Considering the partsian divide that has run wild in the United States over last several decades, you might be hard pressed to see a general election end with one candidate dominating the other in the electoral or popular vote or both without people online and in the media using words like ‘conspiracy’, ‘fraud’ and ‘rigged’ before using “evidence” to prove their claims.

Regardless of whether not our modern elections are predetermined, the past has seen a long list of elections where the outcome was never in doubt.

Today will be going over those victories in which a candidate of a major political party not only won a presidential election, but did so in unprecedented fashion.

#20. The Election of 1804

Founding father and third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson was seeking re-election in 1804 under the Democratic Republican Party after his first term saw incredible achievements like the purchasing of Louisiana territories from Napolean and easing trade relations with France.

His opponent was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, a respected brigadier-general during the American Revolution and John Adams’ running mate in the election of 1800.

Due to Jefferson’s popularity as well as internal problems within the Federalists Party after the death of founder, Alexander Hamilton the results were a crushing defeat for Pinckney who got only 14 electoral votes and lost important states like New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Jefferson meanwhile carried 15 out of 17 states, won 162 electoral votes and won the highest popular vote total in a contested election with roughly 73%.

#19. The Election of 1864

As the American Civil War continued into the early 1860’s, President Abraham Lincoln was unsure if he would win the war with Confederate forces continuing to press on.

By 1864, many Republicans (including Lincoln himself) were doubtful that the prairie lawyer turn commander-in-chief could win re-election and that former Union General, George B. McClellan would led the Democrats back into the Oval Office.

Thankfully for Lincoln events like General Sherman’s March to Atlanta, presidential candidate John Fremont dropping out of the race and a platform from the Democratic Party that could best be summed up as unbalanced…Gave ‘Honest Abe’ confidence in victory come election day which he won with 212 electoral votes and 55% of the popular vote compare to McClellan getting 21 electoral votes and roughly 45% of the popular vote.

#18. The Election of 1832

In 1832, President Andrew Jackson was looking to get a second term which would be easier said than done due to problems within his adminsration.

One of these issues would see, John C. Calhoun (Jackson’s Vice President) resigning from his position over tariff rates affecting Southern states like his homestate of South Carolina which leads to the creation of the short lived, Nullifer Party and nominated the Governor of Virginia, John Floyd as their candidate for president.

Henry Clay, a legendary politician and enemy of Jackson ran for the presidency with the National Republican Party while a new group known as the Anti-Masonic Party nominated former U.S. Attorney General, William Wirt.

Despite the challenges he faced in office and during the election, Jackson easily won re-election carrying 16 states, winning 54.2% of the popular vote and getting 219 out of 288 electoral votes.

#17. The Election of 1820

Since their formation in the early 1790’s, the Democratic Republican Party would see seven straight election victories from 1800-1824 with some of those victories being massive wins for Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and of course James Monroe.

By 1820, Monroe had become such a beloved figure in the United States that his time in office has often been described as ‘The Era of Good Feelings’ and as such he was positive that he would get second term seeing how the only opposition (the Federalists) were pretty much extinct.

When the results emerged, Monroe won big in the popular vote with 80.6% and winning every electoral vote except for one which was pleged to future president, John Quincy Adams as an elector by the name of William Plumber wasn’t a fan of President Monroe.

#16. The Election of 1840

Following an finanical crisis in 1837 thanks to Andrew Jackson’s abhorrent fiscal policies, President Martin Van Buren is left alone to pick up the pieces of a shattered American economy just as the Whig Party are preparing to run a candidate against him in the upcoming 1840 election.

William Henry Harrison, a famed military general who ran and lost to Van Buren in the previous election was given another chance, but this time with him being the only candidate for the Whig Party.

Both parties attempted to paint their opponents in a negative light while also trying to manufacture a persona that would be appeal to common voters with the Whigs propaganda machine proving to be more effective than that of the Democrats.

By the end of the race, Harrison would get his retribution by decisively beating Van Buren with 239 electoral votes and carrying 19 states with the now former president winning 60 electoral votes and holding seven states (none of which was his homestate of New York).

#15. The Election of 1852

The 1850’s would become one of the most problematic decades in the early years of the United States with the issue of Slavery becoming a major topic of discussion that ends up dividing both the major political parties.

