Interesting Insights from Comparing the 1976, 2000, 2012, and 2024 Presidential Elections

[mikegriffith1]

Some interesting insights emerge from comparing the 1976, 2000, 2012, and 2024 elections. In one case, the winner failed to win a majority of the states but won the popular vote. In another case, the winner won 30 states but narrowly lost the popular vote. In another case, the winner won reelection yet received 4.5 million fewer votes and won two fewer states than he did in his first victory. In another case, the winner won more states than the winner in the three other elections and also won the popular vote.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the popular vote but only won 23 states. He won the popular vote by 1.6 million. He won the Electoral College by the relatively narrow margin of 297 to 240.

In 2000, George W. Bush narrowly lost the popular vote (by half a percentage point/457,000 votes), narrowly won the Electoral College (271-266), but won 30 out of 50 states.

In 2012, Barack Obama won reelection but his margin of victory in the popular vote was cut almost in half compared to 2008: 5 million votes instead of 9.5 million votes. He also won two fewer states than in 2008, winning 26 instead of 28, causing his margin of victory in the Electoral College to drop by 58 (332-206 instead of 365-173). Curiously, Romney only got 1 million more votes than John McCain got in 2008, and Obama got 3.6 million fewer votes than he got in 2008.

In 2024, Donald Trump won 31 out of 50 states, won the popular vote by 2.2 million, and won the Electoral College 312 to 226. Thus, Trump won more states than Obama, Bush, or Carter and also won the popular vote.

 

[DGS49]

I think it would be better if the state legislatures decided how to cast their Electoral votes. They get paid to make exactly this type of decision.

(In theory, they do make that decision, but they slavishly cast all their Electoral votes for the candidate who won the popular vote in the state).

 

[mikegriffith1]

I think it would be better if the state legislatures decided how to cast their Electoral votes. They get paid to make exactly this type of decision.

(In theory, they do make that decision, but they slavishly cast all their Electoral votes for the candidate who won the popular vote in the state).

Well, Republicans control the legislatures of 29 states, including Florida, Texas, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Iowa, along with every state in the South (except for Virginia). In Pennsylvania, Republicans control the Senate, but the House is a tie. In Michigan, Republicans control the House, but Democrats control the Senate.

 

[Dante]

Some interesting insights emerge from comparing the 1976, 2000, 2012, and 2024 elections. In one case, the winner failed to win a majority of the states but won the popular vote. In another case, the winner won 30 states but narrowly lost the popular vote. In another case, the winner won reelection yet received 4.5 million fewer votes and won two fewer states than he did in his first victory. In another case, the winner won more states than the winner in the three other elections and also won the popular vote.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the popular vote but only won 23 states. He won the popular vote by 1.6 million. He won the Electoral College by the relatively narrow margin of 297 to 240.

In 2000, George W. Bush narrowly lost the popular vote (by half a percentage point/457,000 votes), narrowly won the Electoral College (271-266), but won 30 out of 50 states.

In 2012, Barack Obama won reelection but his margin of victory in the popular vote was cut almost in half compared to 2008: 5 million votes instead of 9.5 million votes. He also won two fewer states than in 2008, winning 26 instead of 28, causing his margin of victory in the Electoral College to drop by 58 (332-206 instead of 365-173). Curiously, Romney only got 1 million more votes than John McCain got in 2008, and Obama got 3.6 million fewer votes than he got in 2008.

In 2024, Donald Trump won 31 out of 50 states, won the popular vote by 2.2 million, and won the Electoral College 312 to 226. Thus, Trump won more states than Obama, Bush, or Carter and also won the popular vote.

"the winner won reelection yet received 4.5 million fewer votes and won two fewer states than he did in his first victory"

the numbers mean crap when not seen as percentages of a whole

Trump won the popular vote a bit shy of 50% of voters. Nothing to brag about. Real history will record that.

