United States presidential elections in Massachusetts
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Number of elections | 59 |
---|---|
Voted Democratic | 21 |
Voted Republican | 21 |
Voted Whig | 5 |
Voted Democratic-Republican | 5 |
Voted Federalist | 5 |
Voted other | 2[a] |
Voted for winning candidate | 38 |
Voted for losing candidate | 21 |
Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Massachusetts, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1788, Massachusetts has participated in every U.S. presidential election.
Winners of the state are in bold. The shading refers to the state winner, and not the national winner.
Elections from 1864 to present
[edit]From 1864 to 1924, Massachusetts was a reliably Republican state, going Democratic only in the election of 1912 where the Republican Party was split. However, the increased strength of the Irish Catholic voting bloc led the state to support Al Smith in 1928 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in all four of his elections. Since 1956, Ronald Reagan (in 1980 and 1984) has been the only Republican to carry Massachusetts.
![]() | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Other national candidates[b] | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020[1] | Joe Biden | 2,382,202 | 65.60 | Donald Trump | 1,167,202 | 32.14 | — | 11 | |||
2016[2] | Donald Trump[c] | 1,090,893 | 32.81 | Hillary Clinton | 1,995,196 | 60.01 | — | 11 | |||
2012[3] | Barack Obama | 1,921,290 | 60.65 | Mitt Romney | 1,188,314 | 37.51 | — | 11 | |||
2008[4] | Barack Obama | 1,904,097 | 61.80 | John McCain | 1,108,854 | 35.99 | — | 12 | |||
2004[5] | George W. Bush | 1,071,109 | 36.78 | John Kerry | 1,803,800 | 61.94 | — | 12 | |||
2000[6] | George W. Bush[c] | 878,502 | 32.50 | Al Gore | 1,616,487 | 59.80 | Ralph Nader | 173,564 | 6.42 | 12 | |
1996[7] | Bill Clinton | 1,571,763 | 61.47 | Bob Dole | 718,107 | 28.09 | Ross Perot | 227,217 | 8.89 | 12 | |
1992 | Bill Clinton | 1,318,662 | 47.54 | George H. W. Bush | 805,049 | 29.03 | Ross Perot | 632,312 | 22.8 | 12 | |
1988 | George H. W. Bush | 1,194,644 | 45.38 | Michael Dukakis | 1,401,406 | 53.23 | — | 13 | |||
1984 | Ronald Reagan | 1,310,936 | 51.22 | Walter Mondale | 1,239,606 | 48.43 | — | 13 | |||
1980 | Ronald Reagan | 1,057,631 | 41.90 | Jimmy Carter | 1,053,802 | 41.75 | John B. Anderson | 382,539 | 15.15 | 14 | |
1976 | Jimmy Carter | 1,429,475 | 56.11 | Gerald Ford | 1,030,276 | 40.44 | — | 14 | |||
1972 | Richard Nixon | 1,112,078 | 45.23 | George McGovern | 1,332,540 | 54.20 | — | 14 | |||
1968 | Richard Nixon | 766,844 | 32.89 | Hubert Humphrey | 1,469,218 | 63.01 | George Wallace | 87,088 | 3.73 | 14 | |
1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1,786,422 | 76.19 | Barry Goldwater | 549,727 | 23.44 | — | 14 | |||
1960 | John F. Kennedy | 1,487,174 | 60.22 | Richard Nixon | 976,750 | 39.55 | — | 16 | |||
1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1,393,197 | 59.32 | Adlai Stevenson II | 948,190 | 40.37 | T. Coleman Andrews/ Unpledged Electors[d] | — | — | 16 | |
1952 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1,292,325 | 54.22 | Adlai Stevenson II | 1,083,525 | 45.46 | — | 16 | |||
1948 | Harry S. Truman | 1,151,788 | 54.66 | Thomas E. Dewey | 909,370 | 43.16 | Strom Thurmond | — | — | 16 | |
1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1,035,296 | 52.80 | Thomas E. Dewey | 921,350 | 46.99 | — | 16 | |||
1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1,076,522 | 53.11 | Wendell Willkie | 939,700 | 46.36 | — | 17 | |||
1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 942,716 | 51.22 | Alf Landon | 768,613 | 41.76 | — | 17 | |||
1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 800,148 | 50.64 | Herbert Hoover | 736,959 | 46.64 | — | 17 | |||
1928 | Herbert Hoover | 775,566 | 49.15 | Al Smith | 792,758 | 50.24 | — | 18 | |||
1924 | Calvin Coolidge | 703,476 | 62.26 | John W. Davis | 280,831 | 24.86 | Robert M. La Follette | 141,225 | 12.50 | 18 | |
1920 | Warren G. Harding | 681,153 | 68.55 | James M. Cox | 276,691 | 27.84 | Parley P. Christensen | — | — | 18 | |
1916 | Woodrow Wilson | 247,885 | 46.61 | Charles E. Hughes | 268,784 | 50.54 | — | 18 | |||
1912 | Woodrow Wilson | 173,408 | 35.53 | Theodore Roosevelt | 142,228 | 29.14 | William H. Taft | 155,948 | 31.95 | 18 | |
1908 | William H. Taft | 265,966 | 58.21 | William Jennings Bryan | 155,543 | 34.04 | — | 16 | |||
1904 | Theodore Roosevelt | 257,822 | 57.92 | Alton B. Parker | 165,746 | 37.24 | — | 16 | |||
1900 | William McKinley | 238,866 | 57.59 | William Jennings Bryan | 156,997 | 37.85 | — | 15 | |||
