Close Presidential Elections of the Past .c The Associated Press Presidential races won by less than 5 percent of the popular vote. Victors are listed first. 1976 Jimmy Carter (D), 50.1 percent, 40,830,763 votes, 297 Electoral College votes. Gerald Ford (R), 48 percent, 39,147,793 votes, 240 electoral votes. Ronald Reagan, 1 electoral vote. 1968 Richard Nixon (R), 43.4 percent, 31,785,480 votes, 301 electoral. Hubert Humphrey (D), 42.7 percent, 31,275,166 votes, 191 electoral. George Wallace (American Independent), 13.5 percent, 9,906,473 votes, 46 electoral. 1960 John F. Kennedy (D), 49.7 percent, 34,226,731 votes, 303 electoral. Richard Nixon (R), 49.5 percent, 34,108,157 votes, 219 electoral. Harry Byrd (D), 0.2 percent, 116,248 votes, 15 (unpledged electors). 1948 Harry Truman (D), 49.6 percent, 24,179,345 votes, 303 electoral. Thomas Dewey (R), 45.1 percent, 21,991,291 votes, 189 electoral. J. Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Democrat), 2.4 percent, 1,176,125 votes, 39 electoral. Henry Wallace (Progressive), 2.4 percent, 1,157,326 votes, 0 electoral. 1916 Woodrow Wilson (D), 49.2 percent, 9,126,300 votes, 277 electoral. Charles E. Hughes (R), 46.1 percent, 8,546,789 votes, 254 electoral. 1896 William McKinley (R), 51 percent, 7,108,480 votes, 271 electoral. William J. Bryan (D, Populist), 46.7 percent, 6,511,495 votes, 176 electoral. 1892 Grover Cleveland (D), 46.1 percent, 5,551,883 votes, 277 electoral. Benjamin Harrison (R), 43 percent, 5,179,244 votes, 145 electoral. James B. Weaver (Populist), 8.5 percent, 1,024,280 votes, 22 electoral. 1888 Benjamin Harrison (R), 47.8 percent, 5,443,892 votes, 233 electoral. Grover Cleveland (D), 48.6 percent, 5,534,488 votes, 168 electoral. 1880 James A. Garfield (R), 48.3 percent, 4,446,158 votes, 214 electoral. Winfield S. Hancock (D), 48.3 percent, 4,444,260 votes, 155 electoral. 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes (R), 48 percent, 4,034,311 votes, 185 electoral. Samuel J. Tilden (D), 51 percent, 4,288,546 votes, 184 electoral. 1848 Zachary Taylor (Whig), 47.3 percent, 1,361,393 votes, 163 electoral. Lewis Cass (D), 42.5 percent, 1,223,460 votes, 127 electoral. Martin Van Buren (Free Soil), 10.1 percent, 291,501 votes, 0 electoral. 1844 James K. Polk (D), 49.5 percent, 1,339,494 votes, 170 electoral. Henry Clay (Whig), 48.1 percent, 1,300,004 votes, 105 electoral. 1824 No candidate won an electoral majority, so the task of choosing the president fell to the House. Thirteen state delegations chose John Q. Adams, seven chose Andrew Jackson and three chose William Crawford. Adams became the president though Jackson won the popular vote. Adams (Democratic-Republican), 30.9 percent, 113,122 votes, 84 electoral. Jackson (Democratic-Republican), 41.3 percent, 151,271 votes, 99 electoral. Crawford (Democratic-Republican), 11.2 percent, 40,856 votes, 41 electoral. Clay (Democratic-Republican), 13 percent, 47,531 votes, 37 electoral.
