Most career popular votes of all time
Who has won the most career popular votes in U.S. political history?
Joe Biden, with 217,726,754 popular votes across his 10 elections in our dataset (U.S. Senate, vice president, and president). Career totals sum every popular-vote election a politician ran in; a vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and vice-presidential candidate, matching how each profile reports its own total.
By PolitiFinder’s all-office career count, which adds every presidential, Senate, governor and House vote a politician ever won, Joe Biden leads all Americans with 217,726,754, just ahead of Donald Trump’s 214,511,383.
PolitiFinder calculation. A vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and the running mate, the same way every profile reports its totals, so this all-office sum is our own construction rather than an external standard. The component election results are independently verifiable.
| # | Politician | Career popular votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe BidenD Delaware | 217,726,75410–0 record |
| 2 | Donald TrumpR Florida | 214,511,3832–1 record |
| 3 | George H. W. BushR Texas | 188,573,7364–3 record |
| 4 | Richard NixonR California | 187,774,2587–2 record |
| 5 | Kamala HarrisD | 163,843,8672–1 record |
| 6 | Al GoreD Tennessee | 144,842,3934–1 record |
| 7 | Mike PenceR Indiana | 139,479,9428–3 record |
| 8 | Barack ObamaD Illinois | 139,011,7673–0 record |
| 9 | George W. BushR Texas | 117,398,4274–0 record |
| 10 | Walter MondaleD Minnesota | 116,623,7543–3 record |
| 11 | Franklin D. RooseveltD New York | 114,331,6825–1 record |
| 12 | Dick CheneyR Wyoming | 113,169,6558–0 record |
| 13 | Ronald ReaganR California | 105,540,7894–0 record |
| 14 | Bill ClintonD Arkansas | 94,875,9377–1 record |
| 15 | Dan QuayleR Indiana | 90,297,9935–1 record |
| 16 | Bob DoleR Kansas | 81,498,3649–2 record |
| 17 | Lyndon B. JohnsonD Texas | 80,184,2658–1 record |
| 18 | JD VanceR Ohio | 79,494,6942–0 record |
| 19 | Spiro AgnewR Maryland | 79,334,4983–0 record |
| 20 | Hubert HumphreyD Minnesota | 78,361,9426–1 record |
| 21 | Tim WalzD Minnesota | 77,723,0582–1 record |
| 22 | Jimmy CarterD Georgia | 76,932,4152–1 record |
| 23 | Tim KaineD Virginia | 73,217,0084–1 record |
| 24 | Hillary ClintonD New York | 72,609,2522–1 record |
| 25 | Dwight D. EisenhowerR Kansas | 69,656,5322–0 record |
| 26 | John KerryD Massachusetts | 66,655,3915–1 record |
| 27 | John McCainR Arizona | 66,059,9338–1 record |
| 28 | Mitt RomneyR Massachusetts | 63,584,7072–2 record |
| 29 | Paul RyanR Wisconsin | 62,778,09810–1 record |
| 30 | Sarah PalinR Alaska | 60,130,8861–2 record |
| 31 | John EdwardsD North Carolina | 60,057,6811–1 record |
| 32 | Adlai StevensonD Illinois | 55,363,9291–2 record |
| 33 | Thomas E. DeweyR New York | 54,096,0423–3 record |
| 34 | Joe LiebermanD Connecticut | 53,805,2354–1 record |
| 35 | Harry S. TrumanD Missouri | 51,426,0854–0 record |
| 36 | John Nance GarnerD | 50,574,5052–0 record |
| 37 | Lloyd BentsenD Texas | 50,235,2835–1 record |
| 38 | Michael DukakisD Massachusetts | 45,178,6553–1 record |
| 39 | Gerald FordR Michigan | 40,438,41013–1 record |
| 40 | Jack KempR | 40,419,4789–1 record |
| 41 | Dianne FeinsteinD California | 38,250,8576–1 record |
| 42 | Charles CurtisR | 37,970,1484–1 record |
| 43 | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.R Massachusetts | 37,835,0283–2 record |
| 44 | Geraldine FerraroD New York | 37,767,7843–1 record |
