You need at least 270 electoral votes to win. The fewest number of states you could win is 11.
They would have to be:
Ca-55, Tx-34, Fl-27, Ga-15, Nc-15, NJ-15, Pa-21, Ny-31, Oh-20, Mi-17, Il-17
No other combination of 11 states could give you 270 electoral votes. Conversely you could win 39 states and DC and still lose. It should be noted that the residents of USA. territories cannot vote for The President. If they were given electoral votes the same way that states were this answer could change to 10 because you could make up the remainder with territorial votes. If however each territory was given three votes (as would be expected as that is the minimum number given to a state) then a candidate would need 277 votes and the answer would actually change to 12.
If the electoral college were eliminated in favor of a popular vote system (which it should be) than you would not have to win any states as long as you won at least one territory.
In the 52 U.S. presidential elections that were after the vice presidential election was separated from the presidential election and in which the electoral college elected the president, the winning candidate received votes from an average of 71.9% of appointed electors. Multiplying that by the 538 electors we have had per election for the past 50 years gives 387 votes. The minimum is the lowest whole number that is greater than 50%. For the past 50 years, that minimum has been 270.
No. Democratic Party candidate James Buchanan won the 1856 presidential election. Buchanan won 19 states including all of the southern states. The southern states seceded after Republican Party candidate Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election.
A candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election if they receive more votes from the general public but fewer electoral votes from the Electoral College. The Electoral College system in the United States determines the winner of the presidential election based on the number of electoral votes each candidate receives, rather than the total number of popular votes nationwide.
The election committee sends leaders to states to campaign for their party's candidate.
The election committee sends leaders to states to campaign for their party's candidate.
Republican Party candidate John Fremont won 11 northern states in the 1856 presidential election.
Some states require a petition with a minimum number of signatures in order to get on their presidential election ballot.
Abraham Lincoln
they can potentially be won by either major-party candidate
a runoff primary is held
a runoff primary is held
a runoff primary is held