What were the top ten closest presidential elections?

I will answer this question by an aggregate measure of popular vote difference relative to the population at the time, and Electoral College difference relative to total number of electors. A few historical factors are also thrown in. For those wh... read more

Top 10 Closest Presidential Elections. In 1960 John F. Kennedy (D) defeats Richard Nixon (R) by 84 Electoral Votes and won the popular vote by .2%. In 1844 James Polk (D) defeats Henry Clay (Whig) by 65 Electoral Votes and won the popular vote by 1.4%. read more

This is one of only three elections where a candidate has won the popular vote, yet lost the Electoral College. The major issues, as with the other 1880s elections, were tariffs and the role of the spoils system in politics. Both campaigns focused heavily on swing-states New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and Harrison's home state of Indiana. read more