (48.46%) 144,248 (2.50%) 60.0%[46] [58]
2008   George W. Bush   Barack Obama 3,276,363 (54.65%) 21   John McCain 2,655,885 (44.30%) 620,478 (10.35%) 62.1%[46] [59]
2012   Barack Obama   Barack Obama 2,990,274 (52.08%) 20   Mitt Romney 2,680,434 (46.68%) 309,840 (5.40%) 58.1%[46] [60]
2016   Barack Obama   Donald Trump 2,970,733 (48.17%) 20   Hillary Clinton 2,926,441 (47.46%) 44,292 (0.72%) 60.27% [61]
2020   Donald Trump   Joe Biden 3,458,229 (50.01%) 20   Donald Trump 3,377,674 (48.84%) 80,555 (1.16%) 70.93% [62]

Note: Bold candidate indicates President elected nationally.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Percentage of voting age population (VAP) unless otherwise noted.
  2. ^ One electoral vote was cast for John Adams.
  3. ^ Electors in 1800 were chosen by the state legislature. In addition to eight electoral votes for Jefferson, Pennsylvania cast seven for Adams.
  4. ^ Zachary Taylor died in July 1850. Millard Fillmore served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  5. ^ Abraham Lincoln sought re-election on the National Union ticket in 1864.
  6. ^ Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865. Andrew Johnson served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  7. ^ James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Chester Arthur served the remainder of the unexpired term and did not seek election to a full term.
  8. ^ William McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. Theodore Roosevelt served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  9. ^ Warren Harding died in August 1923. Calvin Coolidge served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  10. ^ Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April 1945. Harry S. Truman served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  11. ^ John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought and won election to a full term.
  12. ^ Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974. Gerald Ford served the remainder of the unexpired term and sought election to a full term.

References[edit]

  1. ^ 3 U.S.C. § 1
  2. ^ "Electoral College". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  3. ^ "U.S. Electoral College". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Historical Election Results". U.S. Electoral College. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1796". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1800". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1804". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1808". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1812". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1816". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1820". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1824". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1828". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1832". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1836". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  16. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1840". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  17. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1844". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1848". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  19. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1852". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  20. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1856". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  21. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1860". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1864". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  23. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1868". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1872". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1876". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  26. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1880". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  27. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1884". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  28. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1888". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  29. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1892". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  30. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1896". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  31. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1900". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  32. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1904". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  33. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1908". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  34. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1912". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  35. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1916". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  36. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1920". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  37. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1924". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  38. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1928". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  39. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1932". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  40. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1936". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  41. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1940". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  42. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1944". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  43. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1948". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  44. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1952". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  45. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1956". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Voter Registration Statistics". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  47. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1960". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  48. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1964". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  49. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1968". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  50. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1972". Wilkes University. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  51. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1976". Wilkes University. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  52. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1980". Wilkes University. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  53. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1984". Wilkes University. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  54. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1988". Wilkes University. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  55. ^ "Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns 1992". Wilkes University. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  56. ^ "1996 Presidential General Election Results - Pennsylvania". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  57. ^ "2000 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  58. ^ "2004 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  59. ^ "2008 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  60. ^ "2012 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  61. ^ "2016 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  62. ^ "2020 General Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 December 2020.

External links[edit]

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