United States presidential elections in Ohio

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Presidential elections in Ohio
Map of the United States with Ohio highlighted
Number of elections55
Voted Democratic16
Voted Republican30
Voted Whig3
Voted Democratic-Republican6
Voted other0
Voted for winning candidate45
Voted for losing candidate10

Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Ohio, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1803, Ohio has participated in every U.S. presidential election.

Ohio is considered a swing state, being won by either the Democratic or Republican candidates from election to election. As a swing state, Ohio is usually targeted by both major-party campaigns, especially in competitive elections.[1] Pivotal in the election of 1888, Ohio has been a regular swing state since 1980.[2][3]

Additionally, Ohio is considered a bellwether. Historian R. Douglas Hurt asserts that not since Virginia "had a state made such a mark on national political affairs".[4] The Economist notes that "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American—part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb".[5] In the time since the Civil War, Ohio has had five misses (all Democratic winners nationally) in the Presidential election (Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, John F. Kennedy in 1960, and Joe Biden in 2020), and it also had the longest perfect streak of any state, voting for the winning presidential candidate in each election from 1964 to 2016 — a streak that ended when Joe Biden won in 2020. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio, and since the advent of the duopoly two-party system, Democrats have won the presidency without winning Ohio only five times, in the elections noted above.

Winners of the state are in bold.

Party abbreviations:

Elections from 1864 to present[]

Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Other national
candidates[a] 		Votes Percent Electoral
Votes 		Notes
2020[6] Joe Biden (D) 2,679,165 45.24 Donald Trump (R) 3,154,834 53.27 — 18
2016 *[7] Donald Trump (R) 2,841,006 51.31 Hillary Clinton (D) 2,394,169 43.24 — 18 * Clinton (D) won national popular vote 48.0% to 45.9%
2012[8] Barack Obama (D) 2,827,710 50.67 Mitt Romney (R) 2,661,433 47.69 — 18
2008[9] Barack Obama (D) 2,940,044 51.50 John McCain (R) 2,677,820 46.91 — 20
2004[10] George W. Bush (R) 2,859,768 50.81 John Kerry (D) 2,741,167 48.71 — 20
2000 *[11] George W. Bush (R) 2,351,209 49.97 Al Gore (D) 2,186,190 46.46 — 21 * Gore (D) won national popular vote, 48.4% to 47.9%
1996[12] Bill Clinton (D) 2,148,222 47.38 Bob Dole (R) 1,859,883 41.02 Ross Perot (Reform) 483,207 10.66 21
1992 Bill Clinton (D) 1,984,942 40.18 George H. W. Bush (R) 1,894,310 38.35 Ross Perot 1,036,426 20.98 21
1988 George H. W. Bush (R) 2,416,549 55.00 Michael Dukakis (D) 1,939,629 44.15 — 23
1984 Ronald Reagan (R) 2,678,560 58.90 Walter Mondale (D) 1,825,440 40.14 — 23
1980 Ronald Reagan (R) 2,206,545 51.51 Jimmy Carter (D) 1,752,414 40.91 John B. Anderson 254,472 5.94 25
1976 Jimmy Carter (D) 2,011,621 48.92 Gerald Ford (R) 2,000,505 48.65 — 25
1972 Richard Nixon (R) 2,441,827 59.63 George McGovern (D) 1,558,889 38.07 — 25
1968 Richard Nixon (R) 1,791,014 45.23 Hubert Humphrey (D) 1,700,586 42.95 George Wallace (Am. Ind.) 467,495 11.81 26
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson (D) 2,498,331 62.94 Barry Goldwater (R) 1,470,865 37.06 — 26
1960 John F. Kennedy (D) 1,944,248 46.72 Richard Nixon (R) 2,217,611 53.28 — 25
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 2,262,610 61.11 Adlai Stevenson II (D) 1,439,655 38.89 T. Coleman Andrews/
Unpledged Electors[b]		 — — 25
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) 2,100,391 56.76 Adlai Stevenson II (D) 1,600,367 43.24 - 25
1948 Harry S. Truman (D) 1,452,791 49.48 Thomas E. Dewey (R) 1,445,684 49.24 Strom Thurmond (States' Rights D) — — 25 Henry Wallace (Prog.) won 1.3% of Ohio's votes
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 1,570,763 49.82 Thomas E. Dewey (R) 1,582,293 50.18 — 25
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 1,733,139 52.2 Wendell Willkie (R) 1,586,773 47.8 — 26
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 1,747,140 57.99 Alf Landon (R) 1,127,855 37.44 — 26
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) 1,301,695 49.88 Herbert Hoover (R) 1,227,319 47.03 — 26
1928 Herbert Hoover (R) 1,627,546 64.89 Al Smith (D) 864,210 34.45 — 24
1924 Calvin Coolidge (R) 1,176,130 58.33 John W. Davis (D) 477,888 23.7 Robert M. La Follette (Prog.) 357,948 17.75 24
1920 Warren G. Harding (R) 1,182,022 58.47 James M. Cox (D) 780,037 38.58 Parley P. Christensen (Farmer-Labor) — — 24
1916 Woodrow Wilson (D) 604,161 51.86 Charles E. Hughes (R) 514,753 44.18 — 24
1912 Woodrow Wilson (D) 424,834 40.96 Theodore Roosevelt (Prog.) 229,807 22.16 William H. Taft (R) 278,168 26.82 24 National vote: D 41.8%, Prog 27.4% & R 23.2%
1908 William H. Taft (R) 572,312 51.03 William Jennings Bryan (D) 502,721 44.82 — 23
1904 Theodore Roosevelt (R) 600,095 59.75 Alton B. Parker (D) 344,674 34.32 — 23
1900 William McKinley (R) 543,918 52.30 William Jennings Bryan (D) 474,882 45.66 — 23
1896 William McKinley (R) 525,991 51.86 William Jennings Bryan (D & People's) 477,497 47.08 — 23
1892 Grover Cleveland (D) 404,115 47.53 Benjamin Harrison (R) 405,187 47.66 James B. Weaver (People's) 14,850 1.75 23 Electoral vote split 22 (Harrison) to 1 (Cleveland)
1888 * Benjamin Harrison (R) 416,054 49.51 Grover Cleveland (D) 396,455 47.18 — 23 * Cleveland (D) won national popular vote, 48.6% to 47.8%
1884 Grover Cleveland (D) 368,280 46.94 James G. Blaine (R) 400,082 50.99 — 23
1880 James A. Garfield (R) 375,048 51.73 Winfield S. Hancock (D) 340,821 47.01 James B. Weaver (Greenback Labor) 6,456 0.89 22
1876*[13] Rutherford B. Hayes[c] (R) 330,698 50.21 Samuel J. Tilden (D) 323,182 49.07 — 22 * Tilden (D) won a national popular majority, 50.9% to 47.9%
1872 Ulysses S. Grant (R) 281,852 53.24 Horace Greeley (D & Lib. R) 244,321 46.15 — 22
1868 Ulysses S. Grant (R) 280,159 54.0 Horatio Seymour (D) 238,506 46.0 — 21
1864 Abraham Lincoln (Nat'l Union) 265,674 56.4 George B. McClellan (D) 205,609 43.6 — 21

