List of United States presidential candidates by number of primary votes received
In United States presidential politics, voters within both the Democratic and Republican parties select their candidates for the presidential election through a series of primary elections . For this list, any candidate that received at least 250,000 total votes in an election year's primary contests will be included. Only elections conducted since nationwide primaries were instituted in 1972 are shown.
History
The first state to hold a primary was Florida in 1901. In 1905, Wisconsin was the first state to hold a direct open primary. Five years later, in 1910, Oregon was the first state to hold a primary that bound its state's delegates to the convention based on election results. Between 1932 and 1968, twelve states held primaries consistently, while the remaining states chose which candidate received their delegates through state party bosses. In 1972, both parties held a primary or caucus in every state for the first time. However, Republican Richard Nixon was the incumbent president and was seeking re-election. As such, the Republican primary was uneventful that year, with Nixon winning every state easily. On the Democratic side, six candidates battled for the nomination. George McGovern of South Dakota won the first nationwide primary. Today, the first state to hold a caucus during primary season is Iowa , typically in early February. Shortly after that is the first primary, held in New Hampshire .
List
Became their party's nominee
Became president
Rank
Candidate
Party
Home state
Votes received
Year
Source
1
Joe Biden
Democratic
Delaware
19,076,052
2020
[1]
2
Donald Trump
Republican
Florida
18,159,752
2020
[2]
3
Hillary Clinton
Democratic
New York
17,857,501
2008
[3]
4
Barack Obama
Democratic
Illinois
17,584,692
2008
[3]
5
Hillary Clinton
Democratic
New York
16,917,853
2016
[4]
6
Donald Trump
Republican
New York
14,015,993
2016
[5]
7
Bernie Sanders
Democratic
Vermont
13,210,550
2016
[4]
8
George W. Bush
Republican
Texas
12,089,564
2000
[6]
9
Al Gore
Democratic
Tennessee
10,642,105
2000
[7]
10
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Arkansas
10,482,411
1992
[8]
11
Mitt Romney
Republican
Massachusetts
10,048,134
2012
[9]
12
John Kerry
Democratic
Massachusetts
10,045,891
2004
[10]
13
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
Georgia
10,043,016
1980
[11]
14
Michael Dukakis
Democratic
Massachusetts
9,898,750
1988
[12]
15
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Arkansas
9,706,802
1996
[13]
16
Bernie Sanders
Democratic
Vermont
9,679,213
2020
[1]
17
John McCain
Republican
Arizona
9,615,533
2008
[14]
18
George H. W. Bush
Republican
Texas
9,199,463
1992
[15]
19
Bob Dole
Republican
Kansas
9,024,742
1996
[16]
20
George H. W. Bush
Republican
Texas
8,258,512
1988
[17]
21
Barack Obama
Democratic
Illinois
8,044,659
2012
[18]
22
George W. Bush
Republican
Texas
7,853,863
2004
[19]
23
Ted Cruz
Republican
Texas
7,822,100
2016
[5]
24
Ronald Reagan
Republican
California
7,709,793
1980
[20]
25
Ted Kennedy
Democratic
Massachusetts
7,381,693
1980
[11]
26
Walter Mondale
Democratic
Minnesota
6,952,912
1984
[21]
27
Jesse Jackson
Democratic
South Carolina
6,788,991
1988
[12]
28
Gary Hart
Democratic
Colorado
6,504,842
1984
[21]
29
Ronald Reagan
Republican
California
6,484,987
1984
[22]
30
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
Georgia
6,235,609
1976
[23]
31
John McCain
Republican
