Welcome to the Number of the Day
November 20, 2020
While the final votes are being counted, President-elect Biden will likely end up with approximately 51% or 52% of the popular vote for president this year.[1] This marks the 9th consecutive presidential election where the winning candidate received 53% of the vote or less. In five of those nine elections, neither candidate won a majority of the popular vote.[2]
It is the longest such streak in American history and an interesting measure of how closely divided the nation is politically. The previous record was seven consecutive elections from 1876 to 1900.[2]
The current stretch stands in stark contrast to the early 20th century experience in America. From 1920 to 1956, the winning candidate topped 53% in nine out of 10 elections. In fact, the winner received at least 55% of the vote in seven out of those 10 elections.[2]
In between that period of relative consensus and the currently divided politics were eight elections beginning with John F. Kennedy’s narrow win in 1960 to the first President Bush’s election in 1988. In three of those eight elections, the winning candidate won at least 59% of the vote. Only twice did the winner fail to earn at least 50% of the vote.[2]
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About the Number of the Day
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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