Data story · Elections
The closest presidential elections, state by state.
A close election does not look like a single colour. It looks pale: band after band where neither party won by much. But the palest strip and the closest result are not always the same election.
Every strip on this page is a real Elections strip from the Huezle app, drawn by the app’s own code. More about Elections.
How to read the strips
Each strip is one election, with one band per state running west to east. Blue bands went to the Democrat, red to the Republican. The paler a band, the closer that state was, so the closest elections are the ones that look washed out.
How we measured “close”
Two ways, using the 45 states that voted in every election since 1900: how many states were decided by fewer than five points, and the typical winning margin across all 45, whichever party won each.
| Election | States within 5 points | Typical state margin |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 18 | 10 points |
| 1976 | 17 | 9 points |
| 1960 | 16 | 9 points |
| 1992 | 16 | 8 points |
| 2000 | 11 | 14 points |
| 2024 | 8 | 18 points |
Third candidates explain the top of the list. In 1948 Strom Thurmond and Henry Wallace pulled votes from Truman, and in 1992 Ross Perot took nearly a fifth of the national vote, shrinking both major parties’ margins everywhere. The strip draws only the Democrat against the Republican, so those years come out pale.
1960: Kennedy over Nixon
- Republican
- Close
- Democratic
John F. Kennedy won the presidency while carrying fewer of these 45 states than Richard Nixon. Illinois was decided by less than a fifth of a point, California and Missouri by about half a point. The two strongest colours sit far apart: Rhode Island, Kennedy’s best state at 27 points, and Nebraska, Nixon’s best at 24.
1976: Carter over Ford
- Republican
- Close
- Democratic
The same 22-to-23 split as 1960, and paler still outside the South. Oregon, Ohio, Maine and Iowa were all within about a point. The only deep blue is the South that Jimmy Carter grew up in, and the deepest red is the Mountain West.
2000: close where it counted
- Republican
- Close
- Democratic
By the measures above, 2000 was not unusually close state by state: eleven states within five points, against sixteen or more in the palest years. It was close where it counted. Florida, which decided the presidency, was won by 537 votes, so small a margin that its band is effectively white. Wisconsin, Iowa and Oregon were each within half a point too.
2024: few close states, all in one place
- Republican
- Close
- Democratic
Modern elections are fought in a handful of states, and the strip shows it: deep colour almost everywhere, with the pale bands bunched around the Midwest and Pennsylvania. The typical state was decided by 18 points, roughly double 1960 or 1976.
For the opposite extreme, see the biggest landslides, or how to read a century of elections.
Close elections are the hardest Huezle strips to name. Try one.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhoneQuestions
What was the closest presidential election in US history?
By the deciding state, 2000: Florida was won by 537 votes. By how many states were close, 1948 tops the elections since 1900 on these strips.
Why does 1992 look so close when Clinton won easily?
The strips show the Democrat’s margin over the Republican in each state. Ross Perot took about 19% of the vote, which made every state’s two-party margin smaller without changing who won.
Did Kennedy win fewer states than Nixon?
Among the 45 states drawn here, yes: 22 to 23. Kennedy won the Electoral College with larger states such as Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania.
More guides
- The biggest presidential landslides, drawn in colour.Three of the most lopsided US presidential elections drawn as strips of colour, one band per state, and why each landslide holds out in a different place.
- How to read a century of presidential elections in colour.US presidential elections since 1900 drawn as strips of colour, one band per state from west to east. Learn to read the eras from four real strips.
- Election night trivia: read the election from its colours.Presidential election trivia for election night: four quick rounds built on real elections drawn as strips of colour, one band per state. How many can you get?
- When did the South flip from Democrat to Republican?The Solid South in colour: how Southern states went from voting Democratic by 90 points to reliably Republican, told in four election strips from 1920 to 2024.
Now try naming one yourself.
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