Arizona
6,070,050
2000
[6]
32
Gerald Ford
Republican
Michigan
5,529,899
1976
[24]
33
Richard Nixon
Republican
California
5,378,704
1972
[25]
34
Ronald Reagan
Republican
California
4,760,222
1976
[24]
35
Mitt Romney
Republican
Massachusetts
4,567,127
2008
[14]
36
John Kasich
Republican
Ohio
4,290,448
2016
[5]
37
Mike Huckabee
Republican
Arkansas
4,147,961
2008
[14]
38
Hubert Humphrey
Democratic
Minnesota
4,121,372
1972
[26]
39
Jerry Brown
Democratic
California
4,071,232
1992
[8]
40
George McGovern
Democratic
South Dakota
4,053,451
1972
[26]
41
Rick Santorum
Republican
Pennsylvania
3,938,527
2012
[9]
42
George Wallace
Democratic
Alabama
3,755,424
1972
[26]
43
Paul Tsongas
Democratic
Massachusetts
3,696,010
1992
[8]
44
Marco Rubio
Republican
Florida
3,515,576
2016
[5]
45
Jesse Jackson
Democratic
Illinois
3,282,431
1984
[21]
46
John Edwards
Democratic
North Carolina
3,207,048
2004
[10]
47
Al Gore
Democratic
Tennessee
3,185,806
1988
[12]
48
Pat Buchanan
Republican
Virginia
3,184,943
1996
[16]
49
George H. W. Bush
Republican
Texas
3,070,033
1980
[20]
50
Pat Buchanan
Republican
Virginia
2,899,488
1992
[15]
51
Elizabeth Warren
Democratic
Massachusetts
2,831,472
2020
[1]
52
Bill Bradley
Democratic
New Jersey
2,804,945
2000
[7]
53
Newt Gingrich
Republican
Georgia
2,737,442
2012
[9]
54
Michael Bloomberg
Democratic
New York
2,488,734
2020
[1]
55
Jerry Brown
Democratic
California
2,449,374
1976
[23]
56
Bob Dole
Republican
Kansas
2,333,375
1988
[17]
57
Ron Paul
Republican
Texas
2,099,441
2012
[9]
58
George Wallace
Democratic
Alabama
1,955,388
1976
[23]
59
Edmund Muskie
Democratic
Maine
1,840,217
1972
[26]
60
Steve Forbes
Republican
New York
1,751,187
1996
[16]
61
Mo Udall
Democratic
Arizona
1,611,754
1976
[23]
62
John Anderson
Republican
Illinois
1,572,174
1980
[20]
63
Dick Gephardt
Democratic
Missouri
1,399,041
1988
[12]
64
Ron Paul
Republican
Texas
1,145,138
2008
[14]
65
Henry Jackson
Democratic
Washington
1,134,375
1976
[23]
66
Pat Robertson
Republican
Virginia
1,097,446
1988
[17]
67
Paul Simon
Democratic
Illinois
1,082,960
1988
[12]
68
Alan Keyes
Republican
Maryland
995,555
2000
[6]
69
John Edwards
Democratic
North Carolina
994,029
2008
[3]
70
Howard Dean
Democratic
Vermont
937,015
2004
[10]
71
Pete Buttigieg
Democratic
Indiana
924,237
2020
[1]
72
Ben Carson
Republican
Florida
857,039
2016
[5]
73
Frank Church
Democratic
Idaho
830,818
1976
[23]
74
Dennis Kucinich
Democratic
Ohio
643,067
2004
[10]
75
John Glenn
Democratic
Ohio
617,909
1984
[21]
76
Lyndon LaRouche
Democratic
Virginia
596,422
1996
[13]
77
Rudy Giuliani
Republican
New York
592,391
2008
[14]
78
Jerry Brown
Democratic
California
575,296
1980
[11]
79
Wesley Clark
Democratic
Arkansas
572,207
2004
[10]
80
Eugene McCarthy
Democratic
Minnesota
553,990
1972
[26]
81
Amy Klobuchar
Democratic
Minnesota
529,713
2020
[1]
82
Henry Jackson
Democratic
Washington
505,198
1972
[26]
83
Lamar Alexander
Republican
Tennessee
495,590
1996
[16]
84
Alan Keyes
Republican
Maryland
471,716
1996
[16]
85
Bill Weld
Republican
Massachusetts
453,959
2020
[2]
86
Shirley Chisholm
Democratic
New York
430,703
1972
[26]
87
Gary Hart
Democratic
Colorado
415,716
1988
[12]
88
Al Sharpton
Democratic
New York
383,683
2004
[10]
89
Robert Byrd
Democratic
West Virginia
340,309
1976
[23]
90
George McGovern
Democratic
South Dakota
334,801
1984
[21]
91
Terry Sanford
Democratic
North Carolina
331,415
1972
[26]
92
Jack Kemp
Republican
New York
331,333
1988
[17]
93
Bob Kerrey
