The Adams family

The original American political dynasty: a father and son who were the nation’s 2nd and 6th presidents.
Massachusetts · President · House
Combined career popular votes
669,353
Combined electoral votes
303
Members on the ballot
2
Combined W–L
10–2
Years on the ballot
1796–1846

John Adams was a leader of the Revolution, the first vice president, and the second president of the United States. His son John Quincy Adams was the sixth president and then, almost uniquely, returned to Washington as a congressman. They were the first father-son presidents, a feat matched only by the Bushes, though both reached the office in the era before a national popular vote was recorded.

The Adams family members, ranked by career popular votes
MemberOfficesYearsCareer popular votesRecord
John AdamsFPresident1796–1800011
John Quincy AdamsDRPresident · House1824–1846669,35391

How this is measured

Combined career popular votes are summed across the 2 family members we track, each counted once across every presidential, U.S. Senate, governor, and U.S. House election in our data. Family membership is hand-curated and verified against primary sources, never matched by surname alone, so unrelated namesakes are never folded in. A vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and the vice-presidential candidate, matching how each profile reports its own totals.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources.