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United States presidential elections in Massachusetts

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Presidential elections in Massachusetts
Map of the United States with Massachusetts highlighted
Number of elections60
Voted Democratic22
Voted Republican21
Voted Whig5
Voted Democratic-Republican5
Voted Federalist5
Voted other2[a]
Voted for winning candidate38
Voted for losing candidate22

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

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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.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Notes

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  1. ^ George Washington, 1788-89, 1792.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c d Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
  4. ^ Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
  5. ^ 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

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  1. ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. 3 November 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
  3. ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
  4. ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  7. ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
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