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United States presidential elections in Alabama

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Presidential elections in Alabama
Map of the United States with Alabama highlighted
Number of elections50
Voted Democratic29
Voted Republican15
Voted Democratic-Republican1
Voted other2[a]
Voted for winning candidate26
Voted for losing candidate24

Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Alabama, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1819, Alabama has participated in every U.S. presidential election except the election of 1864, during the American Civil War, when the state had seceded to join the Confederacy.

A socially conservative Deep South state, Alabama was dominated by the Democratic Party for most of its history, voting almost exclusively Democratic from the founding of the party in the 1820s until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, the state has become heavily Republican, like most of the south.

Notably, Alabama has also almost always voted for the same presidential candidate as neighboring Mississippi. In more than two hundred years of presidential elections, they have supported the same candidate in all but one; the election of 1840, when Mississippi voted for William Henry Harrison and Alabama for Martin Van Buren (in 1868, only Alabama participated, as Mississippi had not yet been readmitted to the Union).

Winners of the state are in bold. The shading refers to the state winner, and not the national winner.

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
2020[1] Joe Biden 849,624 36.57 Donald Trump 1,441,170 62.03 9
2016[2] Donald Trump[c] 1,318,255 62.08 Hillary Clinton 729,547 34.36 9
2012[3] Barack Obama 795,696 38.36 Mitt Romney 1,255,925 60.55 9
2008[4] Barack Obama 813,479 38.74 John McCain 1,266,546 60.32 9
2004[5] George W. Bush 1,176,394 62.46 John Kerry 693,933 36.84 9
2000[6] George W. Bush[c] 941,173 56.48 Al Gore 692,611 41.57 9
1996[7] Bill Clinton 662,165 43.16 Bob Dole 769,044 50.12 Ross Perot 92,149 6.01 9
1992 Bill Clinton 690,080 40.88 George H. W. Bush 804,283 47.65 Ross Perot 183,109 10.85 9
1988 George H. W. Bush 815,576 59.17 Michael Dukakis 549,506 39.86 9
1984 Ronald Reagan 872,849 60.54 Walter Mondale 551,899 38.28 9
1980 Ronald Reagan 654,192 48.75 Jimmy Carter 636,730 47.45 John B. Anderson 16,481 1.23 9
1976 Jimmy Carter 659,170 55.73 Gerald Ford 504,070 42.61 9
1972 Richard Nixon 728,701 72.43 George McGovern 256,923 25.54 9
1968 Richard Nixon 146,923 13.99 Hubert Humphrey 196,579 18.72 George Wallace 691,425 65.86 10
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson no ballots Barry Goldwater 479,085 69.45 Unpledged Democratic electors 210,732 30.55 10 Johnson did not appear on the ballot.
1960 John F. Kennedy 318,303 56.41 Richard Nixon 237,981 42.18 Harry F. Byrd
(unpledged Democratic Electors)
324,050 57.43 11 Electoral votes split: five Kennedy and six unpledged (Byrd).
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower 195,694 39.39 Adlai Stevenson II 280,844 56.52 T. Coleman Andrews/
Unpledged Electors[d]
20,323 4.09 11 electoral vote split: 11 to Stevenson, 1 to Jones (faithless elector)
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower 149,231 35.02 Adlai Stevenson II 275,075 64.55 11
1948 Harry S. Truman no ballots Thomas E. Dewey 40,930 19.04 Strom Thurmond 171,443 79.75 11 Truman did not appear on the ballot.
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt 198,918 81.28 Thomas E. Dewey 44,540 18.2 11
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt 250,726 85.22 Wendell Willkie 42,184 14.34 11
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt 238,136 86.38 Alf Landon 35,358 12.82 11
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt 207,910 84.74 Herbert Hoover 34,675 14.13 11
1928 Herbert Hoover 120,725 48.49 Al Smith 127,797 51.33 12
1924 Calvin Coolidge 45,005 27.01 John W. Davis 112,966 67.81 Robert M. La Follette 8,084 4.85 12
1920 Warren G. Harding 74,556 31.37 James M. Cox 159,965 67.31 Parley P. Christensen 12
1916 Woodrow Wilson 99,409 76.04 Charles E. Hughes 28,662 21.92 12
1912 Woodrow Wilson 82,438 69.89 Theodore Roosevelt 22,680 19.23 William H. Taft 9,807 8.31 12
1908 William H. Taft 25,561 24.31 William Jennings Bryan 74,391 70.75 11
1904 Theodore Roosevelt 22,472 20.66 Alton B. Parker 79,797 73.35 11
1900 William McKinley 55,612 34.82 William Jennings Bryan 97,129 60.82 11
1896 William McKinley 55,673 28.61 William Jennings Bryan 130,298 66.96 11
1892 Grover Cleveland 138,135 59.40 Benjamin Harrison 9,184 3.95 James B. Weaver 84,984 36.55 11
1888 Benjamin Harrison[c] 57,177 32.66 Grover Cleveland 117,314 67.00 10
1884 Grover Cleveland 92,736 60.37 James G. Blaine 59,444 38.69 10
1880 James A. Garfield 56,350 37.10 Winfield S. Hancock 91,130 59.99 James B. Weaver 4,422 2.91 10
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes[c] 68,708 40.02 Samuel J. Tilden 102,989 59.98 10
1872 Ulysses S. Grant 90,272 53.19 Horace Greeley 79,444 46.81 10
1868 Ulysses S. Grant 76,667 51.3 Horatio Seymour 72,921 48.7 8
1864 Abraham Lincoln n/a n/a George B. McClellan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a No vote due to secession.

