Closest Elections in American History

2000: Bush v. Gore

Florida's 537-vote margin out of six million cast triggered 36 days of recounts, hanging chads, and a Supreme Court ruling that handed George W. Bush the presidency. It remains the gold standard for electoral chaos and the reason 'recount' entered everyday political vocabulary.

Year: 2000Winner: George W. BushDecisive Margin: 537 votesMargin: 0.01 %Electoral Vote Margin: 5 votesRecount Conducted: ✓Decided By: U.S. Supreme Court (Bush v. Gore)Historical Drama: 10/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1876: Hayes v. Tilden

Tilden won the popular vote and led in disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, but a specially created 15-member Electoral Commission awarded every disputed vote to Hayes by 8-7 along party lines. The backroom Compromise of 1877 that settled it effectively e

Year: 1876Winner: Rutherford B. HayesDecisive Margin: —Margin: —Electoral Vote Margin: 1 votesRecount Conducted: ✓Decided By: Electoral Commission (15 members, 8-7 vote)Historical Drama: 10/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

2020: Biden v. Trump

Georgia's certified margin shrank to roughly 11,779 votes, immortalized by a leaked phone call asking officials to 'find' just enough to flip it. Multiple swing states came down to tens of thousands of ballots amid a pandemic election and unprecedented legal challenges.

Year: 2020Winner: Joe BidenDecisive Margin: 11,779 votesMargin: 0.2 %Electoral Vote Margin: 74 votesRecount Conducted: ✓Decided By: Narrow margins across several swing statesHistorical Drama: 9/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

2008: Franken v. Coleman (MN Senate)

Al Franken overturned an initial Norm Coleman lead to win by just 312 votes after an eight-month recount and court battle, giving Democrats their filibuster-proof 60th Senate seat. It's the closest full statewide recount in modern U.S. history.

Year: 2008Winner: Al FrankenDecisive Margin: 312 votesMargin: 0.01 %Electoral Vote Margin: —Recount Conducted: ✓Decided By: Statewide hand recount and court rulingsHistorical Drama: 8/10

added by IJR

2004: Gregoire v. Rossi (WA Governor)

Christine Gregoire won by a mere 129 votes after three separate counts flipped the lead twice, making it arguably the closest statewide election ever certified in America. Dino Rossi's supporters cried foul for years, but the result stood.

Year: 2004Winner: Christine GregoireDecisive Margin: 129 votesMargin: 0.004 %Electoral Vote Margin: —Recount Conducted: ✓Decided By: Third recount (statewide hand recount)Historical Drama: 8/10

added by IJR

1960: Kennedy v. Nixon

JFK edged Nixon by roughly 112,000 votes nationally, one of the slimmest popular-vote margins ever, with allegations of fraud in Illinois and Texas fueling decades of conspiracy talk. Nixon chose not to contest it, a decision he reportedly regretted for the rest of his career.

Year: 1960Winner: John F. KennedyDecisive Margin: 112,000 votesMargin: 0.17 %Electoral Vote Margin: 84 votesRecount Conducted: ✓Decided By: Popular vote, with disputed recounts in Illinois and TexasHistorical Drama: 9/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1800: Jefferson v. Burr

A quirk in the original Constitution let running mates Jefferson and Burr tie at 73 electoral votes each, throwing the election into the House for 36 grueling ballots. Alexander Hamilton's backroom lobbying for Jefferson over his rival Burr helped seal both the outcome and, indir

Year: 1800Winner: Thomas JeffersonDecisive Margin: —Margin: —Electoral Vote Margin: 0 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: U.S. House of Representatives (36 ballots)Historical Drama: 9/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1824: J.Q. Adams v. Jackson

Andrew Jackson won the most popular and electoral votes but fell short of a majority in a four-way race, sending the decision to the House where Henry Clay's support handed the presidency to John Quincy Adams. Jackson's furious cries of a 'corrupt bargain' fueled his landslide co

