United States presidential elections in Alabama
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. presidential elections by state
| state = Alabama
| number_of_elections = 51
| voted_democratic = 29
| voted_republican = 16
| voted_dem_rep = 1
| voted_other = 2{{efn|George Wallace, 1968; Strom Thurmond, 1948.}}
| voted_winning = 27
| voted_losing = 24
}}
Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Alabama, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1819, Alabama has participated in every U.S. presidential election except the election of 1864, during the American Civil War, when the state had seceded to join the Confederacy.
A socially conservative Deep South state, Alabama was dominated by the Democratic Party for most of its history, voting almost exclusively Democratic from the founding of the party in the 1820s until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, the state has become heavily Republican, like most of the south.
Notably, Alabama has also almost always voted for the same presidential candidate as neighboring Mississippi. In more than two hundred years of presidential elections, they have supported the same candidate in all but one; the election of 1840, when Mississippi voted for William Henry Harrison and Alabama for Martin Van Buren (in 1868, only Alabama participated, as Mississippi had not yet been readmitted to the Union).
Winners of the state are in bold. The shading refers to the state winner, and not the national winner.
Elections from 1864 to present
{{Graph:Chart
| width=890
| height=400
| xGrid=
| yGrid=
| xAxisTitle=Year
| yAxisTitle=Party percentage vote margin (D+, R−)
| showSymbols=
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| x = 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024
| y1 = -2.6, -6.38, 19.78, 22.89, 21.68, 34.34, 22.85, 38.35, 26, 52.69, 46.44, 50.66, 54.12, 35.94, 40.8, 2.84, 70.61, 73.56, 70.88, 63.08, , 29.53, 17.13, , , , -46.89, 13.12, -1, -22.26, -19.31, -6.77, -6.96, -14.91, -25.62, -21.58, -22.19, -27.72, -25.47
| colors = #007436
}}
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||||||
| data-sort-type="number" | Year
! Winner (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Other national ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! data-sort-type="number" | Electoral ! class="unsortable" | Notes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:#FFB2B2"
|2024{{cite web |title=Alabama State Canvassing Board Meeting |publisher=Secretary of State of Alabama |date=November 26, 2024 |access-date=November 30, 2024 |url=https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/election-2024/State%20Certification%20of%202024%20General%20Election.pdf}} |1,462,616 |64.57 |772,412 |34.10 |12,075 |0.53 |9 |RFK was still on ballot despite dropping out months earlier. | |||||||||||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2020{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-president.html |title=Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 15, 2020}} | Joe Biden | 849,624 | 36.57 | Donald Trump | 1,441,170 | 62.03 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2016[https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2016/federalelections2016.pdf 2016 official Federal Election Commission report]. | Donald Trump{{efn|name="PV"|Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote}} | 1,318,255 | 62.08 | Hillary Clinton | 729,547 | 34.36 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2012[http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/federalelections2012.pdf 2012 official Federal Election Commission report]. | Barack Obama | 795,696 | 38.36 | Mitt Romney | 1,255,925 | 60.55 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2008[http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/federalelections2008.pdf 2008 official Federal Election Commission report]. | Barack Obama | 813,479 | 38.74 | John McCain | 1,266,546 | 60.32 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2004{{cite web|url= http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2004/federalelections2004.pdf |title= Federal Elections 2004: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives|date=May 2005 |publisher= Federal Elections Commission}} | George W. Bush | 1,176,394 | 62.46 | John Kerry | 693,933 | 36.84 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 2000{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=2000&f=1&off=0&elect=0|title=2000 Presidential Election Statistics|publisher=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections}} | George W. Bush{{efn|name="PV"}} | 941,173 | 56.48 | Al Gore | 692,611 | 41.57 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1996{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1996&f=1&off=0&elect=0|title=1996 Presidential Election Statistics|publisher=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|access-date=2018-03-05}} | Bill Clinton | 662,165 | 43.16 | Bob Dole | 769,044 | 50.12 | Ross Perot | 92,149 | 6.01 | 