Largest Landslide Victories In US Presidential Election History

By Oishimaya Sen Nag on April 25 2017 in Politics







In 1920, James Cox (pictured) suffered the worst defeat in the popular vote in US Presidential history as the hands of Warren G. Harding.

10. Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith, 1928 (17.41% margin)

The 1928 Presidential Election ushered in a landslide victory for the Republican candidate, Herbert Hoover, who won by the large margin of 17.41% in the elections. At that time, the Republicans were respected for their success in ushering in the economic boom in the country in the 1920’s. The Democrat candidate, Al Smith, on the other hand, suffered criticism for his anti-prohibitionist stance, and the legacy of corruption of Tammany Hall (a political machine that long dominated New York City politics) with which he was associated. Anti-Catholics also believed that if Smith came to power, the country would be dictated by the Catholic Church to which he belonged, and even be influenced by the Pope. Thus, people chose Hoover over Smith in the 1928 elections. Hoover even managed to achieve victory in Smith’s home state of New York. Smith won the electoral votes in only two New England states, however, home to a large section of Catholic voters, as well as a few traditionally Democratic states in the Southern United States.

9. Franklin Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover, 1932 (17.76% margin)

During the term of the Republican President Hoover, the American economy had suffered a major setback known as the Great Depression. This was the primary cause that was said to have led to the landslide victory of Hoover's opponent, the Democrat candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt defeated the Republican candidate Herbert Hoover by a margin of 17.76% in the 1932 Presidential Elections. During the election, the American voters were faced with a tough choice. On one side was Hoover, with his apparently unsuccessful policies which, during his term in office, seemed to have accomplished little for the better. Then, on the other side, was Roosevelt, with his loosely defined and proposed 'New Deal' program. In his campaigns, Roosevelt promised to provide aid to farmers, implement government monitoring of private economic power, and introduce a balanced budget. While Roosevelt appeared confident with his words, Hoover remained grim and stern throughout the campaign. In the end, Roosevelt won the elections by receiving 57.3% of the votes in his favor, while Hoover received only 39.6% of the American popular votes.

8. Andrew Jackson defeats Henry Clay, 1832 (17.81% margin)

The 1832 American Presidential election was unique, in that it was the first election in U.S. history where Presidential candidates were nominated by national nominating conventions. The incumbent President Andrew Jackson received an overwhelming support from his own fellow Democrats, and was nominated from that party in a bid for reelection, while the Republicans nominated Henry Clay as their Presidential candidate. Others to run in the race were William Wirt of the Anti-Masonic Party and John Floyd of the Nullifier Party. The entire campaign was dominated by the issue of dealing with the Bank of the United States. The bank was highly unpopular among a large section of the American population, which considered the bank to be only a tool for the rich. While Jackson was completely determined to eliminate the bank after he came to power, and went on to veto the reauthorization of the bank shortly after being nominated, Clay decided to criticize Jackson on this issue. Clay based his campaign from Pennsylvania, where the bank was headquartered, and started making Jackson’s veto a major issue in the campaign. However, his efforts proved futile in the end, and he lost to Jackson in the 1832 elections by the large margin of 17.81%.

7. Ronald Reagan defeats Walter Mondale, 1984 (18.21% margin)

The Presidential Election of the United States of America that was held on November 6, 1984, led to a major victory for the Republican presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan. With the win, Reagan was appointed for a second time to the prestigious office of the President of the United States of America. The Democrat candidate, Walter Mondale, was defeated in this election by a margin of 18.21%, a major landslide in U.S. election history. Another interesting fact about this election was that for the first time in the country’s history, a major party had a female on its ticket, as Mondale and the Democrats had decided to select Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. Even though Ferraro’s presence galvanized Mondale’s campaign at first, controversies over Ferraro and her husband's finances soon cropped up. This led to great criticism over Mondale’s choice of running mate. Another mistake made by Mondale was his pledge to raise taxes, which was highly disapproved of by the American society. On the other side, though Reagan’s age became an issue, and one seen by some as compromising his suitability to be the American President, he continued to exude confidence and optimism, and won over the American people with his unique charisma and conservative platform.