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 no ballots Stephen A. Douglas 13,618 15.1 John C. Breckinridge 48,669 54.0 John Bell 27,835 30.9 9

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 46,739 62.08 John C. Frémont no ballots Millard Fillmore 28,552 37.92 9 Frémont did not appear on the ballot
1852 Franklin Pierce 26,881 60.89 Winfield Scott 15,061 34.12 John P. Hale 9
1848 Zachary Taylor 30,482 49.43 Lewis Cass 31,173 50.56 Martin Van Buren 9
1844 James K. Polk 37,401 58.99 Henry Clay 26,002 41.01 9
1840 William Henry Harrison 28,518 45.62 Martin Van Buren 33,996 54.38 7
1836 Martin Van Buren 20,638 55.34 Hugh Lawson White 16,658 44.66 various[e] 7
1832 Andrew Jackson 14,286 99.97 Henry Clay 5 0.03 William Wirt 7
1828 Andrew Jackson 16,736 89.89 John Quincy Adams 1,878 10.09 5

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
1824 Andrew Jackson 9,429 69.32 John Quincy Adams 2,422 17.80 Henry Clay 96 0.71 William H. Crawford 1,656 12.17 5

Election of 1820

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In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all electoral votes (including Alabama's three electoral votes) except one vote in New Hampshire. The popular vote was primarily directed to filling the office of vice president. Alabama had its electors chosen not by the people, but by the State House and Senate. George W. Philips, Henry Minor and John Scott were selected by the legislature and all three men voted for James Monroe.

1820 United States presidential election in Alabama[8]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic-Republican George W. Philips 63 29.72% 1
Democratic-Republican Henry Minor 62 29.25% 1
Democratic-Republican John Scott 56 26.42% 1
Democratic-Republican James S. Walker 31 14.62% 0
Totals 212 100.00% 3

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ George Wallace, 1968; Strom Thurmond, 1948.
  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 d 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 William Henry Harrison, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Alabama.

References

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  1. ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
  3. ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
  4. ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  7. ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  8. ^ "1820 Presidential General Election Results - Alabama". A New Nation Votes. Retrieved 22 June 2018.