Year: 1824Winner: John Quincy AdamsDecisive Margin: —Margin: —Electoral Vote Margin: —Recount Conducted: —Decided By: U.S. House of Representatives ('Corrupt Bargain')Historical Drama: 9/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1948: Truman v. Dewey

Every poll and pundit predicted a Dewey landslide, leading the Chicago Tribune to famously print 'DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN' before the votes were even finalized. Truman's whistle-stop campaign pulled off one of the greatest upsets in election history, winning several key states by ma

Year: 1948Winner: Harry TrumanDecisive Margin: 34,000 votesMargin: 0.5 %Electoral Vote Margin: 114 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Upset defying pre-election polling ('Dewey Defeats Truman')Historical Drama: 9/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1880: Garfield v. Hancock

James Garfield beat Winfield Scott Hancock by roughly 2,000 popular votes out of over nine million cast, the closest popular-vote margin in U.S. presidential history. Garfield's electoral victory was comfortable, but the razor-thin popular tally still stuns historians today.

Year: 1880Winner: James GarfieldDecisive Margin: 2,000 votesMargin: 0.02 %Electoral Vote Margin: 59 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Popular vote (closest raw margin ever recorded)Historical Drama: 7/10

added by IJR

1888: Harrison v. Cleveland

Grover Cleveland won roughly 90,000 more popular votes than Benjamin Harrison but lost the White House by getting outmaneuvered in the Electoral College, a split outcome that wouldn't recur for over a century. Cleveland's furious supporters helped him stage a successful comeback

Year: 1888Winner: Benjamin HarrisonDecisive Margin: —Margin: —Electoral Vote Margin: 65 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Electoral College split from popular vote winnerHistorical Drama: 7/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1884: Cleveland v. Blaine

Grover Cleveland's razor-thin win in New York, by roughly 1,200 votes, decided the entire national election and made him the first Democrat elected president since before the Civil War. A scandal-plagued Blaine campaign and a poorly timed anti-Catholic remark by a supporter may h

Year: 1884Winner: Grover ClevelandDecisive Margin: 1,200 votesMargin: 0.1 %Electoral Vote Margin: 37 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: New York's electoral votesHistorical Drama: 6/10

added by IJR

1916: Wilson v. Hughes

Charles Evans Hughes went to bed believing he'd won, but California's late returns flipped by a margin of under 4,000 votes and reelected Woodrow Wilson on the strength of 'He Kept Us Out of War.' It was one of the last times a sitting Supreme Court justice nearly became presiden

Year: 1916Winner: Woodrow WilsonDecisive Margin: 3,800 votesMargin: 0.4 %Electoral Vote Margin: 23 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: California's electoral votesHistorical Drama: 6/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1976: Carter v. Ford

Jimmy Carter's post-Watergate wave nearly evaporated as Gerald Ford closed a huge polling gap, ultimately losing Ohio and Mississippi by combined margins thin enough to have flipped the whole election. It was the last time a sitting president lost while trailing so narrowly in th

Year: 1976Winner: Jimmy CarterDecisive Margin: 7,000 votesMargin: 0.2 %Electoral Vote Margin: 57 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Ohio and Mississippi's electoral votesHistorical Drama: 6/10

added by IJR

2004: Bush v. Kerry

John Kerry needed Ohio to win, and George W. Bush carried it by about 118,000 votes, a margin close enough that Democrats spent years alleging voting irregularities. It was the last time a Republican won the national popular vote until 2024.

Year: 2004Winner: George W. BushDecisive Margin: 118,000 votesMargin: 2.1 %Electoral Vote Margin: 35 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Ohio's electoral votesHistorical Drama: 6/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

1968: Nixon v. Humphrey

Richard Nixon narrowly outpaced Hubert Humphrey nationally by well under a percentage point while George Wallace's third-party run scrambled the electoral map. A shift of a few key states could easily have thrown the contest into the House of Representatives.

Year: 1968Winner: Richard NixonDecisive Margin: 500,000 votesMargin: 0.7 %Electoral Vote Margin: 110 votesRecount Conducted: —Decided By: Electoral college in a fractured three-way raceHistorical Drama: 6/10

added by IJR