United States presidential elections in Kentucky

Presidential elections in Kentucky
Map of the United States with Kentucky highlighted
Number of elections58
Voted Democratic26
Voted Republican16
Voted Whig5
Voted Democratic-Republican9
Voted other2[a]
Voted for winning candidate38
Voted for losing candidate21

Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Kentucky, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1792, Kentucky has participated in every U.S. presidential election. Prior to the election of 1792, Kentucky was part of Virginia, and residents of the area voted as part of that state.

Winners of the state are in bold.

Elections from 1864 to present

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Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Other national
candidates[b] 		Votes Percent Electoral
Votes 		Notes
2024[1] Donald Trump 1,335,516 64.59 Kamala Harris 700,606 33.88 — 8
2020[2] Joe Biden 772,474 36.15 Donald Trump 1,326,646 62.09 — 8
2016[3] Donald Trump[c] 1,202,971 62.52 Hillary Clinton 628,854 32.68 — 8
2012[4] Barack Obama 679,370 37.80 Mitt Romney 1,087,190 60.49 — 8
2008[5] Barack Obama 751,985 41.17 John McCain 1,048,462 57.40 — 8
2004[6] George W. Bush 1,069,439 59.55 John Kerry 712,733 39.69 — 8
2000[7] George W. Bush[c] 872,492 56.50 Al Gore 638,898 41.37 — 8
1996[8] Bill Clinton 636,614 45.84 Bob Dole 623,283 44.88 Ross Perot 120,396 8.67 8
1992 Bill Clinton 665,104 44.55 George H. W. Bush 617,178 41.34 Ross Perot 203,944 13.66 8
1988 George H. W. Bush 734,281 55.52 Michael Dukakis 580,368 43.88 — 9
1984 Ronald Reagan 822,785 60.04 Walter Mondale 539,589 39.37 — 9
1980 Ronald Reagan 635,274 49.07 Jimmy Carter 616,417 47.61 John B. Anderson 31,127 2.40 9
1976 Jimmy Carter 615,717 52.75 Gerald Ford 531,852 45.57 — 9
1972 Richard Nixon 676,446 63.37 George McGovern 371,159 34.77 — 9
1968 Richard Nixon 462,411 43.79 Hubert Humphrey 397,541 37.65 George Wallace 193,098 18.29 9
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson 669,659 64.01 Barry Goldwater 372,977 35.65 — 9
1960 John F. Kennedy 521,855 46.41 Richard Nixon 602,607 53.59 — 10
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower 572,192 54.30 Adlai Stevenson II 476,453 45.21 T. Coleman Andrews/
Unpledged Electors[d]		 — — 10
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower 495,029 49.84 Adlai Stevenson II 495,729 49.91 — 10
1948 Harry S. Truman 466,756 56.74 Thomas E. Dewey 341,210 41.48 Strom Thurmond 10,411 1.27 11
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt 472,589 54.45 Thomas E. Dewey 392,448 45.22 — 11
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt 557,222 57.44 Wendell Willkie 410,384 42.30 — 11
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt 541,944 58.51 Alf Landon 369,702 39.92 — 11
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt 580,574 59.06 Herbert Hoover 394,716 40.15 — 11
1928 Herbert Hoover 558,064 59.33 Al Smith 381,070 40.51 — 13
1924 Calvin Coolidge 398,966 48.93 John W. Davis 374,855 45.98 Robert M. La Follette 38,465 4.72 13
1920 Warren G. Harding 452,480 49.25 James M. Cox 456,497 49.69 Parley P. Christensen — — 13
1916 Woodrow Wilson 269,990 51.91 Charles E. Hughes 241,854 46.50 — 13
1912 Woodrow Wilson 219,484 48.48 Theodore Roosevelt 101,766 22.48 William H. Taft 115,510 25.52 13
1908 William H. Taft 235,711 48.03 William Jennings Bryan 244,092 49.74 — 13
1904 Theodore Roosevelt 205,457 47.13 Alton B. Parker 217,170 49.82 — 13
1900 William McKinley 227,132 48.51 William Jennings Bryan 235,126 50.21 — 13
1896 William McKinley 218,171 48.93 William Jennings Bryan 217,894 48.86 — 13 Electoral vote split twelve to one.
1892 Grover Cleveland 175,461 51.48 Benjamin Harrison 135,462 39.74 James B. Weaver 23,500 6.89 13
1888 Benjamin Harrison[c] 155,138 44.98 Grover Cleveland 183,830 53.30 — 13
1884 Grover Cleveland 152,961 55.32 James G. Blaine 118,690 42.93 — 13
1880 James A. Garfield 106,490 39.87 Winfield S. Hancock 148,875 55.74 James B. Weaver 11,506 4.31 12
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes 97,568 37.44 Samuel J. Tilden 160,060 61.41 — 12
1872 Ulysses S. Grant 88,766 46.44 Horace Greeley 99,995 52.32 — 12
1868 Ulysses S. Grant 39,566 25.5 Horatio Seymour 115,889 74.5 — 11
1864 Abraham Lincoln 27,787 30.2 George B. McClellan 64,301 69.8 — 11