9 | |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1992 | Bill Clinton | 690,080 | 40.88 | George H. W. Bush | 804,283 | 47.65 | Ross Perot | 183,109 | 10.85 | 9 | |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1988 | George H. W. Bush | 815,576 | 59.17 | Michael Dukakis | 549,506 | 39.86 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan | 872,849 | 60.54 | Walter Mondale | 551,899 | 38.28 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan | 654,192 | 48.75 | Jimmy Carter | 636,730 | 47.45 | John B. Anderson | 16,481 | 1.23 | 9 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter | 659,170 | 55.73 | Gerald Ford | 504,070 | 42.61 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1972 | Richard Nixon | 728,701 | 72.43 | George McGovern | 256,923 | 25.54 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/American Independent}}
| 1968 | Richard Nixon | 146,923 | 13.99 | Hubert Humphrey | 196,579 | 18.72 | George Wallace | 691,425 | 65.86 | 10 | |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson | no ballots | Barry Goldwater | 479,085 | 69.45 | Unpledged Democratic electors | 210,732 | 30.55 | 10 | Johnson did not appear on the ballot. | |
| {{Party shading/Dixiecrat}}
| 1960 | John F. Kennedy | 318,303 | 56.41 | Richard Nixon | 237,981 | 42.18 | Harry F. Byrd (unpledged Democratic Electors) | 324,050 | 57.43 | 11 | Electoral votes split: five Kennedy and six unpledged (Byrd). |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 195,694 | 39.39 | Adlai Stevenson II | 280,844 | 56.52 | T. Coleman Andrews/ Unpledged Electors{{efn|Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina}} | 20,323 | 4.09 | 11 | electoral vote split: 11 to Stevenson, 1 to Jones (faithless elector) |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1952 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 149,231 | 35.02 | Adlai Stevenson II | 275,075 | 64.55 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Dixiecrat}}
| 1948 | Harry S. Truman | no ballots | Thomas E. Dewey | 40,930 | 19.04 | Strom Thurmond | 171,443 | 79.75 | 11 | Truman did not appear on the ballot. | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 198,918 | 81.28 | Thomas E. Dewey | 44,540 | 18.2 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 250,726 | 85.22 | Wendell Willkie | 42,184 | 14.34 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 238,136 | 86.38 | Alf Landon | 35,358 | 12.82 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 207,910 | 84.74 | Herbert Hoover | 34,675 | 14.13 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1928 | Herbert Hoover | 120,725 | 48.49 | Al Smith | 127,797 | 51.33 | — | 12 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1924 | Calvin Coolidge | 45,005 | 27.01 | John W. Davis | 112,966 | 67.81 | Robert M. La Follette | 8,084 | 4.85 | 12 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1920 | Warren G. Harding | 74,556 | 31.37 | James M. Cox | 159,965 | 67.31 | Parley P. Christensen | — | —
| 12 | ||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson | 99,409 | 76.04 | Charles E. Hughes | 28,662 | 21.92 | — | 12 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1912 | Woodrow Wilson | 82,438 | 69.89 | Theodore Roosevelt | 22,680 | 19.23 | William H. Taft | 9,807 | 8.31 | 12 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1908 | William H. Taft | 25,561 | 24.31 | William Jennings Bryan | 74,391 | 70.75 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1904 | Theodore Roosevelt | 22,472 | 20.66 | Alton B. Parker | 79,797 | 73.35 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1900 | William McKinley | 55,612 | 34.82 | William Jennings Bryan | 97,129 | 60.82 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1896 | William McKinley | 55,673 | 28.61 | William Jennings Bryan | 130,298 | 66.96 | — | 11 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1892 | Grover Cleveland | 138,135 | 59.40 | Benjamin Harrison | 9,184 | 3.95 | James B. Weaver | 84,984 | 36.55 | 11 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1888 | Benjamin Harrison{{efn|name="PV"}} | 57,177 | 32.66 | Grover Cleveland | 117,314 | 67.00 | — | 10 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland | 92,736 | 60.37 | James G. Blaine | 59,444 | 38.69 | — | 10 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1880 | James A. Garfield | 56,350 | 37.10 | Winfield S. Hancock | 91,130 | 59.99 | James B. Weaver | 4,422 | 2.91 | 10 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1876 | Rutherford B. Hayes{{efn|name="PV"}} | 68,708 | 40.02 | Samuel J. Tilden | 102,989 | 59.98 | — | 10 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1872 | Ulysses S. Grant | 90,272 | 53.19 | Horace Greeley | 79,444 | 46.81 | — | 10 | |||
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| 1868 | Ulysses S. Grant | 76,667 | 51.3 | Horatio Seymour | 72,921 | 48.7 | — | 8 | |||
| style="background:#FFB2B2"
| 1864 | Abraham Lincoln | n/a | n/a | George B. McClellan | n/a | n/a | — | n/a | n/a | n/a | No vote due to secession. |
