 | |
| Number of elections | 60 |
|---|---|
| Voted Democratic | 22 |
| Voted Republican | 21 |
| Voted Whig | 5 |
| Voted Democratic-Republican | 5 |
| Voted Federalist | 5 |
| Voted other | 2[a] |
| Voted for winning candidate | 38 |
| Voted for losing candidate | 22 |
Following is a table ofUnited States presidential elections in Massachusetts, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1788,Massachusetts has participated in every U.S. presidential election.
Winners of the state are inbold. The shading refers to thestate winner, and not the national winner.
From 1864 to 1924, Massachusetts was a reliably Republican state, going Democratic only in the election of 1912 where the Republican Party was split. However, the increased strength of the Irish Catholic voting bloc led the state to supportAl Smith in 1928 andFranklin D. Roosevelt in all four of his elections. Since 1956,Ronald Reagan (in 1980 and 1984) has been the only Republican to carry Massachusetts.
The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent ofslavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about theAmerican Civil War.
| Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln | 106,684 | 62.9 | Stephen A. Douglas | 34,370 | 20.3 | John C. Breckinridge | 6,163 | 3.6 | John Bell | 22,331 | 13.2 | 13 |
In all of these elections, Massachusetts went forWhig Party, its predecessor theNational Republican Party or its successor theRepublican Party
| Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Other national candidates[b] | Votes | Percent | Electoral votes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1856 | James Buchanan | 39,244 | 23.08 | John C. Frémont | 108,172 | 63.61 | Millard Fillmore | 19,626 | 11.54 | 13 | |
| 1852 | Franklin Pierce | 44,569 | 35.07 | Winfield Scott | 52,683 | 41.45 | John P. Hale | 28,203 | 22.19 | 13 | |
| 1848 | Zachary Taylor | 61,072 | 45.32 | Lewis Cass | 35,281 | 26.18 | Martin Van Buren | 38,333 | 28.45 | 12 | |
| 1844 | James K. Polk | 53,039 | 40.17 | Henry Clay | 67,062 | 50.79 | — | 12 | |||
| 1840 | William Henry Harrison | 72,852 | 57.44 | Martin Van Buren | 52,355 | 41.28 | — | 14 | |||
| 1836 | Martin Van Buren | 33,486 | 44.81 | Daniel Webster | 41,201 | 55.13 | various[e] | 14 | |||
| 1832 | Andrew Jackson | 13,933 | 20.61 | Henry Clay | 31,963 | 47.27 | William Wirt | 14,692 | 21.73 | 14 | |
| 1828 | Andrew Jackson | 6,012 | 15.39 | John Quincy Adams | 29,836 | 76.36 | — | 15 |
The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailingDemocratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become president, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams acorrupt bargain.
| Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1824 | Andrew Jackson | no ballots | John Quincy Adams | 30,687 | 72.97 | Henry Clay | no ballots | William H. Crawford | no ballots | 15 |
In the election of 1820, incumbent PresidentJames Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all twenty-two of the electoral votes of Massachusetts, and all electoral votes nationwide except one vote in New Hampshire. To the extent that a popular vote was held, it was primarily directed to filling the office of vice president.
| Year | Winner (nationally) | Runner-up (nationally) | Electoral votes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820 | James Monroe | — | 15 | Monroe effectively ran unopposed. |
| 1816 | James Monroe | Rufus King | 22 | |
| 1812 | James Madison | DeWitt Clinton | 22 | |
| 1808 | James Madison | Charles C. Pinckney | 19 | |
| 1804 | Thomas Jefferson | Charles C. Pinckney | 19 | |
| 1800 | Thomas Jefferson | John Adams | 16 | |
| 1796 | John Adams | Thomas Jefferson | 16 | |
| 1792 | George Washington | — | 16 | Washington effectively ran unopposed. |
| 1788-89 | George Washington | — | 10 | Washington effectively ran unopposed. |