This article is a list of United States presidential candidates. The first U.S. presidential election was held in 1788–1789, followed by the second in 1792. Presidential elections have been held every four years thereafter.
Presidential candidates win the election by winning a majority of the electoral vote. If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral vote, the winner is determined through a contingent election held in the United States House of Representatives; this situation has occurred twice in U.S. history. The procedures governing presidential elections were changed significantly with the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804. Since 1824, a national popular vote has been tallied for each election, but the national popular vote does not directly affect the winner of the presidential election.
The United States has had a two-party system for much of its history, and the major parties of the two-party system have dominated presidential elections for most of U.S. history. The two current major parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. At various points prior to the American Civil War, the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republican Party, the National Republican Party, and the Whig Party were major parties. These six parties have nominated candidates in the vast majority of presidential elections, though some presidential elections have deviated from the normal pattern of two major party candidates. In most elections, third party and independent candidates have also sought the presidency, but no such candidates have won the presidency since the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, and only two such candidates have finished second in either the popular vote or the electoral vote.
Pre-12th Amendment: 1789–1800
Prior to the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, each member of the Electoral College cast two votes, with no distinction made between electoral votes for president and electoral votes for vice president. Under these rules, the individual who received the most electoral votes would become president, and the individual who received the second most electoral votes would become vice president.
The following candidates received at least one electoral vote in elections held before the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804. Winning candidates are bolded. Political parties began to nominate presidential candidates in the 1796 presidential election, and candidates are listed as members of the Democratic-Republican Party (DR) or the Federalist Party (F) for the 1796 and 1800 elections.
| Year | Winning Candidate | Runner-up | Others receiving electoral votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | George Washington | John Adams | John Jay, Robert H. Harrison, John Rutledge, John Hancock, George Clinton, Samuel Huntington, John Milton, James Armstrong, Benjamin Lincoln, Edward Telfair |
| 1792 | George Washington | John Adams | George Clinton, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr |
| 1796 | John Adams (F) | Thomas Jefferson (DR) | Thomas Pinckney (F), Aaron Burr (DR), Samuel Adams (DR), Oliver Ellsworth (F), George Clinton (DR), John Jay (F), James Iredell (F), Samuel Johnston (F), George Washington, John Henry (F), Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (F) |
| 1800 | Thomas Jefferson (DR) | Aaron Burr (DR) | John Adams (F), Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (F), John Jay (F) |
Post-12th Amendment: 1804–present
Since the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, each member of the Electoral College has cast one vote for president and one vote for vice president, and presidential candidates have generally competed on a ticket with a running mate who seeks to win the vice presidency. Since 1824, the national popular vote has been recorded, though the national popular vote has no direct effect on the winner of the election.
The following candidates won at least 0.1% of the national popular vote in elections held since 1824, or won at least one electoral vote from an elector who was not a faithless elector.
- † and bolded indicates a winning candidate
- ‡ indicates a losing candidate who won a plurality or majority of the popular vote
- ↑ indicates a third party or independent candidate who finished second in the popular vote or the electoral vote (or both)
- § indicates a pending election that hasn't been fully confirmed
| Year | Democratic-Republican candidate | Federalist candidate | Other candidate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1804 | Thomas Jefferson† | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | |
| 1808 | James Madison† | Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | |
| 1812 | James Madison† | DeWitt Clinton | |
| 1816 | James Monroe† | Rufus King | |
| 1820 | James Monroe† | No opponent | |
| Year | Democratic-Republican candidate | Democratic-Republican candidate | Other candidate(s) |
| 1824 | Andrew Jackson‡ | John Quincy Adams† | William H. Crawford (Democratic-Republican) Henry Clay (Democratic-Republican) |
| Year | Democratic candidate | National Republican candidate | Other candidate(s) |
| 1828 | Andrew Jackson† | John Quincy Adams | |
| 1832 | Andrew Jackson† | Henry Clay | John Floyd (Nullifier) William Wirt (Anti-Masonic) |
| Year | Democratic candidate | Whig candidate | Other candidate(s) |
| 1836 | Martin Van Buren† | William Henry Harrison | Hugh Lawson White (Whig) Daniel Webster (Whig) Willie Person Mangum (Whig) |
| 1840 | Martin Van Buren | William Henry Harrison† | James G. Birney (Liberty) |
| 1844 | James K. Polk† | Henry Clay | James G. Birney (Liberty) |
| 1848 | Lewis Cass | Zachary Taylor† | Martin Van Buren (Free Soil) |
| 1852 | Franklin Pierce† | Winfield Scott | John P. Hale (Free Soil) Daniel Webster (Whig) |
| Year | Democratic candidate | Republican candidate | Other candidate(s) |
| 1856 | James Buchanan† | John C. Frémont | Millard Fillmore (American) |
| 1860 | Stephen A. Douglas | Abraham Lincoln† | John C. Breckinridge↑ (Southern Democratic) John Bell (Constitutional Union) |
| 1864 | George B. McClellan | Abraham Lincoln† | |
