Closest presidential elections

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

What is the closest presidential election in U.S. history?

1880, when James A. Garfield edged Winfield Scott Hancock by just 9,464 popular votes nationwide, a 0.1-point margin (48.3% to 48.2%), the narrowest margin of the popular-vote era (1824–present). John F. Kennedy’s 1960 win over Richard Nixon (0.2 points) is the closest of the modern era.

Closest presidential elections
#	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

How this ranking is measured

Ranked by the smallest gap between the top two finishers in the national popular vote (1824–present). In a few of these the electoral-college winner was actually the popular-vote runner-up. See “Candidates who won the popular vote but lost the election.”

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources · data last verified July 28, 2026.