| 45 | Herbert HooverR California | 37,154,0311–1 record |
| 46 | John F. KennedyD Massachusetts | 37,065,1646–0 record |
| 47 | Calvin CoolidgeR Massachusetts | 32,404,9024–0 record |
| 48 | John W. BrickerR | 32,248,3335–3 record |
| 49 | Edmund MuskieD Maine | 32,132,9936–1 record |
| 50 | George McGovernD South Dakota | 30,105,5675–3 record |
| 51 | John SparkmanD Alabama | 29,373,5856–1 record |
| 52 | Sargent ShriverD Maryland | 29,173,2220–1 record |
| 53 | Barry GoldwaterR Arizona | 28,499,7845–1 record |
| 54 | Earl WarrenR California | 28,050,7533–1 record |
| 55 | Ross PerotI | 27,829,1150–2 record |
| 56 | Henry A. WallaceD | 27,243,4661–0 record |
| 57 | William E. MillerR New York | 27,175,7540–1 record |
| 58 | Estes KefauverD Tennessee | 26,908,3783–1 record |
| 59 | Alben W. BarkleyD | 26,212,6766–0 record |
| 60 | Barbara BoxerD California | 22,473,4799–0 record |
| 61 | Wendell WillkieR Indiana | 22,304,7550–1 record |
| 62 | Charles L. McNaryR | 22,304,7550–1 record |
| 63 | Charles E. SchumerD New York | 19,747,97414–0 record |
| 64 | James StockdaleI | 19,743,8210–1 record |
| 65 | Adam B. SchiffD California | 19,620,91814–0 record |
| 66 | Theodore RooseveltR New York | 19,612,3233–1 record |
| 67 | William Jennings BryanD Nebraska | 19,270,1620–3 record |
| 68 | Pete WilsonR California | 17,739,6444–0 record |
| 69 | Alf LandonR Kansas | 17,382,4732–1 record |
| 70 | Al SmithD | 17,288,1911–2 record |
| 71 | Warren G. HardingR Ohio | 17,050,0642–1 record |
| 72 | Jerry BrownD California | 16,826,9774–0 record |
| 73 | Kirsten E. GillibrandD New York | 16,733,9816–0 record |
| 74 | Frank KnoxR | 16,681,8620–1 record |
| 75 | Grover ClevelandD New York | 16,507,5313–1 record |
| 76 | Charles W. FairbanksR | 16,161,7071–1 record |
| 77 | Thomas R. MarshallD | 15,771,9093–0 record |
| 78 | Charles G. DawesR | 15,725,0161–0 record |
| 79 | Alan CranstonD California | 15,724,2824–0 record |
| 80 | John CornynR Texas | 15,658,2264–0 record |
| 81 | Woodrow WilsonD New Jersey | 15,656,7423–0 record |
| 82 | Rick ScottR Florida | 15,561,8894–0 record |
| 83 | Bill NelsonD Florida | 15,286,9789–1 record |
| 84 | William McKinleyR Ohio | 15,268,58511–0 record |
| 85 | Joseph Taylor RobinsonD | 15,126,2681–1 record |
| 86 | Ted CruzR Texas | 14,691,4313–0 record |
| 87 | Richard J. DurbinD Illinois | 14,230,96912–0 record |
| 88 | Gavin NewsomD California | 14,191,5142–0 record |
| 89 | Mike DeWineR Ohio | 13,605,2168–2 record |
| 90 | Jacob K. JavitsL New York | 13,536,7486–3 record |
| 91 | Edward M. KennedyD Massachusetts | 13,405,6889–0 record |
| 92 | Daniel Patrick MoynihanL New York | 13,349,9304–0 record |
| 93 | Alex PadillaD California | 13,180,9292–0 record |
| 94 | Robert F. WagnerD New York | 12,911,1324–1 record |
| 95 | Steve GarveyR California | 12,517,2310–2 record |
| 96 | Matthew MerrittD New York | 12,410,7715–0 record |
| 97 | Charlie CristD Florida | 12,081,4754–4 record |
| 98 | Nelson RockefellerR New York | 12,050,5744–0 record |
| 99 | Carl LevinD Michigan | 12,002,5156–0 record |
| 100 | George WallaceA | 11,990,2634–1 record |
How this ranking is measured
Career total popular votes summed across every election in our dataset (U.S. presidential, Senate, governor, and House races). Statewide and presidential races dominate the leaderboard since House districts cast far fewer votes. A vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and vice-presidential candidate, matching how each profile reports its totals.