November 8, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Fact of the Day: Republicans On Winning Side Of Popular Vote Once In 24 Years
The last time a Republican running for president won the popular vote was eight years ago. In 2004, George W. Bush won the popular vote by a margin of 2.46%. This past Tuesday, President Obama won the popular vote by a very similar margin of 2.5% (with votes still being counted).
Just as an aside — After winning re-election in 2004, President Bush said, “I’ve earned capital in this election — and I’m going to spend it.” Well, if that was true then, I guess the same is true now for President Obama.
Republicans have only won the popular vote in a presidential election once in 24 years. Remember, Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000. After George W. Bush’s popular vote win in 2004 you have to go back to his father’s 1988 victory to find the second most recent time Republicans have won the popular vote. Oh, and by the way, 1988 was also the last time a Republican won more than 300 electoral college votes, something Barack Obama and Bill Clinton both accomplished twice.
See also: Republicans Win Presidential Popular Vote Once In 28 Years