| 1868 | Horatio Seymour | Ulysses S. Grant† | |
| 1872 | Horace Greeley | Ulysses S. Grant† | Charles O'Conor (Straight-Out Democratic) |
| 1876 | Samuel J. Tilden‡ | Rutherford B. Hayes† | Peter Cooper (Greenback) |
| 1880 | Winfield Scott Hancock | James A. Garfield† | James B. Weaver (Greenback) Neal Dow (Prohibition) |
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland† | James G. Blaine | John St. John (Prohibition) Benjamin Butler (Greenback/Anti-Monopoly) |
| 1888 | Grover Cleveland‡ | Benjamin Harrison† | Clinton B. Fisk (Prohibition) Alson Streeter (Union Labor) |
| 1892 | Grover Cleveland† | Benjamin Harrison | James B. Weaver (Populist) John Bidwell (Prohibition) Simon Wing (Socialist Labor) |
| 1896 | William Jennings Bryan | William McKinley† | John M. Palmer (National Democratic) Joshua Levering (Prohibition) Charles H. Matchett (Socialist Labor) Charles E. Bentley (National Prohibition) |
| 1900 | William Jennings Bryan | William McKinley† | John G. Woolley (Prohibition) Eugene V. Debs (Social Democratic) Wharton Barker (Populist) Joseph F. Maloney (Socialist Labor) |
| 1904 | Alton B. Parker | Theodore Roosevelt† | Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) Silas C. Swallow (Prohibition) Thomas E. Watson (Populist) Charles H. Corregan (Socialist Labor) |
| 1908 | William Jennings Bryan | William Howard Taft† | Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) Eugene W. Chafin (Prohibition) Thomas L. Hisgen (Independence) Thomas E. Watson (Populist) |
| 1912 | Woodrow Wilson† | William Howard Taft | Theodore Roosevelt↑ (Progressive) Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) Eugene W. Chafin (Prohibition) Arthur E. Reimer (Socialist Labor) |
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson† | Charles Evans Hughes | Allan L. Benson (Socialist) Frank Hanly (Prohibition) |
| 1920 | James M. Cox | Warren G. Harding† | Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) Parley P. Christensen (Farmer-Labor) Aaron Watkins (Prohibition) James E. Ferguson (American) William Wesley Cox (Socialist Labor) |
| 1924 | John W. Davis | Calvin Coolidge† | Robert M. La Follette (Progressive) Herman P. Faris (Prohibition) William Z. Foster (Communist) Frank T. Johns (Socialist Labor) |
| 1928 | Al Smith | Herbert Hoover† | Norman Thomas (Socialist) William Z. Foster (Communist) |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt† | Herbert Hoover | Norman Thomas (Socialist) William Z. Foster (Communist) William D. Upshaw (Prohibition) William Hope Harvey (Liberty) |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt† | Alf Landon | William Lemke (Union) Norman Thomas (Socialist) Earl Browder (Communist) |
| 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt† | Wendell Willkie | Norman Thomas (Socialist) Roger W. Babson (Prohibition) Earl Browder (Communist) |
| 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt† | Thomas E. Dewey | Norman Thomas (Socialist) Claude A. Watson (Prohibition) |
| 1948 | Harry S. Truman† | Thomas E. Dewey | Strom Thurmond (States' Rights) Henry A. Wallace (Progressive) Norman Thomas (Socialist) Claude A. Watson (Prohibition) |
| 1952 | Adlai Stevenson II | Dwight D. Eisenhower† | Vincent Hallinan (Progressive) Stuart Hamblen (Prohibition) |
| 1956 | Adlai Stevenson II | Dwight D. Eisenhower† | T. Coleman Andrews (States' Rights) |
| 1960 | John F. Kennedy† | Richard Nixon | Harry F. Byrd (Democratic) |
| 1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson† | Barry Goldwater | |
| 1968 | Hubert Humphrey | Richard Nixon† | George Wallace (American Independent) |
| 1972 | George McGovern | Richard Nixon† | John G. Schmitz (American Independent) Linda Jenness (Socialist Workers) Benjamin Spock (People's Party) |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter† | Gerald Ford | Eugene McCarthy (Independent) Roger MacBride (Libertarian) Lester Maddox (American Independent) Thomas J. Anderson (American) Peter Camejo (Socialist Workers) |
| 1980 | Jimmy Carter | Ronald Reagan† | John B. Anderson (Independent) Ed Clark (Libertarian) Barry Commoner (Citizens) |
| 1984 | Walter Mondale | Ronald Reagan† | David Bergland (Libertarian) |
| 1988 | Michael Dukakis | George H. W. Bush† | Ron Paul (Libertarian) Lenora Fulani (New Alliance) |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton† | George H. W. Bush | Ross Perot (Independent) Andre Marrou (Libertarian) Bo Gritz (Populist) |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton† | Bob Dole | Ross Perot (Reform) Ralph Nader (Green) Harry Browne (Libertarian) Howard Phillips (Taxpayers) John Hagelin (Natural Law) |
| 2000 | Al Gore‡ | George W. Bush† | Ralph Nader (Green) Pat Buchanan (Reform) Harry Browne (Libertarian) |
| 2004 | John Kerry | George W. Bush† | Ralph Nader (Independent/Reform) Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) Michael Peroutka (Constitution) David Cobb (Green) |
| 2008 | Barack Obama† | John McCain | Ralph Nader (Independent) Bob Barr (Libertarian) Chuck Baldwin (Constitution) Cynthia McKinney (Green) |
| 2012 | Barack Obama† | Mitt Romney | Gary Johnson (Libertarian) Jill Stein (Green) |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton‡ | Donald Trump† | Gary Johnson (Libertarian) Jill Stein (Green) Evan McMullin (Independent) Darrell Castle (Constitution) |
| 2020 | Joe Biden† | Donald Trump | Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian) Howie Hawkins (Green) |
| 2024 | Kamala Harris | Donald Trump† | Jill Stein (Green) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Independent) Chase Oliver (Libertarian) |
| 2028 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
See also
- Third party and independent candidates for the 2020 United States presidential election
- List of Democratic Party presidential primaries
- List of Republican Party presidential primaries
- List of United States major party presidential tickets
- List of United States major third party and independent presidential tickets
- List of United States presidential candidates by number of votes received
- List of presidential nominating conventions in the United States
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