Many voters consider this U.S. election to be one of the most important in America’s recent history. While many are trying to predict what it would mean to have Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the Oval Office for the next four years, analyzing the past can provide some insights.
In the past 10 elections, Democrats and Republicans have won five each -- from 1984, when Republican Ronald Reagan dominated 49 electoral states, to 2020, when President Joe Biden brought the blue party back to the White House
Here is a timeline of the most recent 10 U.S. presidential election results.
2020
Candidates: Republican Donald J. Trump and Democrat Joe Biden
Result: Biden won 306 electoral college votes with 51.3 per cent of the popular vote, while Trump had 232 electoral votes with 46.9 per cent of the popular vote.
On the Republican side, former president Donald J. Trump looked to get four more years in the White House. However Democratic nominee Joe Biden won five out of the seven swing states, amassing 306 electoral votes.
The 2020 U.S. presidential election was much more than debates about the economy or immigration. For the first time since the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, Americans witnessed a battle for the Oval Office during a global pandemic.
The outcome of the 2020 election has a lot of implications in the current election as the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of then-U.S. President Trump invaded the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the newly elected government, are still fresh in the minds of American voters.
2016
Candidates: Republican Donald J. Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton
Result: Trump won 306 electoral college votes with 45.9 per cent of the popular vote, while Clinton had 232 electoral votes with 48 per cent of the popular vote.
In the days leading to the 2016 election, polls across the U.S. suggested an easy win for the Democrats led by nominee Hillary Clinton. They were ultimately right about the popular vote, as Clinton supporters outvoted Republican Donald J. Trump by almost three million votes. Still, polling missed projecting the Republican nominee winning in swing states.
One of the major turnovers of the presidential race was the release of hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. They showed Clinton using her private email for official government communications while serving as a secretary of state.
Trump went over the 270 electoral vote mark right after 2 a.m. on Nov. 9, ending eight years of Democrats in the White House.
2012
Candidates: Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney
Result: Obama won 332 electoral college votes with 51.1 per cent of the popular vote, while Romney had 206 electoral votes with 47.2 per cent of the popular vote.
Despite the wide electoral vote win for Democrat Barack Obama — 332 votes — the popular vote results were much closer, as Republican nominee Mitt Romney had nearly five million fewer votes.
The economy was the center stage of the discussions, with Obama defending his economic record following the 2007-2009 Great Recession while Romney wanted to cut taxes to reduce weight on small businesses and therefore boost the economy,
Obama was just the second president in U.S. history to be elected with fewer electoral votes than in his first term in 2008.
2008
Candidates: Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain
Result: Obama won 365 electoral college votes with 52.9 per cent of the popular vote, while McCain had 173 electoral votes with 45.7 per cent of the popular vote.
The 2008 election was a historic election. Barack Obama was the first African American president to be nominated with his running mate, Joe Biden. Obama was the face of change with three years of experience as a U.S. senator and won in a decisive victory. The economic crisis of 2008, healthcare, and the Iraq war were the dominant issues of this election cycle.
2004
Candidates: Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry
Result: Bush won 286 electoral votes with 50.7 per cent of the popular vote for his second term. Kerry attained 251 electoral votes with 48.3 per cent of the popular vote.
The 2004 election cycle was dominated by foreign policy, specifically the “War on Terror” and the invasion of Iraq. The economy, healthcare, same-sex marriage and civil rights were other popular issues.
The election was close, with voting irregularities emerging from Ohio during and after the vote. Ohio had enough votes to decide the winner, however, Kerry decided not to challenge the election results.
2000
Candidates: Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore
Result: Bush won 271 electoral votes with 47.9 per cent of the popular vote. Gore attained 266 electoral votes but won the popular vote with 48.4 per cent.
The 2000 election cycle is one of the more closely contested election controversies. Gore lost the electoral college but won the popular vote with a 0.5 per cent national margin.
After several recounts and legal battles, it took several weeks to reach a winner through the Supreme Court. Florida was the centre of controversy, with the result of a close margin of less than 0.5 per cent. Florida conducted multiple recounts, with some of them being hand recounts.
By Dec. 12, the Florida Supreme Court decided 4–3 to reverse a major manual recount, awarding Bush the victory with Florida's 25 electoral votes.
1996
Candidates: Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican Bob Dole
Result: Clinton won 379 electoral votes with 49.2 per cent of the popular vote. Dole attained 159 electoral votes but won the popular vote with 40.7 per cent.
In the 1996 U.S. election, Americans witnessed President Bill Clinton being elected for a second term, casting 49.2 per cent of the votes in his favour. That was in contrast to Republican Bob Dole's 39.9 percent and Reformist Ross Perot's 8.8 percent.
Those results made President Bill Clinton’s victory far from close compared to other U.S. presidential elections.
This was the first presidential election since 1944, where an incumbent Democratic president won a second full term in office. President Bill Clinton’s victory was due to his popularity gain through his economic strategy plan, which led to 22 million new jobs created following the 1990 U.S. recession.
1992
Candidates: Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George H.W. Bush
Results: Clinton won with 370 electoral votes and 43.0 per cent of the popular vote. Bush received 168 electoral votes and 37.4 per cent of the popular vote.
Democrat Bill Clinton was elected for a first presidential term, getting 370 electoral votes, overshadowing Republican George H.W. Bush’s 168.
President Bush’s chances of being elected for a second term lost traction after breaking his pledge not to raise taxes in his 1988 campaign.
1988
Candidates: Republican George H.W. Bush and Democratic Michael Dukakis
Results: Bush won 426 electoral college votes with 53.4 per cent of the popular vote. Dukakis attained 111 electoral college votes with 45.6 per cent of the popular vote.
Republican George H.W. Bush was elected for his first and last presidential term despite his attempts to get elected for a second term in 1992. His presidential campaign focused on crime reduction with the Massachusetts prison furlough plan.
1984
Candidates: Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Walter Mondale
Results: Reagan won 525 electoral votes with 58.8 per cent of the popular vote. Mondale attained only 13 electoral votes and 40.6 per cent of the popular vote.
Reagan won his second term by sweeping the election with a landslide victory and the highest total of electoral votes for a candidate. Reagan was the second candidate to carry 49 out of 50 states after Nixon. Reagan ran on a platform of strong economic recovery coined as “Reaganomics.” Reagan also emphasized the military and a strong stance against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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