electoral vote chart

[calimac]

Here's a weird little bit of electoral neepery: a historical tally chart of the number of electoral votes (other than zero) won by incumbent presidents. Asterisk indicates they actually won the election:

525* - Reagan 1984
523* - Roosevelt 1936
520* - Nixon 1972
486* - Johnson 1964
457* - Eisenhower 1956
449* - Roosevelt 1940
432* - Roosevelt 1944
382* - Coolidge 1924
379* - Clinton 1996
336* - Roosevelt 1904
303* - Truman 1948
292* - McKinley 1900
286* - Bush 2004
286* - Grant 1872
277* - Wilson 1916
240 - Ford 1976
231* - Monroe 1820
219* - Jackson 1832
212* - Lincoln 1864
168 - Bush 1992
168 - Cleveland 1888
162* - Jefferson 1804
145 - Harrison 1892
132* - Washington 1792
128* - Madison 1812
83 - Adams 1828
65 - Adams 1800
60 - Van Buren 1840
59 - Hoover 1932
49 - Carter 1980
8 - Taft 1912
2 - Washington 1796

The greater numbers earned by winners in later times is due, of course, to the growth of the size of the electoral college until it topped out in 1912 (with only 7 added since then). Taft's unbelievably crappy 8 votes in 1912 is due his having been outvoted by the Republican dissidents in TR's Bull Moose Progressive Party. But the lowest number ever earned is not a marker of failure, but a tribute to the president's popularity. George Washington got 2 electoral votes for a third term even though he wasn't running.

Comments

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Were there incumbent presidents who got 0 electoral votes?

The list would be clearer, I suspect, if you gave the number and the total possible, eg "379/538* Clinton".

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Sure there were incumbent presidents who got 0. Any who didn't run (except Washington). Clinton got 0 in 2000, Bush got 0 in 2008.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Well, both Bush and Clinton were barred from running for a third term. Truman was the last president who could have run for more than two full terms, and he wasn't nominated again in 1952. Anyone not running doesn't count. So... no one. Washington's 2 is really more of an embarrassment for Adams than an actual desire to be president.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I'm not counting desires to be president. I'm counting electoral votes.

If you're asking, did any president who was running for re-election get 0 electoral votes, the answer is: none who were still in the race in November. Some tested the waters earlier on, but found insufficient support (in modern times, by losing primaries) and gave up, and that includes Truman in 1952. Also Johnson in 1968, who was also eligible for re-election. In earlier times, Tyler in 1844 and Pierce in 1856 are the most notable cases.

There is one case of an ex-President who was still running in November and got 0 electoral votes. This was Martin Van Buren, who ran on the Free Soil ticket in 1848, got sizable popular votes, but carried no states. The next most pathetic case of an ex-President running again was Millard Fillmore in 1856, who got 8 electoral votes. Grant and Hoover failed to get the nomination and gave up. TR did better (88 electoral votes) and Grover Cleveland was the only ex-President who actually won (277 electoral votes).