If by popular vote then it's the 1880 election between Hancock and Garfield (48.27% to 48.25% of the vote, a difference of 0.02% or 7,018 votes), with the 1960 election between Nixon and Kennedy (49.72 to 49.55%, a difference of 0.17% or 102,827 votes) second.
If by Electoral Vote, either the 1800 election under the pre-12th amendment Constitution with the top two contenders tied, or the 1876 election. In the modern era, the 2000 election was the closest election by Electoral vote.
Under the Constitution in 1800, the first place winner would be President and the second place winner the Vice President. The tied candidates were from the same party, and Hamilton ran to be the President and Burr the Vice President. This tie exposed a problem with the system of the time, although the election was clear as to which party had won the presidency.
In 1876, Hayes beat Tilden by one electoral vote, 185 to 184, in a compromise vote. The vote was contested, and Hayes won based on a deal with the southern states, post Civil War.
In the modern era by electoral college, the 2000 election between Bush and Gore (5pts) is closest. The 2000 election required a ruling by the Supreme Court to ratify the results.
The election of 1824 has been the only time since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in which the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives, as no candidate received a majority of the electoral vote.
The 1960 election between Nixon and Kennedy was the closest to date. Less than 100,000 votes separated the two.
We have also had many Presidents that have been elected without 50% of the popular vote. Ross Perot created the latest example of this.
It is possible to win the Presidency and not win the most votes also. The electoral college uses the majority vote from each state to decide who wins that state. This allows equal play for the less populated states in our decision making process.
Without this process, New York and Los Angeles would decide who the President would be and the rest of the population would need to follow along. This may (or may not) be a good thing. If you believe that middle America is to stupid and ill informed to make decisions, this would be something you want changed. If you believe that middle America is the true heartland of the people, this is a good idea.
Al Gore would have been President had popular voote been used in his run.
They are the 1960 vote between Richard Nixon (49.6%) and John F Kennedy (49.7%), the 1968 vote between Hubert Humphrey (42.7%) and Richard Nixon (43.4%), the 1976 vote between Gerald Fod (48%) and Jimmy Carter (50.1%), the 2000 vote between George W. Bush (47.87%) and Al Gore (46.38%) and the 2004 vote between George W Bush (50.7%) and John F. Kerry (48.3%)
but if you are going by electoral votes
1960: Richard Nixon (219) and John F Kennedy (303)
1968: Hubert Humphrey (191) and Richard Nixon (301)
1976: Gerald Ford (240) and Jimmy Carter (297)
2000: George W. Bush (271) and Al Gore (266)
2004: George W. Bush (286) and John F. Kerry (251)
In the election of 1876, Hayes beat Tilden 185 to 184.
That was when Rutherford B. Hayes beat Samuel J. Tilden 185-184 in electoral votes in 1876. Hayes actually lost the popular vote.
Rutherford B. Hayes/Samual j.Tilden
hubert hunphery and Richard Nixon
James A Garfield
No - the closest margin is one point, in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2010.
1972? Richard Nixon won the presidential election in 1972 with a 23.2 percentage point margin.
In 1916, Woodrow Wilson won 277-254.
george w. bush
ANIL BASU (CPM )Constituency: Arambagh (WEST BENGAL)WON WITH THE MARGIN OF: 5,92,502
The winner of the 1816 Presidential election was Secretary of State James Monroe, who won the votes of the Electoral College by a margin of 183 to 34.
Of course he was. He won the election by a big, fat margin, and he won it fair.
Ronald Reagan in 1984.
The Senate must have a two-thirds vote, or at least 67 senators, to convict the president of impeachment, and remove him from office. The same margin is required to decide if the president should be impeached in the House of Representatives.
President James Carter lost the re-election by the worst margin ever recorded. He was defeated by Ronald Reagan who won 90.9% of the electoral vote and 50.8 percent of the popular vote. Reagan carried 44 of the 50 states.
Benjamin Harrison