Closest presidential elections

The tightest U.S. presidential races in history, ranked by the narrowest margin in the national popular vote.

#	Election	Result	Popular-vote margin	Electoral
1	1880	James A. Garfield def. Winfield Scott Hancock	+0.1 pts	214–155
2	1884	Grover Cleveland def. James G. Blaine	+0.2 pts	219–182
3	1960	John F. Kennedy def. Richard Nixon	+0.2 pts	303–219
4	2000	Al Gore led George W. Bush	+0.5 pts	266–271
5	1968	Richard Nixon def. Hubert Humphrey	+0.7 pts	301–191
6	1888	Grover Cleveland led Benjamin Harrison	+0.8 pts	168–233
7	1844	James K. Polk def. Henry Clay	+1.4 pts	170–105
8	2024	Donald Trump def. Kamala Harris	+1.5 pts	312–226
9	1976	Jimmy Carter def. Gerald Ford	+2.1 pts	297–240
10	2016	Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump	+2.1 pts	227–304
11	2004	George W. Bush def. John Kerry	+2.4 pts	286–251
12	1876	Samuel J. Tilden led Rutherford B. Hayes	+3.0 pts	184–185
13	1892	Grover Cleveland def. Benjamin Harrison	+3.1 pts	277–145
14	1916	Woodrow Wilson def. Charles Evans Hughes	+3.1 pts	277–254
15	2012	Barack Obama def. Mitt Romney	+3.9 pts	332–206
16	1896	William McKinley def. William Jennings Bryan	+4.3 pts	271–176
17	1948	Harry S. Truman def. Thomas E. Dewey	+4.4 pts	303–189
18	2020	Joe Biden def. Donald Trump	+4.4 pts	306–232
19	1848	Zachary Taylor def. Lewis Cass	+4.8 pts	163–127
20	1868	Ulysses S. Grant def. Horatio Seymour	+5.4 pts	214–80
21	1992	Bill Clinton def. George H. W. Bush	+5.6 pts	370–168
22	1840	William Henry Harrison def. Martin Van Buren	+6.1 pts	234–60
23	1900	William McKinley def. William Jennings Bryan	+6.2 pts	292–155
24	1852	Franklin Pierce def. Winfield Scott	+6.9 pts	254–42
25	2008	Barack Obama def. John McCain	+7.2 pts	365–173

Ranked by the smallest gap between the top two finishers in the national popular vote (1824–present). Some of these were won in the electoral college by the popular-vote runner-up — see “Presidents who lost the popular vote.”