Although the Free Soil Party were able to John Parker Hale as their nominee for the 1852 election, both of the major parties struggled to chose a candidate before the Democrats went with ‘Dark Horse Candidate‘ and New Hampshire Representative, Franklin Pierce while the Whigs went with Decorated Military General, Winfield Scott.

While the Democrats attempt to put Winfield’s service record into question and the Whigs are portraying Pierce as an alcoholic, neither candidate is taking a big stance on the issues which explains why the voter turnout was down compared to the last three elections

In spite of a smaller turnout this time around, Pierce ended up being the last Democrat until the 1930’s to win a majority of both the electoral and popular vote as he carried 27 out of 31 states; In terms of the electoral and popular votes, Pierce got 254 votes and 50.8% while Winfield got 42 votes and 43.9% and John Hale got 4.9% and no electoral votes.

#14. The Election of 1872

By the late 1860’s, the United States was still recovering from the American Civil War and the Republicans had massive political control as a result, but jump to 1870’s and that control is being marred with scandals and corruption under the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant which leaves many influencial Republicans to jump ship at start a new party.

This new party was called the ‘Liberal Republicans‘ and they chose the famous newspaper editor of the New York Tribune, Horace Greeley as their candidate while the Democrats surprisingly joined forces with the Liberal Republicans and also supported Greeley…Most because multiple candidates would divide the opposition vote against Grant.

Even though Grant and his adminsration were riddled with corruption or “Grantism” as some would call it, the Liberal Republicans couldn’t find a solid strategy to attack the president.

Combine with the GOP using Greeley’s previous views written in the Tribune, the passing of his wife and his own worsening health…The outcome was never disputed as Grant easily won re-election with 286 electoral votes, 55% in the popular vote and carrying 29 out of 35 states.

#13. The Election of 1908

Even before his term in office ended, Theodore Roosevelt announces that he would not to seek another term as president and instead convinces the Republican Party to nominate his friend and the Secretary of War, William Howard Taft.

The Democrats progressive wing went with the liberal firebrand in William Jennings Bryan as their nominee with many believing that Bryan is the worthy successor to the president but since Taft was Roosevelt’s apprentice, Bryan’s efforts didn’t resonate well which wasn’t helped when his failed presidential runs in were brought up in the GOP campaign slogan: “Vote for Taft Now, You can Vote for Bryan Anytime”.

By the end, Taft won the election carrying 29 out of 46 states and winning 321 electoral votes and roughly 52% of the popular vote compared to Bryan’s 162 votes and 43% of the popular vote.

#12. The Election of 1904

Four years before Taft was chosen to run for president by Theodore Roosevelt, it would Roosevelt himself who was running for a second term, but his first elected term as he became president following William McKinley death via assassination attempt in 1901.

After two straight losses under with a progressive candidate, the Democrats more conservative wing of the party went with the Chief Judge of New York’s Court of Appeals, Alton Brooks Parker much to chagrin of the mostly progressive Democratic Party.

Parker’s efforts to discredit Roosevelt yielded little rewards and the incumbent president was widely loved by the American people, plus the fact they both agreed on a number of issues made it easy for voters to chose come election day.

Theodore Roosevelt won the 1904 election carrying 32 out of 45 states, winning the electoral vote with 336 out 476 and receiving 56.4% of the popular vote.

#11. The Election of 2008

With George W. Bush’s second term seeing the country engulfed in war and finanicial hardship, the Republican Party were going into the 2008 election with a lot of baggage.

After a primary and caucus season that went back and forth for both Republicans and Democrats, the parties chose their nominees with Arizona Senator and War Hero, John McCain representing the GOP while Barack Obama, the junior Senator of Illinois and first African American to be a major parties presidential candidate represented the Democrats.

The overall theme of this election could be summarized as ‘Change vs. Experience’ with Obama pushing for efforts to pull out of the Iraq War and calling for Universial Healthcare while McCain believed that the nation needed someone with years of knowledge both in Washington and on the battlefield in order to deal with conflicts at home and abroad.

When election day emerged, it became clear which candidate had the better message as Barack Obama carried 28 states (plus D.C.) out of 50 and easily won 365 out of 538 electoral votes to became 44th President and the first African American President of the United States.

#10. The Election of 1996

‘Change vs. Experience’ was once again the main theme of another presidential race as incumbent Democratic President, Bill Clinton goes up against Republican Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole and Reform Party Candidate, Ross Perot in the 1996 election.

