Since its founding, the United States has seen its fair share of presidential election races. Some of them have ended up being a much closer race than others.
It definitely means a lot more movement in the next US president betting odds when the race looks set to be decided by razor-thin margins and any shifts in the infamous swing states. So today, we’re taking a look back at some of the narrowest margins and closest races in US presidential election history.
- Thomas Jefferson vs John Adams (1800)
Starting off with the oldest election on our list, the presidential election of 1800 is widely considered one of the most impactful in the whole of American history. This was the first time that political power was transferred between political parties, making it a real test of the country’s political systems.
The race between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams was fiercely contested, but the election’s closest margin wasn’t between them, it was between Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr.
Jefferson and Burr tied for votes in the Electoral College with 73 each, so the House of Representatives needed to break the tie in a contingent election.
- John Quincy Adams vs Andrew Jackson (1824)
The 1824 presidential election had an even more complicated outcome. Thanks to four major candidates running for the presidency – Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and William Crawford – none of them secured the majority needed in the electoral vote.
Which made this the second election in history to be decided in the House of Representatives. While Jackson had won the popular vote, as well as the most electoral votes, he ultimately lost the constituent election to John Quincy Adams.
- Rutherford B. Hayes vs Samuel Tiden (1876)
Possibly the most controversial election result in US history came from the 1876 race. Samuel Tiden won the popular vote by a solid margin (50.9% vs 47.9%) and gained 184 electoral votes in the first counting, just one shy of the majority needed.
But 20 Electoral College votes from southern states were disputed. And when the special electoral commission made its decision, it awarded all 20 votes to Rutherford B. Hayes to give him the thinnest margin of victory at 185-184 votes.
- John F. Kennedy vs Richard Nixon (1960)
Coming a bit nearer to modern day, the election of 1960 was one of the closest of the 20th century. The popular vote came down to a razor-thin margin of 49.7% (John F. Kennedy) to 49.6% (Richard Nixon), with a difference of just 120,000 votes in it.
It wasn’t quite so tight in the Electoral College, but still managed to deliver the smallest margin of victory since 1916 as Kennedy secured 303 votes to Nixon’s 219.
- George W. Bush vs Al Gore (2000)
Another close and controversial presidential election occurred in 2000, leading to an infamous legal battle over Florida’s results. The entire race came down to the outcome of Florida’s vote, which saw such a thin margin that it triggered an automatic recount.
Initially, the vote showed a lead of just 537 votes out of nearly 6 million for George W. Bush, a result that would give him 25 elector votes and a victory in the Electoral College even as he lost in the national popular vote.
The election was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 in favour of Bush in the legal battle that followed and halted the recount before it could finish.
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Many US presidential elections have come down to a nail-biting finish, playing out long after election day itself was over and keeping the politics betting going. Could the current presidential race come as close to the wire as any of these historic elections?