Election of 1860[]

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
(R) 		231,709 52.3 Stephen A. Douglas
(N. Dem.) 		187,421 42.3 John C. Breckinridge
(S. Dem.) 		11,406 2.6 John Bell
(Const'l Union) 		12,194 2.8 23

Elections from 1828 to 1856[]

Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Other national
candidates[a] 		Votes Percent Electoral
Votes 		Notes
1856 James Buchanan (D) 170,874 44.21 John C. Frémont (R) 187,497 48.51 Millard Fillmore (American & Whig) 28,126 7.28 23
1852 Franklin Pierce (D) 168,933 47.83 Winfield Scott (Whig) 152,523 43.18 John P. Hale (Free Soil) 31,732 8.98 23
1848 Zachary Taylor (Whig) 138,359 42.12 Lewis Cass (D) 154,773 47.12 Martin Van Buren (Free Soil) 35,347 10.76 23
1844 James K. Polk (D) 149,061 47.74 Henry Clay (Whig) 155,113 49.68 — 23
1840 William Henry Harrison (Whig) 148,157 54.1 Martin Van Buren (D) 124,782 45.57 — 21
1836 Martin Van Buren (D) 96,238 47.56 William Henry Harrison (Whig) 104,958 51.87 various[d] 21
1832 Andrew Jackson (D) 81,246 51.33 Henry Clay (Nat'l R) 76,539 48.35 William Wirt (Anti-Masonic) 509 0.32 21
1828 Andrew Jackson (D) 67,596 51.6 John Quincy Adams (Nat'l R) 63,453 48.4 — 16

Election of 1824[]

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
(D-R)		 12,280 24.55 John Quincy Adams
(D-R)		 18,489 36.96 Henry Clay
(D-R)		 19,255 38.49 William H. Crawford
(D-R)		 no ballots 16

Note: The national popular vote (from 18 of 24 states, the other six had electors chosen by the state legislature) was Jackson 41.36%, Adams 30.92%, Clay 12.99% and Crawford 11.21%. After none of the candidates had a majority on the electoral college, Adams won the contingent election in the House of Representatives.

Elections from 1804 to 1820[]

In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all eight of Ohio’s electoral votes, 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) Loser(s) (nationally) Electoral
Votes 		Notes
1820 James Monroe (D-R) — 8 Monroe effectively ran unopposed.
1816 James Monroe (D-R) Rufus King (Fed.) 8
1812 James Madison (D-R) DeWitt Clinton (Fed./D-R Fusion) 7
1808 James Madison (D-R) Charles C. Pinckney (Fed.) 3
Thomas Jefferson (D-R) Charles C. Pinckney (Fed.) 3

References[]

  1. ^ "The Odds of an Electoral College-Popular Vote Split Are Increasing". FiveThirtyEight. 2016-11-01. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  2. ^ Trolling the Campuses for Swing-State Votes Archived May 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Julie Salamon, "The New York Times", October 2, 2004
  3. ^ Game Theory for Swingers Archived February 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Jordan Ellenberg, "Slate.com", October 25, 2004
  4. ^ Holli (1999), p. 162.
  5. ^ " A grain of sand for your thoughts" Archived February 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, The Economist, December 20, 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2005.
  6. ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  7. ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
  8. ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
  9. ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  12. ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  13. ^ David Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; Ohio, 1876

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  2. ^ Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
  3. ^ Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
  4. ^ 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 Hugh Lawson White, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Ohio.

See also[]

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