6. Theodore Roosevelt defeats Alton Parker, 1904 (18.83% margin)

Following the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, the late President's running mate in the election of 1900, Theodore Roosevelt, then aged 42, was appointed as the President. In the process, "Teddy" became the youngest United States President in history. He championed the ‘Square Deal’, a series of acts involving implementation of domestic policies that would promise the average American citizen fairness. This included ensuring pure food and drugs were available, and that railroads and other large industries were properly regulated. Roosevelt was also a great conservationist, and as such was a trailblazer in setting up national parks, monuments, and protected areas with which to protect the country’s vast natural resources. It was not surprising, therefore, that Roosevelt managed to defeat the Democrat Party nominee, Alton Parker, in a landslide win in the presidential elections of 1904, when he came to office for a full term in his own right.

5. Lyndon Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater, 1964 (22.58% margin)

In one of the most crushing Presidential election victories in U.S. history, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who had been serving as the President of US.A. since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, defeated the Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, in the elections of 1964. Throughout the campaign, Goldwater criticized Johnson’s liberal domestic agenda, and defended his own stance regarding vetoing the landmark Civil Rights Act. He also threatened to use force to dismantle Castro’s Communist government regime in Cuba, and hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons against North Vietnam to achieve the objectives of his own country. Goldwater’s stern delivery and harsh policies failed to influence the American populace. The election ended in a landslide victory for Johnson who, by a staggering margin of 22.58% in the popular vote, now became the U.S. President for a full term.

4. Richard Nixon defeats George McGovern, 1972 (23.15% margin)

The United States Presidential Election of 1972 was held on November 7, and led to the victory of the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic candidate, George McGovern, by a landslide. With a margin of 23.15%, this is the 4th largest margin of victory in U.S. Presidential election history. McGovern ran an anti-war campaign that was well appreciated by many, though his 'outsider' status, and the scandal surrounding his Vice Presidential Democrat nominee, Thomas Eagleton, contributed to his failure in winning the election. Nixon’s win was based on his emphasis on a sound economy, and his successes in handling the foreign affairs of the country efficiently. These included the establishment of better relations with China and ending America’s involvement in Vietnam, which were among the greatest positive highlights of Nixon's widely criticized political career.

3. Franklin Roosevelt defeats Alf Landon, 1936 (24.26% margin)

On November 3, 1936, in a landslide win, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected to the US Presidential office after defeating the Republican candidate, Alf Landon. President Roosevelt had first assumed office four years earlier at a time when the U.S.A. was going through the worst of an economic crisis commonly referred to as "the Great Depression". Roosevelt introduced a new policy called the ‘New Deal’ to handle this crisis. Though successful at first, the ‘New Deal’ was unable to introduce significant changes to recover the U.S. economy fully. This was the major issue that formed the basis of the campaign for the Republican opposition. However, Landon was no match for the forceful personality of Roosevelt, and, in the end, Roosevelt won over the votes of the people, with his leadership qualities, rather than his policies, likely giving him the necessary boost to do so.

2. Calvin Coolidge defeats John Davis, 1924 (25.22% margin)

The 1924 American presidential election saw the second greatest landslide victory in the history of the United States, when President Calvin Coolidge, the Republican candidate in the elections, defeated John Davis, the Democratic candidate. Coolidge had been the President for a short term, following the 1923 death of President Warren G. Harding. The short term served by Coolidge was largely peaceful and successful, characterized by an apparently booming economy in the country and no apparent crisis abroad. Thusly, Coolidge was already a favorite of the people when he stood up for Presidential election in 1924. Davis, on the other hand, was a little known former congressman and a conservative Democrat who was even shunned by a significant section of his own party, any of whom backed the Progressive candidate, M. LaFollette, instead. That said, the victory of Coolidge was expected to happen, and it did so in style.

1. Warren Harding defeats James Cox, 1920 (26.17% margin)

The U.S. Presidential election of 1920 was influenced by the aftermath of World War I. The country was facing one of its most difficult times, and there was utter chaos within the country. The public were fuming with anger against the outgoing President, Woodrow Wilson, who had been viewed as being highly unsuccessful in handling the tense situations plaguing the country. In the 1920 elections, the Democrats nominated a newspaper publisher, Governor James M. Cox, as their Presidential candidate, while the Republicans chose another newspaper publisher, Senator Warren G. Harding, to act as their own. Even though Cox did his best to outdo Harding, the latter completely ignored Cox in his campaigns, and instead focused almost completely on criticizing the policies of the incumbent Wilson. The public thus found faith and sympathy in Harding’s words, and voted wholeheartedly for this Republican candidate, setting up Harding for executive power by a large margin in the 1920 popular vote.

Largest Popular Vote Victories In US Presidential Election History