Five US presidents won the election despite losing the popular vote

Faithless electors have never changed the outcome of a US presidential election

Occasionally, Electoral College members vote against their state's popular choice—known as "faithless electors." Though these rare defections have drawn attention and prompted new state laws, none have ever altered the final result of a presidential race.

270 electoral votes decide the presidency

A presidential candidate is declared the winner once they reach 270 of the Electoral College’s 538 votes. This interactive map from 270 to win shows how winning individual states shifts the path to victory on election night.

Washington was elected unanimously twice to the presidency

George Washington was unanimously elected in 1789 and 1792, with every presidential elector casting one of their two votes for him (at the time, each elector cast two votes). He accepted the office reluctantly, seeing it as a duty rather than an ambition.

Congress selected the president in 1801 and 1825

In a contingent election, the United States House of Representatives is constitutionally required to choose the president, with each state delegation casting one vote when no candidate secures a majority of the electoral votes.

Hamilton's endorsement helped win Jefferson the presidency

In the 1800 presidential election, neither candidate won a majority in the Electoral College, sending the decision to the House of Representatives. After 36 failed votes, Alexander Hamilton lobbied for his ideological rival, Thomas Jefferson, over Aaron Burr, helping break the deadlock.

Presidents can be impeached for 'treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors'

The Constitution empowers the House to impeach a president by a majority vote and the Senate to convict by a two-thirds vote. Three presidents—Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (twice)—were impeached, though none were removed from office.

Abraham Lincoln received only 40% of the popular vote in the 1860 election

Lincoln's 1860 victory came entirely from Northern and Western states, as his name was excluded from most Southern ballots. The outcome highlighted the deep divisions and regional polarization in the country.

The US president who had the most children

John Tyler, America’s 10th president, was born in 1790, yet still has one living grandchild. This bizarre phenomenon can be explained by his 15 children, which he had throughout all stages of his adult life. Tyler had eight children with one wife and seven with another, leading him to hold the title as the US president with the most children. Tyler was also the first US president to get married while in office.

Nixon's landslide in the 1972 presidential election

Despite the Watergate break-in becoming public in June 1972, voters largely shrugged it off. On Nov. 7, 1972, Richard Nixon still achieved a historic landslide—winning 520 out of 538 electoral votes, carrying 49 states—making it one of the largest Electoral College victories in US history.

A majority of Americans support replacing the Electoral College with a popular vote

A Pew Research Center survey found that 61% of Americans favor eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular vote, with concerns about fairness and representation cited most often.

See the presidents with the most vetoes

Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a record 635 vetoes—more than twice as many as any other president. Other frequent users include Grover Cleveland (584), Harry Truman (250), and Dwight Eisenhower (181), reflecting long tenures, divided government, high legislative output, and assertive executive leadership.

How Americans have voted throughout history

From shouting candidates’ names, to hanging chads to electronic scanning, the nature of voting has a long, sometimes bumpy history in the United States. See descriptions and images in chronological order with this digestible timeline.

How the stock market performed under every US president

It's worth noting that the stock market as we know it today didn't exist under the leadership of earlier presidents, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Roosevelt's 4 elections were driven by 2 major crises

Franklin D. Roosevelt won third and fourth terms in 1940 and 1944 as Americans emerged from the Great Depression and sought continuity during World War II. Voters prioritized stability, keeping Roosevelt in office until his death in 1945.

How presidential systems differ from parliamentary governments

In presidential systems like the US, the executive and legislature are separately elected, giving presidents fixed terms and independent authority. In parliamentary systems, executives are elected by legislatures and can be removed by a simple vote of no confidence.

Ten lesser-known duties of the US president

The president of the United States is one of the most powerful positions in the world, but what exactly do they oversee? In addition to the obvious tasks of commanding the military, signing laws, and shaping national policy, this article highlights the lesser-known responsibilities of the American president. Naming national monuments and managing the White House beehive are just a few of the jobs you may be surprised to learn about.

The Washington Post's 'Presidential' podcast tells the story of every American president

Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, "Presidential" explores how each president rose to power, led through crises, and shaped the office. Featuring historians like David McCullough and journalists like Bob Woodward, the series traces leadership and legacy across American history.

Voter turnout in local elections is significantly lower than for national elections

While 64% of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election, turnout in municipal elections is usually below 15%. For school board elections—where members oversee more than 50 million students and $600B in spending—turnout is often around 5%-10%.

Former American President Abraham Lincoln is one of history’s most famous ghosts

Abraham Lincoln, Anne Boleyn, Pausanias, and the Maharajah Duleep Singh are just a few of the notable phantoms found around the world. Several White House occupants and visitors have claimed to see Lincoln, including Theodore Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, and Winston Churchill.

The 2024 US presidential election was a breakthrough moment for prediction markets

Founded in 2018 by MIT graduates, Kalshi won a federal appeals court ruling in October 2024 that allowed it to offer election contracts in the US. When prediction markets predicted President Donald Trump's win (more accurately than most polls), prediction markets were thrust into the public eye.

James Garfield, the first left-handed US president

Though he was assassinated only four months into his tenure, President James Garfield was a highly respected figure, a professor known for his mastery of several languages, success as a general in the Civil War, and accomplishments in Congress. He was also left-handed, the first southpaw to sit in the Oval Office. Learn more about Garfield's ambidexterity here.

Seven of South Korea's presidents have left office before their term ended

Recently removed President Yoon Suk Yeol isn’t the first South Korean leader to face turmoil at home. As this Voice of America piece shows, at least seven of the country’s 20th-century heads of state saw their political careers (and, in some cases, their lives) come to an abrupt and sometimes violent end.

President Donald Trump's 2025 address drew 36.6 million viewers

President Trump's audience was about 13% higher than President Biden's 2024 address, but it fell short of Donald Trump's first-term State of the Union viewership, which consistently topped 37 million and peaked near 48 million in 2017.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

The US won every major battle of the Mexican-American War

Despite being outnumbered in key engagements, US forces defeated Mexican armies across every major front. Superior training, leadership, and logistics allowed the US to win decisively—capturing Mexico City without losing a single major battle.

Thousands of Black men held local, state, and federal offices during Reconstruction

Between 1865 and 1877, more than 1,500 Black Americans served in local, state, and federal offices—including 16 in Congress. This unprecedented political participation largely ended after Reconstruction as Jim Crow laws and racial violence suppressed Black voting.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

An Ebola vaccine was developed during the 2018 west African Ebola outbreak, but the 2026 Ebola outbreak is with a different species of the virus, not the one that the vaccine is approved to treat.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.