Even though the Republicans took control of the Congress by way of winning the 1994 midterms, their popularity floundered after a government shutdown and the president’s ability to shift the blame onto the GOP.

Thanks to changes being made to prevent third party candidates from entering the presidential debates with having 15% in the national polls, Perot didn’t play a big role in this election with Clinton running on a booming economy while also coercing some of the GOP’s ideas and questioning the age of Bob Dole’s plans for the future.

Although his win wasn’t an outright majority in the popular vote, Clinton decisively won in the electoral college with the president carrying 31 states (plus D.C.) to win 379 votes to Dole’s 19 states and 159 electoral votes.

#9. The Election of 1924

Another three way race for the presidency occurred in the mid 1920’s during height of Roaring Twenties and not long after Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th U.S. President after the death of his corrupt predecessor, Warren G. Harding.

Much the action came from the Democrats side as their party was struggling to nominate a candidate while also trying get an anti-KKK platform on the ticket. Eventually John Davis, a Wall Street Lawyer and U.S. Congressman from West Virginia became their nominee.

A third option was added into the mix when Wisconsin Senator, Robert La Follette Senior decides to leave the Republican Party and create a new Progressive Party which also gathering support from other third parties like the Socialist Party of America and American Federation of Labor.

Due in large part to the economic boom in the 1920’s, Coolidge easily carried 35 states, received 382 electoral votes, and 54% of the popular vote while John Davis carried 12 southern states to get 136 electoral votes plus 28.8% of the popular vote and Robert La Follette only got Wisconsin’s 13 electoral votes and 16.6% of the popular vote.

#8. The Election of 1920

We briefly discussed Warren Harding in the last entry, well now it’s time to talk about a bit more as the 1920 presidential election not only was the first election since the end of World War I, but it also became the first election after the 19th Amendment was ratified thus giving women the right to vote.

Following eight years of Woodrow Wilson’s progressive and racist agenda, the U.S. was dealing with everything from racial violence, protests, fears of anarchist revolutions and a lagging economy.

Similar the to election that would come four years later, the Democrats were struggling to find a candidate until they ended up with newspaper mogul and Governor of Ohio, James M. Cox as their nominee while the higher ups in the Republican Party met in a smoke filled room and eventually chose newspaper man and Ohio Senator Harding as their candidate due to his good nature amongst party lines.

With a huge finanicial backing from the GOP and implementing the always successful ‘Front Porch Campaign strategy’, Harding carried 37 out 48 states, got 404 electoral votes and 60.4% of the popular vote compared to Cox getting 127 votes and 34.1% of the popular vote.

#7. The Election of 1988

Much like the 1920’s saw a period of economic growth and Republican domination in the general elections, the 1980’s was no different.

After two terms of Ronald Reagan leading country into conservatism, George Herbert Walker Bush the Vice President decided to run for the nomination in 1988 and prevailed while the Democrats went with a centrist if not semi-liberal Governor of Massachusetts named Michael Dukakis.

Determined to win the presidency at all cost, the Bush campaign used smear tactics like their were going out of style with Dukakis putting up little to no fight back against the attack ads.

Combine this with an head scratching decision to do a photo op whilst riding a tank and his cold delivery to a response over the death penalty during one of the presidential debates signaled another with for the Republicans with Bush Senior carrying 40 out of 50 states while also dominating in the electoral votes with 426 to Dukakis’ 111 votes…Also one voter in West Virginia decided to vote for Lloyd Bentsen, a Texas Senator and running mate to Dukakis.

#6. The Election of 1928

And capping off our series of Republicans beating Democrats in 1920’s presidential elections we come to the biggest of them all with 1928 race between Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover and New York Governor, Alfred ‘Al’ Smith.

Looking to ride the wave economic prosperity that occurred under Harding and Coolidge, Hoover looked to continue the same policies like his predecessors with his campaign slogan promising “A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage”.

Al Smith meanwhile was dogged by connections to the corrupt New York political machine, Tammany Hall and his disapproval of prohibition, but it was his belief in the Catholic faith that cost him voters even in a few Southern states like Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina.

On election day, Hoover destoryed Smith in the electoral and popular vote with 444 votes and 58% of the popular vote to 87 votes and 40.8% of the popular vote for Smith who only carried 8 out of 48 states.

#5. The Election of 1956

Republican domination continues as we enter the top five elections with the 1956 presidential race between incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower and former Governor of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson.

