2016 United States elections
← 2014          2015          2016          2017          2018 →
Presidential election year
Election dayNovember 8, 2016
Incumbent presidentBarack Obama (Democratic)
Next Congress115th
Presidential election
Partisan controlRepublican gain
Popular vote marginDemocratic +2.1%
Electoral vote
Donald Trump (R)304
Hillary Clinton (D)227
Others7
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Trump/Pence, blue denotes states won by Clinton/Kaine. Numbers indicate electoral votes allotted to the winner of each state. Seven faithless electors cast votes for various individuals.
Senate elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contested34 of 100 seats
Net seat changeDemocratic +2
2016 Senate results
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain
House elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting-members and 6 non-voting delegates
Popular vote marginRepublican +1.1%
Net seat changeDemocratic +6
Map of the 2016 House races (delegate races not shown)
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      Republican gain
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested14 (12 states, two territories)
Net seat changeRepublican +2
Map of the 2016 gubernatorial elections
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      Republican gain
     New Progressive gain      Nonpartisan
Then-incumbent President Barack Obama casts his vote early in Chicago on October 7, 2016

The 2016 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, while Republicans retained control of Congress. This marked the first and most recent time Republicans won or held unified control of the presidency and Congress since 2004.

Trump won his party's nomination after defeating Ted Cruz and several other candidates in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. With Democratic president Barack Obama term-limited, Clinton secured the nomination over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. Trump won the general election with 304 of the 538 electoral votes, although Clinton won the popular vote by a margin of 2.1%.

Democrats won a net gain of two seats in the Senate and six seats in the House of Representatives, but Republicans retained control of both chambers. In the gubernatorial elections, Republicans won a net gain of two seats. Various other state, territorial, and local races and referendums were held throughout the year. This was the first presidential election since 2000, where the winning candidate failed to have coattails in either house of Congress. This is the most recent election where one party simultaneously gained seats in both houses of Congress.

Wall Street banks and other big financial institutions spent a record $2 billion trying to influence the 2016 United States elections.[1][2]

Issues

Trump's right-wing populist nationalist campaign, which promised to "Make America Great Again" and opposed political correctness, illegal immigration, and many United States free-trade agreements[3] garnered extensive free media coverage due to Trump's inflammatory comments.[4][5] Clinton emphasized her extensive political experience, denounced Trump and many of his supporters as a "basket of deplorables", bigots and extremists, and advocated the expansion of President Obama's policies; racial, LGBT, and women's rights; and inclusive capitalism.[6]

Russian interference

The United States government's intelligence agencies concluded the Russian government interfered in the 2016 United States elections.[7][8] A joint US intelligence review stated with high confidence that, "Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. In May 2019, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Russians hacked voting databases in two Florida counties prior to the 2016 presidential election and no election results were compromised.[9][10][11]

Candidate campaigns and exit poll results

The election saw an aggressive set of campaigns from both Trump and Clinton leading up to the election, Clinton's being of particular interest when considering the exit polls and voter demographics.[12] With her gender presenting as the biggest target for Trump's campaign as a point of criticism, the Clinton campaign made a conscious decision to capitalize on the negativity surrounding her gender to appeal to female voters (young women in particular) by co-opting feminist ideals alongside traditional democratic ones. The party's social media campaign was particularly aggressive, with the use of hashtags and celebrity endorsement being crucial to Clinton's appeal to the wider public.[13] This backfired however, when exit polls showed that, while Clinton was popular with the female vote, it was Trump who had won the favour of a majority white female demographic,[14] with some citing political 'wokeness' as a voter turn-off.[15]

Federal elections

Presidential election

The United States presidential election of 2016 was the 58th quadrennial presidential election. The electoral vote distribution was determined by the 2010 census from which presidential electors electing the president and vice president were chosen; a simple majority (270) of the 538 electoral votes were required to win. In one of the greatest election upsets in U.S. History, businessman and reality television personality Donald Trump of New York won the Republican Party's presidential nomination on July 19, 2016, after defeating Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and several other candidates in the Republican primary elections.[1] Former Secretary of State, First Lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on July 26, 2016, after a tough battle with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary elections. This was the first election with a female presidential nominee from a major political party, as well as the first election since 1944 that had major party presidential nominees from the same home state.

Clinton won the popular vote, taking 48% of the vote compared to Trump's 46% of the vote, but Trump won the electoral vote and thus the presidency. The election is one of five presidential elections in American history in which the winner of the popular vote did not win the presidency. Libertarian Gary Johnson won 3.3% of the popular vote, the strongest performance by a third party presidential nominee since the 1996 election. Trump flipped the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Iowa, that were won by Obama in 2008 and 2012. The former two last voted Republican in 1988 and Wisconsin last did so in 1984.

Congressional elections

Senate elections

All seats in Senate Class 3 were up for election. Democrats won a net gain of two seats, but Republicans retained a majority with 52 seats in the 100-member chamber.[16]

House of Representatives elections

All 435 voting seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Additionally, elections were held to select the delegates for the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories, including the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico.