Election of 1860
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 of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| data-sort-type="number" | Year
! Winner (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! data-sort-type="number" | Electoral |
|---|
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style"text-align:left" | 1860 | no ballots | — | 13,618 | 15.1 | 48,669 | 54.0 | 27,835 | 30.9 | 9 |
Elections from 1828 to 1856
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||||||
| data-sort-type="number" | Year
! Winner (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Other national ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! data-sort-type="number" | Electoral ! class="unsortable" | Notes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1856 | James Buchanan | 46,739 | 62.08 | John C. Frémont | no ballots | — | Millard Fillmore | 28,552 | 37.92 | 9 | Frémont did not appear on the ballot |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1852 | Franklin Pierce | 26,881 | 60.89 | Winfield Scott | 15,061 | 34.12 | John P. Hale | — | — | 9 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1848 | Zachary Taylor | 30,482 | 49.43 | Lewis Cass | 31,173 | 50.56 | Martin Van Buren | — | — | 9 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1844 | James K. Polk | 37,401 | 58.99 | Henry Clay | 26,002 | 41.01 | — | 9 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1840 | William Henry Harrison | 28,518 | 45.62 | Martin Van Buren | 33,996 | 54.38 | — | 7 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1836 | Martin Van Buren | 20,638 | 55.34 | Hugh Lawson White | 16,658 | 44.66 | various{{efn|Three other candidates ran and received electoral votes nationally as part of the unsuccessful Whig strategy to defeat Martin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country. The others were William Henry Harrison, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Alabama.}} | 7 | |||
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1832 | Andrew Jackson | 14,286 | 99.97 | Henry Clay | 5 | 0.03 | William Wirt | — | — | 7 | |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 1828 | Andrew Jackson | 16,736 | 89.89 | John Quincy Adams | 1,878 | 10.09 | — | 5 |
Election of 1824
The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-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 a corrupt bargain.
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||||||||
| data-sort-type="number" | Year
! Winner (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! Runner-up (nationally) ! data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! data-sort-type="number" | Percent ! data-sort-type="number" | Electoral | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
| style"text-align:left" | 1824 | Andrew Jackson | 9,429 | 69.32 | John Quincy Adams | 2,422 | 17.80 | Henry Clay | 96 | 0.71 | William H. Crawford | 1,656 | 12.17 | 5 |
Election of 1820
In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all electoral votes (including Alabama's three electoral votes) except one vote in New Hampshire. The popular vote was primarily directed to filling the office of vice president. Alabama had its electors chosen not by the people, but by the State House and Senate. George W. Philips, Henry Minor and John Scott were selected by the legislature and all three men voted for James Monroe.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! colspan="6" |1820 United States presidential election in Alabama{{cite web |title=1820 Presidential General Election Results - Alabama |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:al.presidentialelectors.1820#note_4 |access-date=22 June 2018 |publisher=A New Nation Votes}} |
| colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! style="width: 17em" |Candidate ! style="width: 5em" |Votes ! style="width: 7em" |Percentage ! style="width: 5em" |Electoral votes |
|---|
| style="background-color:#008000; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" |Democratic-Republican |George W. Philips | align="right" |63 | align="right" |29.72% | align="right" |1 |
| style="background-color:#008000; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" |Democratic-Republican |Henry Minor | align="right" |62 | align="right" |29.25% | align="right" |1 |
| style="background-color:#008000; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" |Democratic-Republican |John Scott | align="right" |56 | align="right" |26.42% | align="right" |1 |
| style="background-color:#008000; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" |Democratic-Republican |James S. Walker | align="right" |31 | align="right" |14.62% | align="right" |0 |
| bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| colspan="3" align="right" |Totals | align="right" |212 | align="right" |100.00% | align="right" |3 |
See also
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{United States presidential elections}}
{{Elections in Alabama footer}}