Four years after beating Stevenson for the presidency, Eisenhower had overseen prosperity for middle class Americans, supported the Supreme Court ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case and made the U.S. a respected world leader following his handling of the Suez Crisis which made it harder for the Democrats to really attack the president.

It should come as no surprise that Eisenhower easily won re-election with 457 electoral votes, 57% of the popular vote and carrying 41 out 48 states.

#4. The Election of 1964

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November of 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson not only became the new commander-in-chief, but also looked poised to win his own full term in the upcoming election of 1964.

LBJ’s opponent in the election was a Senator from Arizona named Barry Goldwater who was convinced to run thanks to a grassroots movement of young conservatives and older folks disfranchised with the Democratic Party.

Unfortunately for Goldwater his conservative views (some of which went into the far right territory), plus his refusal to support the recently signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and endorsements by the John Birch Society, the KKK and the Dixiecrats further sealed his fate come election day.

President Johnson carried 44 states plus D.C., got 486 electoral votes and 61.1% of the popular vote while Goldwater captured six states (majority of them were Southern states btw), got 52 electoral votes and 38.5% of the popular vote.

#3. The Election of 1972

We’ve reached the top three and it’s at this point we’ve entered what I like to call ‘The Over 500 Vote Club’ which means that all the winners of these next elections did so with…well over 500 electoral votes.

By the early 1970’s, President Richard Nixon had an approval rating over 60% thanks to foreign policy achievements like removing U.S. Soldiers out of Vietnam, opening relationships with China and easing animosities with the Soviet Union. As such ‘Tricky Dick’ felt confident of victory in the election of 1972.

George McGovern, the liberal Democratic Senator from South Dakota pulled off a stunning upset by beating political heavyweights like Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie to win his party’s nomination, but he also was disliked by the majority of party’s establishment wing.

Through a series of campaign blunders, being portrayed as a candidate in favor of “Acid, Amnesty and Abortion”, plus the media completely downplaying the break-in of the Watergate building (which led to the scandal of the same name) made it pretty clear who was coming out of this race on top.

Nixon carried every single state except for Massachusetts and D.C. plus he got nearly 18 million more votes than his opponent to get 520 electoral votes and 60.7% of the popular votes compared to McGovern winning 17 electoral votes and 37.5% of the popular vote.

#2. The Election of 1936

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history thanks to his efforts in leading the nation through the Great Depression and World War II, creating Social Security and work benefits and for the sake of this list holding the record for the most landslide victories in a presidential election.

Any of FDR’s election wins between 1932–1944 could qualify for this list, but for your going chose just one then you have pick his biggest win that occurred in 1936.

With the depression still ongoing, FDR was hoping to get four more years to continue passing his ‘New Deal’ legislation and with the Democrats at the peak of their political power in the 20th century…The Republicans would need to find someone very talented to put up a fight against the popular incumbent president.

Instead, the GOP chose Alfred ‘Alf’ Landon, the moderate yet conservative Governor of Kansas as their nominee and I would like to tell you what he did during the election, but he didn’t really do any campaigning and decided to keep a low profile throughout the race.

As to the surprise of no one, FDR made mince meat out of Landon as he carried all but two states (Vermont and Maine) to got 523 electoral votes and 60.8% of the popular vote while Landon got 8 electoral votes and 36.5% of the popular vote.

#1. The Election of 1984

And here it is…The single greatest landslide victory in U.S. history; In 1984 former Actor and Democrat turned Republican President, Ronald Reagan was riding a wave of popularity after ending a period of malasie within the country thus leading to a prosperous time for number of Americans.

Much like many of the races we’ve discussed before, most of the action in this election came from the Democrats who had a three way race for the nomination between Jesse Jackson, Gary Hart and former Vice President, Walter Mondale with the latter emerging as the party’s nominee for president.

Much like Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, Reagan came off looking confused which only added to the perception that the 40th president was getting too old to lead the country…However unlike Biden, Reagan would get a second shot in the following debate where his legendary quip regarding his age left everyone including Mondale in hysterical laughter.

When the time came to case the votes, Reagan won all the states except for Mondale’s homestate of Minnesota and D.C. with the former VP getting 13 electoral votes and 40.6% of the popular vote; Meanwhile Reagan won with 58.8% of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes making this biggest electoral victory in a contested presidential election and thus ranks number one on this list.

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