How Minnesota has voted in every presidential election since 1976

Written by:
January 20, 2021
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How Minnesota has voted in every presidential election since 1976

It is often said that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. When it comes to elections, that is true—but it's not true often enough that we know what to expect at the ballot box.

Stacker takes a look at how Minnesota voted in each election since 1976, according to data from MIT Election Data and Science Lab.

States like Hawaii and Rhode Island have been Democratic strongholds for decades, Massachusetts has been voting steadily blue since 1960, and Washington D.C. has never backed a Republican candidate.

On the other side of the political aisle, Alaska has voted Republican in every election but one. Idaho, Kentucky, and Indiana have been Republican for generations, while Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming have been voting red nearly every chance they can.

Southern states have been moving as a powerful block for ages, voting Democratic from the Reconstruction after the Civil War until the 1960s, when Southerners opposed civil rights legislation. The Republican Party stepped in with what's known as its Southern strategy to woo those votes, adding an emphasis on the traditional nuclear family, traditional roles for women, and evangelical religion to simmering racial issues.

1976

Minnesota
- #1. Jimmy Carter (Democrat): 54.9% of votes (12.9% margin of victory)
- #2. Gerald Ford (Republican): 42.0%
- #3. Eugene McCarthy (Mccarthy '76): 1.8%
- #4. Thomas J. Anderson (American): 0.7%

National
- #1. Jimmy Carter (Democrat): 50.1% of votes (297/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Gerald Ford (Republican): 48.0%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Oregon (+0.2% Gerald Ford), Ohio (+0.2% Jimmy Carter), Maine (+0.8% Gerald Ford)

1980

Minnesota
- #1. Jimmy Carter (Democrat): 46.5% of votes (3.9% margin of victory)
- #2. Ronald Reagan (Republican): 42.6%
- #3. John B. Anderson (Independent): 8.5%
- #4. Edward Clark (Libertarian): 1.5%

National
- #1. Ronald Reagan (Republican): 50.8% of votes (489/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Jimmy Carter (Democrat): 41.0%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Massachusetts (+0.2% Ronald Reagan), Tennessee (+0.3% Ronald Reagan), Arkansas (+0.6% Ronald Reagan)

1984

Minnesota
- #1. Walter Mondale (Democrat): 49.7% of votes (0.2% margin of victory)
- #2. Ronald Reagan (Republican): 49.5%
- #3. Lyndon Larouche Jr. (Independent): 0.2%
- #4. Melvin Mason (Socialist Workers): 0.2%

National
- #1. Ronald Reagan (Republican): 58.8% of votes (525/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Walter Mondale (Democrat): 40.6%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Minnesota (+0.2% Walter Mondale), Massachusetts (+2.8% Ronald Reagan), Rhode Island (+3.6% Ronald Reagan)

1988

Minnesota
- #1. Michael Dukakis (Democrat): 52.9% of votes (7.0% margin of victory)
- #2. George H.W. Bush (Republican): 45.9%
- #3. Eugene McCarthy (Progressive): 0.3%
- #4. Ron Paul (Libertarian): 0.2%

National
- #1. George H. W. Bush (Republican): 53.4% of votes (426/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Michael Dukakis (Democrat): 45.7%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Washington (+1.6% Michael Dukakis), Illinois (+2.1% George H.W. Bush), Pennsylvania (+2.3% George H.W. Bush)

1992

Minnesota
- #1. Bill Clinton (Democrat): 43.5% of votes (11.6% margin of victory)
- #2. George H.W. Bush (Republican): 31.9%
- #3. Ross Perot (Independent): 24.0%
- #4. Andre Marrou (Libertarian): 0.1%

National
- #1. Bill Clinton (Democrat): 43.0% of votes (370/538 electoral votes)
- #2. George H. W. Bush (Republican): 37.5%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Georgia (+0.6% Bill Clinton), North Carolina (+0.8% George H.W. Bush), New Hampshire (+1.2% Bill Clinton)