When people like you and PoliticalChic flood the history zone with such rubbish, it takes usmb further down a partisan built sewer

 

[Dante]

Well, Republicans control the legislatures of 29 states, including Florida, Texas, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Iowa, along with every state in the South. In Pennsylvania, Republicans control the Senate, but the House is a tie. In Michigan, Republicans control the House, but Democrats control the Senate.

before I leave you to sorting out shit from crap and playing in a rubbish heap:

REDMAP (short for Redistricting Majority Project) is a project of the Republican State Leadership Committee of the United States to increase Republican control of congressional seats, as well as state legislatures, largely through manipulating electoral district boundaries. The project has made effective use of partisan gerrymandering by relying on previously unavailable mapping software, such as Caliper Corporation's Maptitude to improve the precision with which district lines are strategically drawn. The strategy was focused on swing blue states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, where there was a Democratic majority, but which they could swing towards Republican with appropriate redistricting. The project was launched in 2010 and estimated to have cost the Republican party around US$30 million.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/politics/trump-red-state-social-agenda/index.html

Despite Republican nominee Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Republicans made very modest gains in state legislative chambers across the country, flipping one chamber and forcing a tie in another.

The slide has stopped. People like you are just always late to the party.

 

[Dante]

2024 United States state legislative elections - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

2024 State Elections by the Numbers

With the counting and recounting finished, the 2024 state elections are officially over. It's time to look at a few final statistics to see how the voting affected legislatures and the states. Even though the numbers are "final," it's still a snapshot in time. It's common for a handful of...

www.ncsl.org

State Legislature Interactive Map: State House - 270toWin

43 states hold state house elections in 2024. Use the interactive map to forecast party control in each state.

www.270towin.com

 

[mikegriffith1]

Dante:

"the winner won reelection yet received 4.5 million fewer votes and won two fewer states than he did in his first victory"

the numbers mean crap when not seen as percentages of a whole

Really? Democrats screamed bloody murder in 2000 over the fact that Bush lost the popular vote by "half a million votes." They even gave speeches in the Senate and presented graphs showing Gore's popular-vote margin, and claimed that therefore Bush had no mandate, even though he'd won 30 states.

Trump won the popular vote a bit shy of 50% of voters. Nothing to brag about. Real history will record that.

Uh-oh, looks like Mr. "I Know It All/I've Forgotten More About This Subject Than You've Ever Learned" forgot that Bill Clinton never got 50% of the popular vote. BTW, Lincoln only got 39.9% of the popular vote.

When people like you and @PoliticalChic flood the history zone with such rubbish, it takes usmb further down a partisan built sewer

So says one of our resident liberal partisan hacks. Whenever you post, you take USMB "further down a partisan-built sewer." Notice I was nice enough to correct your punctuation.

Dante:

The slide has stopped. People like you are just always late to the party.

Uh, as you yourself noted, in 2024, the GOP flipped one chamber and forced a tie in another. Again, they now control 29 out of 50. They also control the governorships in 27 states. Keep telling yourself you're winning.

BTW, did you ever consult a dictionary to figure out that "likely" is not a synonym for "possibly" but rather for "probably"?

 

[mikegriffith1]

Really? Democrats screamed bloody murder in 2000 over the fact that Bush lost the popular vote by "half a million votes." They even gave speeches in the Senate and presented graphs showing Gore's popular-vote margin, and claimed that therefore Bush had no mandate, even though he'd won 30 states.

Uh-oh, looks like Mr. "I Know It All/I've Forgotten More About This Subject Than You've Ever Learned" forgot that Bill Clinton never got 50% of the popular vote. BTW, Lincoln only got 39.9% of the popular vote.

So says one of our resident liberal partisan hacks. Whenever you post, you take USMB "further down a partisan-built sewer." Notice I was nice enough to correct your punctuation.

Uh, as you yourself noted, in 2024, the GOP flipped one chamber and forced a tie in another. Again, they now control 29 out of 50. They also control the governorships in 27 states. Keep telling yourself you're winning.

BTW, did you ever consult a dictionary to figure out that "likely" is not a synonym for "possibly" but rather for "probably"?

I'm sure that blind partisans like Dante missed this, but the main point of the OP was not to validate the substantial nature of Trump's victory but to discuss the interesting fact that the popular vote, the number of states won, and the Electoral College vote do not always reflect each other in a consistent way. The point about Trump's victory was a secondary point, not the main one.