Election of 1860

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The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.

Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Electoral
Votes
1860 Abraham Lincoln 1,364 0.9 Stephen A. Douglas 25,651 17.5 John C. Breckinridge 53,143 36.3 John Bell 66,058 45.2 12

Elections from 1828 to 1856

[edit]
Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Other national
candidates[b] 		Votes Percent Electoral
Votes 		Notes
1856 James Buchanan 74,642 52.54 John C. Frémont no ballots Millard Fillmore 67,416 47.46 12
1852 Franklin Pierce 53,494 48.32 Winfield Scott 57,428 51.44 John P. Hale 266 0.24 12
1848 Zachary Taylor 67,145 57.46 Lewis Cass 49,720 42.54 Martin Van Buren no ballots 12
1844 James K. Polk 51,988 45.91 Henry Clay 61,249 54.09 — 12
1840 William Henry Harrison 58,488 64.20 Martin Van Buren 32,616 35.80 — 15
1836 Martin Van Buren 33,229 47.41 William Henry Harrison 36,861 52.59 various[e] 15
1832 Andrew Jackson 36,292 45.51 Henry Clay 43,449 54.49 William Wirt no ballots 15
1828 Andrew Jackson 39,308 55.54 John Quincy Adams 31,468 44.46 — 14

Election of 1824

[edit]

The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become president, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.

Year Winner (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Runner-up (nationally) Votes Percent Electoral
Votes
1824 Andrew Jackson 6,356 27.23 John Quincy Adams no ballots Henry Clay 16,982 72.77 William H. Crawford no ballots 14

Elections from 1792 to 1820

[edit]

In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all twelve of Kentucky's electoral votes, and all electoral votes nationwide except one vote in New Hampshire. To the extent that a popular vote was held, it was primarily directed to filling the office of vice president.

Year Winner (nationally) Runner-up (nationally) Electoral
Votes 		Notes
1820 James Monroe - 12 Monroe effectively ran unopposed.
1816 James Monroe Rufus King 12
1812 James Madison DeWitt Clinton 12
1808 James Madison Charles C. Pinckney 7
1804 Thomas Jefferson Charles C. Pinckney 8
1800 Thomas Jefferson John Adams 4
1796 John Adams Thomas Jefferson 4
1792 George Washington — 4 Washington effectively ran unopposed.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ John Bell, 1860; George Washington, 1792.
  2. ^ a b For purposes of these lists, other national candidates are defined as those who won at least one electoral vote, or won at least ten percent of the vote in multiple states.
  3. ^ a b c Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
  4. ^ Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
  5. ^ Three other candidates ran and received electoral votes nationally as part of the unsuccessful Whig strategy to defeat Martin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country. The others were Hugh Lawson White, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Kentucky.

References

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  1. ^ "Kentucky Presidential Election Results". The New York Times. 8 November 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. 3 November 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  3. ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
  4. ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
  5. ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
  6. ^ "Federal Elections 2004: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Elections Commission. May 2005.
  7. ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  8. ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
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