United States presidential elections in Kentucky

Presidential elections in Kentucky

Number of elections| 59
Voted Democratic| 26
Voted Republican| 17
Voted Whig| 5
Voted Democratic-Republican| 9
Voted other| 2[a]
Voted for winning candidate| 38
Voted for losing candidate| 21

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

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2024[1] | Donald Trump | 1,337,494 | 64.47 | Kamala Harris | 704,043 | 33.94 | — |  |  | 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

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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

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Year  | Winner (nationally)  | Votes  | Percent  | Runner-up (nationally)  | Votes  | Percent  | Other national
candidates[b] | Votes  | Percent  | Electoral
Votes  | Notes

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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* Elections in Kentucky

## 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. ^ "2024 General Election Certification as Amended on December 9th 2024" (PDF). elect.ky.gov. Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
2. ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. November 3, 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 March 5, 2018.

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