Which US president won his election by the biggest difference in votes?

muffy19

In 1820 James Monroe ran unopposed by any other popular candidate. He won 80.6% of the vote, the most by any president ever, but if you don't consider that fair than its the 1920 election won by Warren G. Harding who won against Democrat James M. Cox by 26.2%. Harding died two years after being inaugurated, and he died of a heart attack. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_largest_margin_of_victory_in_presidential_election Apr 21 09, 5:26 AM

Arpeggionist

That's voting percentage. What about actual individual votes? There were a lot fewer people eligible to vote for Monroe than there were to vote for Harding. Apr 21 09, 11:53 AM

Baloo55th

If Munro wasn't opposed, who did the other 19.4% of the voters vote for? Perhaps that should read 80.6% of the electorate, which isn't the same thing as 80.6% of the vote. Apr 21 09, 12:45 PM

star_gazer

No one voted against Washington so he should be the correct answer. The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously in 1789, and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to receive 100% of the electoral votes. At his inauguration, he insisted on having Barbados Rum served. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington Apr 21 09, 4:28 PM

queproblema

US presidents are elected by the Electoral College, not by the popular vote. The number of voters in the Electoral College has grown from 69 in 1789 to 538 in 1964, where it is now fixed. Franklin Roosevelt won by a 515-vote margin in 1936. Ronald Reagan won by a 512-vote margin in 1984. Richard Nixon won by a 503-vote margin in 1972. http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/scores.html Apr 21 09, 7:07 PM