1996

Minnesota
- #1. Bill Clinton (Democrat): 51.1% of votes (16.1% margin of victory)
- #2. Robert Dole (Republican): 35.0%
- #3. Ross Perot (Reform Party): 11.8%
- #4. Ralph Nader (Green): 1.1%

National
- #1. Bill Clinton (Democrat): 49.2% of votes (379/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Bob Dole (Republican): 40.7%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Kentucky (+1.0% Bill Clinton), Nevada (+1.0% Bill Clinton), Georgia (+1.2% Robert Dole)

2000

Minnesota
- #1. Al Gore (Democratic-Farmer-Labor): 47.9% of votes (2.4% margin of victory)
- #2. George W. Bush (Republican): 45.5%
- #3. Ralph Nader (Green): 5.2%
- #4. Patrick ""Pat"" Buchanan (Reform Party Minnesota): 0.9%

National
- #1. George W. Bush (Republican): 47.9% of votes (271/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Al Gore (Democrat): 48.4%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Florida (+0.0% George W. Bush), New Mexico (+0.1% Al Gore), Wisconsin (+0.2% Al Gore)

2004

Minnesota
- #1. John Kerry (Democratic-Farmer-Labor): 51.1% of votes (3.5% margin of victory)
- #2. George W. Bush (Republican): 47.6%
- #3. Ralph Nader (Better Life): 0.7%
- #4. Michael Badnarik (Libertarian): 0.2%

National
- #1. George W. Bush (Republican): 50.7% of votes (286/538 electoral votes)
- #2. John Kerry (Democrat): 48.3%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Wisconsin (+0.4% John Kerry), Iowa (+0.7% George W. Bush), New Mexico (+0.8% George W. Bush)

2008

Minnesota
- #1. Barack Obama (Democrat): 54.1% of votes (10.2% margin of victory)
- #2. John Mccain (Republican): 43.8%
- #3. Ralph Nader (Independent): 1.0%
- #4. Bob Barr (Libertarian): 0.3%

National
- #1. Barack Obama (Democrat): 52.9% of votes (365/538 electoral votes)
- #2. John McCain (Republican): 45.7%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Missouri (+0.1% John Mccain), North Carolina (+0.3% Barack Obama), Indiana (+1.0% Barack Obama)

2012

Minnesota
- #1. Barack Obama (Democratic-Farmer-Labor): 52.7% of votes (7.7% margin of victory)
- #2. Mitt Romney (Republican): 45.0%
- #3. Gary Johnson (Libertarian): 1.2%
- #4. Jill Stein (Green): 0.4%

National
- #1. Barack Obama (Democrat): 51.1% of votes (332/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Mitt Romney (Republican): 47.2%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Florida (+0.9% Barack Obama), North Carolina (+2.0% Mitt Romney), Ohio (+3.0% Barack Obama)

2016

Minnesota
- #1. Hillary Clinton (Democrat): 46.4% of votes (1.5% margin of victory)
- #2. Donald Trump (Republican): 44.9%
- #3. Gary Johnson (Libertarian): 3.8%
- #4. Evan Mcmullin (Independence): 1.8%

National
- #1. Donald Trump (Republican): 46.1% of votes (304/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Hillary Clinton (Democrat): 48.2%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Michigan (+0.2% Donald Trump), New Hampshire (+0.4% Hillary Clinton), Pennsylvania (+0.7% Donald Trump)

2020

Minnesota
- #1. Joe Biden (Democrat): 52.4% of votes (7.1% margin of victory)
- #2. Donald Trump (Republican): 45.3%
- #3. Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian): 1.1%
- #4. Howie Hawkins (Green): 0.3%

National
- #1. Joe Biden (Democrat): 51.3% of votes (306/538 electoral votes)
- #2. Donald Trump (Republican): 46.9%
- States with smallest margin of victory: Georgia (+0.2% Joe Biden), Arizona (+0.3% Joe Biden), Wisconsin (+0.6% Joe Biden)

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