PolitiFinder

Biggest presidential landslides

The most lopsided U.S. presidential elections, ranked by the winner’s margin in the national popular vote.

What is the biggest landslide in presidential election history?

Warren G. Harding’s win over James M. Cox in 1920, by 26.2 points in the national popular vote (60.3% to 34.1%), the widest margin of the popular-vote era (1824–present). Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1936 defeat of Alf Landon (24.3 points) and Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 defeat of Barry Goldwater (22.6 points) are the closest challengers.

Biggest presidential landslides
#ElectionResultPopular-vote marginElectoral
11920Warren G. Harding def. James M. Cox+26.2 pts404–127
21924Calvin Coolidge def. John W. Davis+25.3 pts382–136
31936Franklin D. Roosevelt def. Alf Landon+24.3 pts523–8
41972Richard Nixon def. George McGovern+23.2 pts520–17
51964Lyndon B. Johnson def. Barry Goldwater+22.6 pts486–52
61904Theodore Roosevelt def. Alton B. Parker+18.8 pts336–140
71984Ronald Reagan def. Walter Mondale+18.2 pts525–13
81932Franklin D. Roosevelt def. Herbert Hoover+17.7 pts472–59
91928Herbert Hoover def. Al Smith+17.3 pts444–87
101832Andrew Jackson def. Henry Clay+16.8 pts219–49
111956Dwight D. Eisenhower def. Adlai Stevenson+15.4 pts457–73
121912Woodrow Wilson def. Theodore Roosevelt+14.4 pts435–88
131836Martin Van Buren def. William Henry Harrison+14.2 pts170–73
141828Andrew Jackson def. John Quincy Adams+12.4 pts178–83
151856James Buchanan def. John C. Fremont+12.2 pts174–114
161872Ulysses S. Grant def. Horace Greeley+11.8 pts286–0
171952Dwight D. Eisenhower def. Adlai Stevenson+10.9 pts442–89
181860Abraham Lincoln def. Stephen A. Douglas+10.4 pts180–12
191864Abraham Lincoln def. George B. McClellan+10.0 pts212–21
201940Franklin D. Roosevelt def. Wendell Willkie+9.9 pts449–82
211980Ronald Reagan def. Jimmy Carter+9.7 pts489–49
221908William Howard Taft def. William Jennings Bryan+8.6 pts321–162
231996Bill Clinton def. Bob Dole+8.5 pts379–159
241824Andrew Jackson led John Quincy Adams+7.8 pts99–84
251988George H. W. Bush def. Michael Dukakis+7.8 pts426–111

How this ranking is measured

Ranked by the winner’s lead over the runner-up as a share of the national popular vote (1824–present, the popular-vote era). The electoral-college result is shown alongside for context. See also “Highest popular-vote percentage,” which ranks raw share rather than the margin over the runner-up.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources · data last verified September 25, 2026.