Democratic
Nebraska
318,457
1992
[8]
94
John M. Ashbrook
Republican
Ohio
311,543
1972
[25]
95
Lyndon LaRouche
Democratic
Virginia
306,772
2000
[7]
96
Sargent Shriver
Democratic
Maryland
304,399
1976
[23]
97
Fred Thompson
Republican
Tennessee
287,581
2008
[14]
98
Jeb Bush
Republican
Florida
286,694
2016
[5]
99
Tom Harkin
Democratic
Iowa
280,340
1992
[8]
100
Tulsi Gabbard
Democratic
Hawaii
273,940
2020
[1]
101
Tom Steyer
Democratic
California
259,792
2020
[1]
List of presidential candidates by cumulative primary votes
Rank
Candidate
Party
Home state
Votes received
Year(s)
1
Donald Trump
Republican
NY, FL
47,559,705
2016, 2020, 2024
2
Hillary Clinton
Democratic
New York
34,775,354
2008, 2016
3
Barack Obama
Democratic
Illinois
25,629,351
2008, 2012
4
Bernie Sanders
Democratic
Vermont
22,889,763
2016, 2020
5
George H. W. Bush
Republican
Texas
20,528,008
1980, 1988, 1992
6
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Arkansas
20,189,213
1992, 1996
7
George W. Bush
Republican
Texas
19,943,427
2000, 2004
8
Joe Biden
Democratic
Delaware
19,155,806
2008, 2020
9
Ronald Reagan
Republican
California
18,955,002
1976, 1980, 1984
10
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
Georgia
16,278,625
1976, 1980
11
John McCain
Republican
Arizona
15,685,583
2000, 2008
12
Mitt Romney
Republican
Massachusetts
14,615,261
2008, 2012
13
Al Gore
Democratic
Tennessee
13,827,911
1988, 2000
14
Bob Dole
Republican
Kansas
11,365,321
1980, 1988, 1996
15
Jesse Jackson
Democratic
South Carolina
10,071,422
1984, 1988
16
John Kerry
Democratic
Massachusetts
10,045,891
2004
17
Michael Dukakis
Democratic
Massachusetts
9,898,750
1988
18
Ted Cruz
Republican
Texas
7,822,100
2016
19
Ted Kennedy
Democratic
Massachusetts
7,381,693
1980
20
Jerry Brown
Democratic
California
7,095,902
1976, 1980, 1992
21
Walter Mondale
Democratic
Minnesota
6,952,912
1984
22
Gary Hart
Democratic
Colorado
6,920,558
1984, 1988
23
Pat Buchanan
Republican
Virginia
6,084,431
1992, 1996
24
George Wallace
Democratic
Alabama
5,710,812
1972, 1976
25
Gerald Ford
Republican
Michigan
5,529,899
1976
26
Richard Nixon
Republican
California
5,378,704
1972
27
George McGovern
Democratic
South Dakota
4,388,252
1972, 1984
28
John Kasich
Republican
Ohio
4,290,448
2016
29
John Edwards
Democratic
North Carolina
4,201,077
2004, 2008
30
Mike Huckabee
Republican
Arkansas
4,199,411
2008, 2016
31
Hubert Humphrey
Democratic
Minnesota
4,183,364
1972, 1976
32
Rick Santorum
Republican
Pennsylvania
3,955,154
2012, 2016
33
Paul Tsongas
Democratic
Massachusetts
3,696,010
1992
34
Marco Rubio
Republican
Florida
3,515,576
2016
35
Ron Paul
Republican
Texas
3,259,844
2008, 2012
36
Elizabeth Warren
Democratic
Massachusetts
2,831,472
2020
37
Bill Bradley
Democratic
New Jersey
2,804,945
2000
38
Newt Gingrich
Republican
Georgia
2,737,442
2012
39
Michael Bloomberg
Democratic
New York
2,488,734
2020
40
Steve Forbes
Republican
New York
1,923,047
1996, 2000
41
Edmund Muskie
Democratic
Maine
1,840,217
1972
42
Henry M. Jackson
Democratic
Washington
1,639,573
1972, 1976
43
Mo Udall
Democratic
Arizona
1,611,754
1976
44
John B. Anderson
Republican
Illinois
1,572,174
1980
45
Alan Keyes
Republican
Maryland
1,467,271
1996, 2000
46
Dick Gephardt
Democratic
Missouri
1,462,943
1988, 2004
47
Pat Robertson
Republican
Virginia
1,097,446
1988
48
Paul Simon
Democratic
Illinois
1,082,960
1988
49
Lyndon LaRouche
Democratic
Virginia
1,080,978
1980, 1996, 2000
50
Howard Dean
Democratic
Vermont
937,015
