Below is a list of major party United States presidential candidates who lost their birth or resident states. While many successful candidates have won the presidency without winning their birth state, only four (James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump) have won election despite losing their state of residence. Nixon, a lifelong Californian, had taken residence in New York after his failed run for governor of California, but later switched back during his presidency and ahead of his reelection.
Election year | Name | Party | State of birth | State of residence | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | Result | Margin | State | Result | Margin | |||
1832 | Andrew Jackson | Democratic | South Carolina | Lost | N/A | Tennessee | Won | 90.84% |
1840 | William Henry Harrison | Whig | Virginia | Lost | –1.3% | Ohio | Won | 8.53% |
1844 | James K. Polk | Democratic | North Carolina | Lost | –4.78% | Tennessee | Lost | –0.10% |
1848 | Zachary Taylor | Whig | Virginia | Lost | –1.60% | Louisiana | Won | 9.18% |
1860 | Abraham Lincoln | Republican | Kentucky | Lost | –44.3% | Illinois | Won | 3.5% |
1864 | Abraham Lincoln | Republican | Kentucky | Lost | –39.6% | Illinois | Won | 8.8% |
1916 | Woodrow Wilson | Democratic | Virginia | Won | 35.16% | New Jersey | Lost | –11.72% |
1968 | Richard Nixon | Republican | California | Won | 3.08% | New York | Lost | –5.46% |
1988 | George H. W. Bush | Republican | Massachusetts | Lost | –7.85% | Texas | Won | 12.60% |
2000 | George W. Bush | Republican | Connecticut | Lost | –17.47% | Texas | Won | 21.32% |
2004 | George W. Bush | Republican | Connecticut | Lost | –10.36% | Texas | Won | 22.87% |
2016 | Donald Trump | Republican | New York | Lost | −22.49% | New York | Lost | −22.49% |
Only candidates who won at least one state (most of them not having necessarily won their birth States and most of the others not having necessarily won their resident states) in the general elections are listed here.