The candidate must get at least 270 electoral votes in order to win the presidency. In 2012, Barack Obama received 332 electoral votes.
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Harry Truman won the 1948 presidential election defeating Thomas Dewey. In the 1948 presidential election Democratic Party candidate Harry Truman received 303 electoral votes, Republican Party candidate Thomas Dewey received 189 electoral votes, and Dixiecrat Party candidate Strom Thurmond received 39 electoral votes. Progressive Party candidate Henry A. Wallace received popular votes for President, but no electoral votes.
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Only in the federal elections for President of the United States can this occur, as the Electoral College vote outcome will supercede the popular vote's.
It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.
It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.
Candidates need a majority of electoral votes to be elected. Because most states* award all of their electoral votes to the top candidate in that state, candidates do not need to win the national popular vote to win a majority of electoral votes. The result is that winning a few large population states (called swing states), even by a tiny margin, can guarantee election to the presidency. In 1876, 1888, and 2000, the winning candidate did not get the most popular votes nationwide.
A candidate needs to receive a majority of the electoral votes to be elected President of the United States, which is 270 out of the total 538 electoral votes. The number of electoral votes a candidate receives is determined by the results of the popular vote in each state, and the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state typically receives all of that state's electoral votes.
Texas cast its 38 electoral votes for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.
Democratic Party candidate incumbent President Barack Obama won reelection in the 2012 presidential election defeating Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney. In the 2012 presidential election Barack Obama received 332 electoral votes and Mitt Romney received 206 electoral votes. The popular vote totals were Obama 65,446,032 and Romney 60,589,084.
It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.
Except in Maine and Nebraska, all of the electoral votes for a state go to the candidate who receives the most votes, even if it is only by a tiny margin. This means that Presidential candidates will focus most of their campaigning on states with large populations, and therefore more electoral votes. Winning just 6 or 7 key "swing states" will often be enough to guarantee an electoral victory. In the elections of 1876, 1888, and 2000, the winning candidate did not get a plurality of the popular vote, only a majority of the electoral votes. There have been several proposals advanced for direct election of the President by popular vote.