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List of major-party United States presidential candidates who lost their home state

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Below is a list of major party United States presidential candidates who lost their birth or resident states. While many successful candidates have won the presidency without winning their birth state, only four (James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump) have won election despite losing their state of residence. Nixon, a lifelong Californian, had taken residence in New York after his failed run for governor of California, but later switched back during his presidency and ahead of his reelection.

List of candidates

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Won the presidential election

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Election year Name Party State of birth State of residence
State Result Margin State Result Margin
1832 Andrew Jackson Democratic South Carolina Lost N/A Tennessee Won 90.84%
1840 William Henry Harrison Whig Virginia Lost –1.3% Ohio Won 8.53%
1844 James K. Polk Democratic North Carolina Lost –4.78% Tennessee Lost –0.10%
1848 Zachary Taylor Whig Virginia Lost –1.60% Louisiana Won 9.18%
1860 Abraham Lincoln Republican Kentucky Lost –44.3% Illinois Won 3.5%
1864 Abraham Lincoln Republican Kentucky Lost –39.6% Illinois Won 8.8%
1916 Woodrow Wilson Democratic Virginia Won 35.16% New Jersey Lost –11.72%
1968 Richard Nixon Republican California Won 3.08% New York Lost –5.46%
1988 George H. W. Bush Republican Massachusetts Lost –7.85% Texas Won 12.60%
2000 George W. Bush Republican Connecticut Lost –17.47% Texas Won 21.32%
2004 George W. Bush Republican Connecticut Lost –10.36% Texas Won 22.87%
2016 Donald Trump Republican New York Lost −22.49% New York Lost −22.49%

Lost the presidential election

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Only candidates who won at least one state (most of them not having necessarily won their birth states and most of the others not having necessarily won their resident states) in the general elections are listed here.

Name Election year Party State of birth State of residency
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 1804 Federalist Lost South Carolina
1808
Rufus King 1816 Federalist Won Massachusetts Lost New York
Henry Clay 1824 Democratic-Republican Lost Virginia Won Kentucky
1832 National Republican
William Wirt Anti-Masonic Lost Maryland
John Floyd Nullifier Lost Kentucky Lost Virginia
William Henry Harrison 1836 Whig Lost Virginia Won Ohio
Hugh Lawson White Whig Lost North Carolina Won Tennessee
Daniel Webster Whig Lost New Hampshire Won Massachusetts
Willie Person Mangum Whig Lost North Carolina
Martin Van Buren 1840 Democratic Lost New York
Henry Clay 1844 Whig Lost Virginia Won Kentucky
Winfield Scott 1852 Whig Lost Virginia Lost New Jersey
John C. Frémont 1856 Republican Lost Georgia Lost California
Millard Fillmore Know-Nothing Lost New York
Stephen A. Douglas 1860 Northern Democratic Lost Vermont Lost Illinois
John C. Breckinridge Southern Democratic Lost Kentucky
George B. McClellan 1864 Democratic Lost Pennsylvania Won New Jersey
Horace Greeley 1872 Liberal Republican
Democratic
Lost New Hampshire Lost New York
Winfield Scott Hancock 1880 Democratic Lost Pennsylvania
Grover Cleveland 1888 Democratic Won New Jersey Lost New York
Benjamin Harrison 1892 Republican Won Ohio Lost Indiana
James B. Weaver Populist Lost Ohio Lost Iowa
William Jennings Bryan 1896 Democratic-Populist Lost Illinois Won Nebraska
1900 Lost Nebraska
Alton B. Parker 1904 Democratic Lost New York
William Jennings Bryan 1908 Democratic Lost Illinois Won Nebraska
Theodore Roosevelt 1912 Progressive Lost New York
William Howard Taft Republican Lost Ohio
James M. Cox 1920 Democratic Lost Ohio
John W. Davis 1924 Democratic Lost West Virginia Lost New York
Al Smith 1928 Democratic Lost New York
Herbert Hoover 1932 Republican Lost Iowa Lost California
Alf Landon 1936 Republican Lost Pennsylvania Lost Kansas
Wendell Willkie 1940 Republican Won Indiana Lost New York
Thomas E. Dewey 1944 Republican Lost Michigan Lost New York
Adlai Stevenson 1952 Democratic Lost California Lost Illinois
1956
Hubert Humphrey 1968 Democratic Lost South Dakota Won Minnesota
George McGovern 1972 Democratic Lost South Dakota
George H. W. Bush 1992 Republican Lost Massachusetts Won Texas
Al Gore 2000 Democratic Won District of Columbia Lost Tennessee
John Kerry 2004 Democratic Lost Colorado Won Massachusetts
Mitt Romney 2012 Republican Lost Michigan Lost Massachusetts
Donald Trump 2020 Republican Lost New York Won Florida

Lost the home states of their running mates

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See also

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