# Major presidential candidate loosing home state.

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 14, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531 "2002-04-14T04:22:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/1 "2002-04-14T04:22:01Z")

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How often has a major presidential candidate lost his home state?

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### Author: ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/2 "2002-04-14T04:44:07Z")

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[http://www.presidentelect.org/](http://www.presidentelect.org/)

2000: Gore, Tennessee  
1972: McGovern, South Dakota  
1956: Stevenson, Illinois  
1944: Dewey, New York  
1940: Wilkie, New York  
1936: Landon, Kansas  
1932: Hoover, California  
1924: Davis, West Virginia  
1920: Cox, Ohio  
1916: Wilson, New Jersey  
1912: Roosevelt, New York AND Taft, Ohio  
1904: Parker, New York  
1900: Bryan, Nebraska  
1892: Harrison, Indiana  
1888: Cleveland, New York  
1880: Hancock, Pennsylvania  
1872: Greeley, New York  
1864: McClellan, New York  
1860 (If you qualify Douglas and Bell as major): Breckinridge, Kentucky AND Douglas, Illinois  
1856: Fremont, California  
1852: Scott, New Jersey  
1844: Polk, Tennessee  
1840: Van Buren, New York  
1836: White? I’ll get back to this one  
Note: Before 1824 popular vote totals weren’t recorded so I’m relying on electors here:  
1816: King, New York  
1808: Pinckney, South Carolina  
1804: Pinckney, South Carolina  
1800: Burr, New York  
1796: I’ll get back to this one too but I’d presume Adams and Jefferson won their respective states.

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### Author: ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/3 "2002-04-14T04:50:54Z")

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At least two of those cases, 1940 and 1944, need asterisks because the _winning_ candidate (FDR) was also from New York.

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### Author: ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/4 "2002-04-14T04:52:28Z")

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So did 1920, 1904 and 1860

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### Author: ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/5 "2002-04-14T05:01:40Z")

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So am I right in figuring that James Polk (1844) and Woodrow Wilson (1916) are the only winning presidential candidates to lose their home state?

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### Author: ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2002, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-presidential-candidate-loosing-home-state/103531/6 "2002-04-14T11:38:54Z")

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Ahh! Al Gore loosed Tennessee, and now it’s humping Georgia’s leg!  
Yes, grammar/spelling jokes are dumb, but I couldn’t resist. Please don’t loose your arrows in my direction.
