List of United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania

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).

List of elections

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

• List of United States Senate elections in Pennsylvania
• List of Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections

Notes

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

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.
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. "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

• Pennsylvania Department of State Election Returns Portal
• Pennsylvania Presidential Election Returns (1789-2004) from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project
• Pennsylvania Elections at Ballotpedia