Fact check: Last Republican to win popular vote left office 14 years ago, not 30

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: The last Republican to win the popular vote left office nearly 30 years ago

A Jan. 31 Facebook post (direct link, archived link) claims the Republican Party’s presidential candidate has not won the popular vote in nearly three decades.

“FUN FACTS: If the American electoral system went by popular votes – you know, the ‘will of the people’ – vs. the electoral college, the last Republican President would have left office 29+ years ago.”

The post was shared more than 300 times within a week.

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Our rating: False

George W. Bush, a Republican, won the popular vote in the 2004 presidential election, according to the Federal Election Commission. He left office in 2009, 14 years ago.

Bush won popular vote in 2004 election

Bush won 50.7% of the popular vote in the 2004 presidential election, according to the Federal Election Commission, the agency responsible for enforcing campaign finance regulations.

Bush left office in 2009 after serving two terms. That means the last Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote left office 14 years ago, not nearly 30 as the post claims.

Sept. 11: Former U.S. President George W. Bush waves to the crowd before the game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field.
Sept. 11: Former U.S. President George W. Bush waves to the crowd before the game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field.

John Kerry, his Democrat opponent, received 48.3% of the popular vote.

Democrats have won the popular vote in each election since Bush’s victory in 2004. Barack Obama won 52.9% of the popular vote in 2008 and 51.1% of the popular vote in 2012, Hillary Clinton won 48.2% of the popular vote in 2016 (ahead of Donald Trump's 46.1%, though Trump won the Electoral College). And Joe Biden won 51.3% of the popular vote in 2020, according to government reports.

The claim is presented as criticism of the Electoral College, a group of 538 electors chosen by states' political parties that is responsible for electing the president and vice president. Each elector casts one vote, and a candidate needs 270 to win the election. Critics point to the fact that it’s possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote and lose the election by not receiving enough electoral votes.

This is what happened in 2016 when Clinton won the popular vote but not the presidency. It also occurred in 2000, when Democrat Al Gore received the majority of the popular vote but not the required amount of electors to secure the presidency.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Last Republican to win popular vote was George W. Bush