State-By-State Presidential Election Results Since 1972

This table shows the state-by-state winner in each presidential election since 1972.

A plurality of votes is all that is required for a presidential contender to win a state. A candidate simply has to poll a greater number of votes than any other candidate in that state. This may be less than 50%.

Presidents are elected via an Electoral College which represents the States and has 538 votes. To win, a candidate must secure 270 votes.

Each state’s entitlement equals the number of members it has in the House of Representatives plus its two senators. Eg. Alabama has 7 members in the House, plus 2 senators, hence it has 9 electoral votes. Electoral College votes (EV) allocated to each state are shown in the last column. Whilst not a state, the District of Columbia, Washington DC, is allocated 3 electoral votes.

Electoral College votes are allocated on a first-past-the-post, winner-take-all basis, except in Maine and Nebraska where votes are allocated by a combination of the popular vote and victories in congressional districts.

The winners in each of these election years were: Richard Nixon (Rep – 1972), Jimmy Carter (Dem – 1976), Ronald Reagan (Rep – 1980 & 1984), George H.W. Bush (Rep – 1988), Bill Clinton (Dem – 1992 & 1996), George W. Bush (Rep – 2000 & 2004), Barack Obama (Dem – 2008 & 2012) and Donald J. Trump (Rep – 2016). The number of electoral votes won by each successful candidate in shown in the header.

2016 Presidential Election: Donald Trump (Rep) won 30 States, plus the 2nd district in Maine, to secure 306 electoral college votes. Hillary Clinton (Dem) won 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, to secure 232 electoral votes. Six states that voted Democratic in 2012 shifted to the Republican candidate: Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennysylvania.

2020 Presidential Election: Joseph Biden (Dem) won 25 states, plus the District of Columbia and one district in Nebraska, to secure 306 electoral college votes. President Donald Trump won 25 states, plus one district in Maine, to secure 232 electoral college votes. This was an exact reversal of the 2016 result. Three of the six states (Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania) that shifted to the Republican Party in 2016 were regained by the Democrats.