1896 | William McKinley | 278,976 | 69.47 | William Jennings Bryan | 105,711 | 26.32 | — | 15 | |||
1892 | Grover Cleveland | 176,813 | 45.22 | Benjamin Harrison | 202,814 | 51.87 | James B. Weaver | 3,210 | 0.82 | 15 | |
1888 | Benjamin Harrison[c] | 183,892 | 53.42 | Grover Cleveland | 151,590 | 44.04 | — | 14 | |||
1884 | Grover Cleveland | 122,352 | 40.33 | James G. Blaine | 146,724 | 48.36 | — | 14 | |||
1880 | James A. Garfield | 165,198 | 58.53 | Winfield S. Hancock | 111,720 | 39.58 | James B. Weaver | 4,548 | 1.61 | 13 | |
1876 | Rutherford B. Hayes[c] | 150,064 | 57.80 | Samuel J. Tilden | 108,777 | 41.90 | — | 13 | |||
1872 | Ulysses S. Grant | 133,455 | 69.20 | Horace Greeley | 59,195 | 30.69 | — | 13 | |||
1868 | Ulysses S. Grant | 136,379 | 69.80 | Horatio Seymour | 59,103 | 30.20 | — | 12 | |||
1864 | Abraham Lincoln | 126,742 | 72.20 | George B. McClellan | 48,745 | 27.80 | — | 12 |
Election of 1860
[edit]The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1860 | Abraham Lincoln | 106,684 | 62.9 | Stephen A. Douglas | 34,370 | 20.3 | John C. Breckinridge | 6,163 | 3.6 | John Bell | 22,331 | 13.2 | 13 |
Elections from 1828 to 1856
[edit]In all of these elections, Massachusetts went for Whig Party, its predecessor the National Republican Party or its successor the Republican Party
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Other national candidates[b] | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1856 | James Buchanan | 39,244 | 23.08 | John C. Frémont | 108,172 | 63.61 | Millard Fillmore | 19,626 | 11.54 | 13 | |
1852 | Franklin Pierce | 44,569 | 35.07 | Winfield Scott | 52,683 | 41.45 | John P. Hale | 28,203 | 22.19 | 13 | |
1848 | Zachary Taylor | 61,072 | 45.32 | Lewis Cass | 35,281 | 26.18 | Martin Van Buren | 38,333 | 28.45 | 12 | |
1844 | James K. Polk | 53,039 | 40.17 | Henry Clay | 67,062 | 50.79 | — | 12 | |||
1840 | William Henry Harrison | 72,852 | 57.44 | Martin Van Buren | 52,355 | 41.28 | — | 14 | |||
1836 | Martin Van Buren | 33,486 | 44.81 | Daniel Webster | 41,201 | 55.13 | various[e] | 14 | |||
1832 | Andrew Jackson | 13,933 | 20.61 | Henry Clay | 31,963 | 47.27 | William Wirt | 14,692 | 21.73 | 14 | |
1828 | Andrew Jackson | 6,012 | 15.39 | John Quincy Adams | 29,836 | 76.36 | — | 15 |
Election of 1824
[edit]The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become President, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1824 | Andrew Jackson | no ballots | John Quincy Adams | 30,687 | 72.97 | Henry Clay | no ballots | William H. Crawford | no ballots | 15 |
Elections from 1788-89 to 1820
[edit]In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all twenty-two of the electoral votes of Massachusetts, and all electoral votes nationwide except one vote in New Hampshire. To the extent that a popular vote was held, it was primarily directed to filling the office of Vice President.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Runner-up (nationally) | Electoral Votes | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1820 | James Monroe | — | 15 | Monroe effectively ran unopposed. |
1816 | James Monroe | Rufus King | 22 | |
1812 | James Madison | DeWitt Clinton | 22 | |
1808 | James Madison | Charles C. Pinckney | 19 | |
1804 | Thomas Jefferson | Charles C. Pinckney | 19 | |
1800 | Thomas Jefferson | John Adams | 16 | |
1796 | John Adams | Thomas Jefferson | 16 | |
1792 | George Washington | — | 16 | Washington effectively ran unopposed. |
1788-89 | George Washington | — | 10 | Washington effectively ran unopposed. |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ George Washington, 1788-89, 1792.
- ^ a b For purposes of these lists, other national candidates are defined as those who won at least one electoral vote, or won at least ten percent of the vote in multiple states.
- ^ a b c d Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
- ^ Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
- ^ Three other candidates ran and received electoral votes nationally as part of the unsuccessful Whig strategy to defeat Martin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country. The others were William Henry Harrison, Hugh Lawson White, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Massachusetts, whose ballot was the only one where Webster appeared.
References
[edit]- ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. 3 November 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ "Federal Elections 2004: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Elections Commission. May 2005.
- ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.