Third-party high-water marks
The strongest showings by candidates outside the two main parties.
| Year | Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Share | Electoral votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Theodore Roosevelt | Progressive | 4,120,207 | 27.40% | 88 |
| 1856 | Millard Fillmore | Whig-American | 873,053 | 21.60% | 8 |
| 1992 | H. Ross Perot | Independent | 19,741,657 | 18.90% | 0 |
| 1860 | John C. Breckinridge | Southern Democratic | 854,248 | 18.20% | 72 |
| 1924 | Robert LaFollette | Progressive | 4,827,184 | 16.60% | 13 |
| 1968 | George Wallace | American Independent | 9,906,473 | 13.50% | 46 |
| 1860 | John Bell | Constitutional Union | 591,658 | 12.60% | 39 |
| 1892 | James B. Weaver | Populist | 1,029,357 | 8.50% | 22 |
| 1996 | H. Ross Perot | Reform | 8,085,402 | 8.40% | 0 |
| 1980 | John Anderson | Independent | 5,720,060 | 6.60% | 0 |
| 1912 | Eugene V. Debs | Socialist | 900,370 | 6.00% | 0 |
| 2016 | Gary Johnson | Libertarian | 4,487,570 | 3.30% | 0 |
| 2000 | Ralph Nader | Green | 2,882,738 | 2.70% | 0 |
| 1948 | Strom Thurmond | States' Rights | 1,169,114 | 2.40% | 39 |
| 2016 | Jill Stein | Green | 1,448,603 | 1.10% | 0 |
Candidates other than the Democratic and Republican nominees, from 1856 (the first election with both parties) onward. Only candidates listed individually by the source are included.
More insights
- Closest state results
- Biggest state landslides
- Popular vote vs Electoral College
- Bellwether states
- States that flipped
- Longest party streaks
- Votes cast over time
- Electoral vote vs popular vote
- Tipping-point states
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data