2004
51
Pete Buttigieg
Democratic
Indiana
924,237
2020
52
Ben Carson
Republican
Florida
857,039
2016
53
Frank Church
Democratic
Idaho
830,818
1976
54
Dennis Kucinich
Democratic
Ohio
743,030
2004, 2008
55
John Glenn
Democratic
Ohio
617,909
1984
56
Rudy Giuliani
Republican
New York
592,391
2008
57
Wesley Clark
Democratic
Arkansas
572,207
2004
58
Eugene McCarthy
Democratic
Minnesota
553,990
1972
59
Amy Klobuchar
Democratic
Minnesota
529,713
2020
60
Lamar Alexander
Republican
Tennessee
495,590
1996
61
Bill Weld
Republican
Massachusetts
453,959
2020
62
Shirley Chisholm
Democratic
New York
430,703
1972
63
Al Sharpton
Democratic
New York
383,683
2004
64
Robert Byrd
Democratic
West Virginia
340,309
1976
65
Terry Sanford
Democratic
North Carolina
331,415
1972
66
Jack Kemp
Republican
New York
331,333
1988
67
Bob Kerrey
Democratic
Nebraska
318,457
1992
68
John M. Ashbrook
Republican
Ohio
311,543
1972
69
Sargent Shriver
Democratic
Maryland
304,399
1976
70
Fred Thompson
Republican
Tennessee
287,581
2008
71
Jeb Bush
Republican
Florida
286,694
2016
72
Tom Harkin
Democratic
Iowa
280,340
1992
73
Tulsi Gabbard
Democratic
Hawaii
273,940
2020
74
Tom Steyer
Democratic
California
259,792
2020
See also
References
^ a b c d e f g h "Democratic Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 17 August 2020 .
^ a b "Republican Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 17 August 2020 .
^ a b c "Democratic Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b "Democratic Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c d e f "Republican Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c "Republican Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c "Democratic Convention - Nationwide Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c d e "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1992" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d "Republican Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c d e f "Democratic Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 26, 1980" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e f "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1988" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1996" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e f "Republican Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1996" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - July 07, 1996" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1988" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ "Democratic Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ "Republican Convention - Popular Vote" . The Green Papers . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ a b c "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 17, 1980" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 20, 1984" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 20, 1984" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e f g h "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1976" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1976" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b "Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Mar 07, 1972" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
^ a b c d e f g h "Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Mar 07, 1972" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved 2020-08-04 .
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