Electoral College
There have been 5 instances where the winner did not win the popular vote: 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016. The losers of these elections (but winners of the popular vote) were from what two states?
New York and Tennessee
What was the tipping point state in 2016?
Wisconsin
Former Vice President and 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore hails from what Southern state?
Tennessee
What president had the nickname of “Old Hickory”?
Andrew Jackson
What state was Joe Biden born in?
Pennsylvania
How many times have a Republican won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College in American history?
0
How many states flipped from Obama to Trump in 2012 to 2016?
6 (Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Florida)
Ever since Harry Truman (excluding Truman’s Vice President Alben Barkley who never sought the Democratic nomination), every Democratic Vice President has been their party’s nominee at one point or another, with Truman and Johnson winning and Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore losing. What differentiated Truman and Johnson from the others?
They were incumbent Presidents at the time of their elections
Name a Silent Generation president.
None so far (but Biden could change that)
What state in 2020 is considered to be “safe” in Republican hands despite having the largest African American population by percentage (38%) outside of DC? The Confederate leader Jefferson Davis is from this state (once a US Senator from here) and this state’s capital is named after Andrew Jackson.
Mississippi (Interesting facts: Lincoln County and Jefferson Davis County are right by each other. There’s also a Lee County and Forrest County, named after the first KKK leader. The Confederate battle flag is also used to be part of the state flag design.)
How much of the popular vote (in percentages) can you theoretically win yet still lose the Electoral College?
100% (faithless electors and/or state legislatures choosing their electors)
What was the tipping point states in 2008 and 2012?
Iowa and Colorado (Note: Obama could have lost the national popular vote in both 2008 and 2012 and still won both elections)
Former New York Senator DeWitt Clinton would have won the 1812 election against James Madison had he won what tipping point state? (Would have required him to win the popular vote by 22.4 percentage points.)
Pennsylvania
What Republican president holds the title for arguably the fattest president ever, weighing over 350 pounds during his term and hailing from the state of Ohio?
William Howard Taft
What is the largest safe GOP state (in terms of electoral votes) in 2020?
Tennessee and/or Indiana (11)
What is the minimum number of states needed in order to win the Electoral College?
11
Name the three presidential candidates who won at least 520 electoral votes in an election?
FDR in 1936 (523), Nixon in 1972 (521), Reagan in 1984 (525)
In the 1940 and 1944 elections, what was FDR’s best state (in terms of margin of victory by percentage)?
Mississippi
Name the only president to come from Indiana? (William Henry Harrison came from Ohio.)
Benjamin Harrison (William Henry Harrison's grandson)
The state of Illinois is considered safe Democratic in 2020 due to the massive margins Democrats get in Cook County. When was the last time Cook County voted for a Republican?
Richard Nixon in 1972
There are (the answer for 400) states minimum needed to win the Electoral College. List all of them.
California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey (can you see any safe GOP state here?)
Name the four presidential candidates since 1824 who won at least 60% of the popular vote?
Harding in 1920 (60.3%), Roosevelt in 1936 (60.8%), Johnson in 1964 (61.1%), Nixon in 1972 (60.7%)
What is the Curse of Tippecanoe?
A curse that affects presidents elected in years that are multiples of 20 (they usually die in office, but Reagan and Bush 43 both survived)
What former US president served in the office of the presidency and then later defected to the Confederacy once the Civil War started?
John Tyler
Let’s define safe states as states where HRC or Trump won by 10+ points in 2016 (excluding Maine’s 2nd congressional district). By this definition, what are the safe electoral votes for both the Democrats and Republicans in 2020?
183-125 Democrats over Republicans