Each U.S. presidential election (2000-2020)
From the George W. Bush double tenure to the rise of Joe Biden, these are the details of the six presidential contests that have taken place so far on American soil during the 2000s
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, and Joseph R. Biden are the four U.S. presidents elected in the 2000s era. Three Republican and three Democratic terms with the common goal of leading the United States to a secure port in the middle of serious challenges, such as the terrorist attacks of 2001, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the economic crash of 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as major domestic and foreign issues.
These were, in numbers, the six presidential elections that have taken place on American soil since 2000.
2000 | George W. Bush (R) v. Al Gore (D)
The election of 2000 was extremely close, with George W. Bush winning the presidency of the United States despite losing the popular vote to Democrat Al Gore. It was the fourth time something similar happened (the first one since 1888) and the tightest election since 1876 when Rutherford Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden by a single electoral vote.
The result on the evening of election day of the election was a virtual tie. As a result, everything depended on the outcome in Florida, where the difference in votes was astonishingly close (slightly over 500) between Bush and Gore.
A recount of some ballots had begun when the United States Supreme Court intervened, stopped any further recount, and declared the Republican candidate the winner, the first of his two mandates.
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
2004 | George W. Bush (R) v. John Kerry (D)
On November 2, incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry with 286 votes from the electoral college (a majority of 270 was needed to win the presidency) and 50.73% of the popular vote.
Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, both triggered by the infamous 9/11.
Bush and Kerry each received more votes than any other candidate up to that point. The previous record, about 54.5 million popular votes, was set by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
2008 | Barack Obama (D) v. John McCain (R)
The 2008 United States presidential election was held on November 4. The actions and policies of the outgoing President George W. Bush triggered the American's desire for change.
Domestic policy and the economy eventually emerged as the main themes in the last few months of the election campaign after the onset of the 2008 economic crisis, a.k.a. the Great Recession, dubbed the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929.
Democrat Barack Obama, then junior Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain. Obama achieved almost 70 million popular votes, 52.93 %. Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia changed adherence from the 2004 election, reflecting the wind of change among the American population.
The selected electors from the 50 states and the District of Columbia voted for President and Vice President of the United States on December 15. Obama eventually doubled McCain in electoral votes (365 to 173).
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
2012 | Barack Obama (D) v. Mitt Rommey (R)
The 2012 United States presidential election took place on November 6. The Democratic nominee, President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term. They defeated the GOP formula of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
Only four states were decided by less than a 5% popular vote margin. Obama got 65,915,795 ballots, 5.15% less than four years ago but still over 50%. The incumbent became the second president elected to a second term with fewer electoral votes than earned when winning the first term. The first was Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
2016 | Donald Trump (R) v. Hillary Clinton (D)
The 2016 U.S. presidential election was held on November 8, 2016. Republican candidate Donald J. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, despite achieving fewer popular votes. Still, the former Secretary of State made history by being the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.
Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes nationwide, but the GOP nominee triumphed in the Electoral College, winning 30 states with 306 pledged electors out of 538.
Trump conquered the swing states of Florida, Iowa, and Ohio as well as the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which had been Democratic fortresses in presidential elections since the 1990s. Before the election, most media outlets considered a Trump victory unlikely.
It was the fifth election (the first since Bush v. Gore in 2000) in which the winner lost the popular vote. The other three occasions when this occurred were in 1824, 1876 and 1888.
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
2020 | Joe Biden (D) v. Donald Trump (R)
On November 3, 2020, Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden defeated incumbent Republican Donald Trump in an election held during a pandemic.
The real estate tycoon became the first U.S. president since George Bush (twenty-eight years ago) and the eleventh in the country's history to lose a bid for a second term. Despite COVID-19, this election registered a very high voter turnout.
Biden, 77, became the oldest president-elect in history. His running partner, former U.S. Prosecutor and current Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, became the first woman to be elected Vice President.
Both candidates broke their parties' record for popular votes. Biden even surpassed the 80-million tally (81,283,501).
Trump became the only president in U.S. history elected as his party's nominee for reelection after being impeached two times.
A curiosity of this election occurred when Biden won in Maine but Trump gained an electoral vote by winning the popular vote in the 2nd Congressional District. The opposite happened in Nebraska. It was the first time both states had split their electoral votes in the same election since moving to the congressional district method.
Popular votes by candidate
Popular and electoral votes by candidate and state
Data sources
- Election results and voting information | Federal Election Commission of the United States of America
- Election Listing | The American Presidency Project of the University of California Santa Barbara
