Landslide Elections

AN ELECTION LANDSLIDE occurs when one candidate overwhelms the opposing candidate so convincingly that there is no doubt as to the electorate's preference. At the presidential level where the landslide concept is most commonly encountered, victory can be marked by Electoral College returns or by popular votes. Usually, these numbers mirror one another. However, it is the votes of the Electoral College that determine the ultimate winner. According to standard Electoral College practice, the candidate who wins a state assumes all the electoral votes allotted to that state. Some would argue that this constitutional set-up can undermine popular will and distort the democratic process by denying proportional voting and make landslides seem more real than they actually are.

The nature of the landslide has also changed from the Republic's earliest days when voting rights were restricted, and the Electoral College had more sway. The early days [Page 361]of the Republic were also a time before the emergence and dominance of a clear two-party system. By the 20th century, the bi-party system, modern campaigning, and more universal suffrage had taken shape and this would help produce more landslides than in any previous era. By dividing past landslides according to electoral votes and popular vote, this differentiation can offer greater insights and historical perspective as to the nature and occurrence of landslides. A list of Electoral College landslides would include the following presidential victories:

• 1804: Thomas Jefferson defeats Charles C. Pinckney by 162 votes to 14.
• 1808: James Madison defeats Rufus King and George Clinton by 122 votes to 47 and six respectively.
• 1816: James Monroe defeats Rufus King by 183 votes to 34.
• 1820: James Monroe defeats John Quincy Adams by 231 votes to one. However, Adams was not actually running and the elector voted improperly in this regard.
• 1828: Andrew Jackson defeats John Quincy Adams by 178 votes to 83.
• 1832: Andrew Jackson defeats Henry Clay, John Floyd, and William Wirt by 219 votes to 49, 11, and seven, respectively.
• 1840: William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren 234 votes to 60.
• 1852: Franklin Pierce defeats Winfield Scott 254 votes to 42.
• 1864: Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan 212 votes to 21.
• 1868: Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horatio Seymour 214 votes to 80.
• 1872: Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horace Greeley 286 votes to 66.
• 1904: Theodore Roosevelt defeats Alton B. Parker, 336 votes to 140.
• 1912: Woodrow Wilson defeats Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft, 435 votes to Roosevelt's 88 and Taft's eight.
• 1920: Warren G. Harding defeats James M. Cox by 404 votes to 127.
• 1924: Calvin Coolidge defeats John W Davis and Robert La Follette by 382 votes to 136 and 13, respectively.
• 1928: Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith by 444 votes to 87.
• 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover by 472 votes to 59.
• 1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Alf Landon by 523 votes to eight.
• 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Wendell Willkie by 449 votes to 82.
• 1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Thomas Dewey by 432 votes to 99.
• 1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson by 442 votes to 89.
• 1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson by 457 votes to 73, with one vote going to Walter B. Jones.
• 1964: Lyndon B. Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater by 486 votes to 52.
• 1972: Richard Nixon defeats George McGovern by 520 votes to 17.
• 1980: Ronald Reagan defeats Jimmy Carter by 489 votes to 49.
• 1984: Ronald Reagan defeats Walter Mondale by 525 votes to 13.
• 1988: George H. W Bush defeats Michael Dukakis by 426 votes to 111; Lloyd Bentsen received one vote.
• 1992: Bill Clinton defeats George H. W Bush by 370 votes to 168.
• 1996: Bill Clinton defeats Robert J. Dole by 379 votes to 159.

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