As most here know, I am a big fan of Jimmy Carter. I think he was one of our best presidents (LINK). I certainly wasn't trying to denigrate his election victory.

But, of course, all this was lost on blind partisans like Dante. They saw two sentences that mentioned favorable facts about Trump's 2024 victory and began foaming at the mouth as their TDS kicked in.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

I am glad we finally agree on something. Carter was a fine President.

If Colonel Beckwith, a fine officer, nonetheless, had not messed up the air operation on the ground within Iran, then Carter may well have won the 1980 election.

 

[mikegriffith1]

I am glad we finally agree on something. Carter was a fine President.

You can't be the real John Edgar Slow Horses. Who are you? What have you done with the real one? Confess.

I suspect you don't know the facts about Carter's record and are assuming he was a lefty ala Ted Kennedy, Liz Warren, Kamala Harris, etc. You might want to read my intro essay on Carter's record on my website:

Jimmy Carter -- Real Record

President Jimmy Carter He served as President of the United States from January 1977 to January 1981.

sites.google.com

If Colonel Beckwith, a fine officer, nonetheless, had not messed up the air operation on the ground within Iran, then Carter may well have won the 1980 election.

Beckwith did not mess up the air operation on the ground. The problems started when Brezinski, of all people, talked Carter into reducing the number of helicopters for the mission. They should have allotted twice the number of choppers because of the known problems with choppers operating in desert conditions. A big part of the problem was just rotten luck with the weather. Another problem was that the CIA advance team that scouted the landing site did the recon too early and did not return to confirm their initial recon just before the operation--as a result, the planes and choppers landed in an area that had a layer of sand up to the top of their boots, and the sand blown into the air by the aircraft created serious visibility problems. And then there was the apparently poor maintenance of the helicopters, which was inexcusable and cannot be blamed on the White House. Much more could be said.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

I disagree with you on Beckwith. Tough.

Have you ever interviewed the members of the in-country advance party?

Nonetheless, Mike, I think very highly of Carter, although I disagree with you on some points.

Be calm, and we will get along.

 

[mikegriffith1]

Another interesting election that I could have included in the OP is the 1960 election between JFK and Nixon. JFK won only 22 states and won the popular vote by just 0.17 percent, the second-narrowest margin in American history. Yet, Kennedy won the Electoral College handily, 303 to 219.

Granted, evidence has emerged that JFK's victory was due to election fraud in Illinois and Texas. The Richard J. Daley political machine controlled much of Illinois, especially Chicago, and the thoroughly corrupt LBJ had huge influence in Texas. See historian Irwin F. Gellman's highly acclaimed 2022 book Campaign of the Century: Kennedy, Nixon, and the Election of 1960. With Illinois and Texas in Nixon's column, Nixon would have won the election with a 270-252 win in the Electoral College.

 

[Billiejeens]

Some interesting insights emerge from comparing the 1976, 2000, 2012, and 2024 elections. In one case, the winner failed to win a majority of the states but won the popular vote. In another case, the winner won 30 states but narrowly lost the popular vote. In another case, the winner won reelection yet received 4.5 million fewer votes and won two fewer states than he did in his first victory. In another case, the winner won more states than the winner in the three other elections and also won the popular vote.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the popular vote but only won 23 states. He won the popular vote by 1.6 million. He won the Electoral College by the relatively narrow margin of 297 to 240.

In 2000, George W. Bush narrowly lost the popular vote (by half a percentage point/457,000 votes), narrowly won the Electoral College (271-266), but won 30 out of 50 states.

In 2012, Barack Obama won reelection but his margin of victory in the popular vote was cut almost in half compared to 2008: 5 million votes instead of 9.5 million votes. He also won two fewer states than in 2008, winning 26 instead of 28, causing his margin of victory in the Electoral College to drop by 58 (332-206 instead of 365-173). Curiously, Romney only got 1 million more votes than John McCain got in 2008, and Obama got 3.6 million fewer votes than he got in 2008.

In 2024, Donald Trump won 31 out of 50 states, won the popular vote by 2.2 million, and won the Electoral College 312 to 226. Thus, Trump won more states than Obama, Bush, or Carter and also won the popular vote.

He is beloved