Democrats won a net gain of six seats, but Republicans held a 241-to-194 majority following the elections. Nationwide, Republicans won the popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 1.1 percent.[17]

State elections

Gubernatorial elections

Regular elections were held for the governorships of 11 U.S. states and two U.S. territories. Additionally, a special election was held in Oregon after the resignation of John Kitzhaber as governor. Republicans won a net gain of two seats by winning open seats in Missouri, Vermont, and New Hampshire while Democrats defeated an incumbent in North Carolina. However, Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia switched his party affiliation to Republican shortly after his inauguration, thereby netting Republicans 3 seats and giving them 34 seats nationwide, tying their record set in the 1921 elections.

Legislative elections

In 2016, 44 states held state legislative elections; 86 of the 99 chambers were up for election. Only six states did not hold state legislative elections: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland.[18]

Democrats won both chambers in the Nevada Legislature and the New Mexico House of Representatives, while Republicans won the Kentucky House of Representatives, the Iowa Senate, and the Minnesota Senate. The Alaska House of Representatives flipped from Republican control to a Democrat-led coalition majority, and the Connecticut State Senate went from Democratic control to tied control.[19] Meanwhile, the New York Senate went from Republican to a Republican-led coalition.

Other elections and ballot measures

Many states also held elections for other elected offices, such as attorney general. Many states held ballot measures.[20]

Local elections

Mayoral elections

Mayoral elections were held in many cities, including:

Table of state, territorial, and federal results

This table shows the partisan results of Congressional, gubernatorial, presidential, and state legislative races held in each state and territory in 2016. Note that not all states and territories hold gubernatorial, state legislative, and United States Senate elections in 2016; additionally, the territories do not have electoral votes in American presidential elections, and neither Washington, D.C. nor the territories elect members of the United States Senate. Washington, D.C., and the five inhabited territories each elect one non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives. Nebraska's unicameral legislature and the governorship and legislature of American Samoa are officially non-partisan. In the table, offices/legislatures that are not up for election in 2016 are already filled in for the "after 2016 elections" section, although vacancies or party switching could potentially lead to a flip in partisan control.

Subdivision and PVI[28] Before 2016 elections[29] After 2016 elections[30]
Subdivision PVI Governor State leg. US Senate US House Pres. Governor State leg. US Senate US House
Alabama R+14 Rep Rep Rep Rep 6–1 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 6–1
Alaska R+12 Ind Rep Rep Rep 1–0 Rep Ind Split Rep Rep 1–0
Arizona R+7 Rep Rep Rep Rep 5–4 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 5–4
Arkansas R+14 Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0
California D+9 Dem Dem Dem Dem 39–14 Dem Dem Dem Dem Dem 39–14
Colorado D+1 Dem Split Split Rep 4–3 Dem Dem Split Split Rep 4–3
Connecticut D+7 Dem Dem Dem Dem 5–0 Dem Dem Split Dem Dem 5–0
Delaware D+8 Dem Dem Dem Dem 1–0 Dem Dem Dem Dem Dem 1–0
Florida R+2 Rep Rep Split Rep 17–10 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 16–11
Georgia R+6 Rep Rep Rep Rep 10–4 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 10–4
Hawaii D+20 Dem Dem Dem Dem 2–0 Dem Dem Dem Dem Dem 2–0
Idaho R+18 Rep Rep Rep Rep 2–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 2–0
Illinois D+8 Rep Dem Split Dem 10–8 Dem Rep Dem Dem Dem 11–7
Indiana R+5 Rep Rep Split Rep 7–2 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 7–2
Iowa D+1 Rep Split Rep Rep 3–1 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 3–1
Kansas R+12 Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0
Kentucky R+13 Rep Split Rep Rep 5–1 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 5–1
Louisiana R+12 Dem Rep Rep Rep 5–1 Rep Dem Rep Rep Rep 5–1
Maine D+5 Rep Split Split R/I[lower-alpha 1] Split 1–1 Dem Rep Split Split R/I[lower-alpha 1] Split 1–1
Maryland D+10 Rep Dem Dem Dem 7–1 Dem Rep Dem Dem Dem 7–1
Massachusetts D+10 Rep Dem Dem Dem 9–0 Dem Rep Dem Dem Dem 9–0
Michigan D+4 Rep Rep Dem Rep 9–5 Rep Rep Rep Dem Rep 9–5
Minnesota D+2 Dem Split Dem Dem 5–3 Dem Dem Rep Dem Dem 5–3
Mississippi R+9 Rep Rep Rep Rep 3–1 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 3–1
Missouri R+5 Dem Rep Split Rep 6–2 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 6–2
Montana R+7 Dem Rep Split Rep 1–0 Rep Dem Rep Split Rep 1–0
Nebraska R+12 Rep NP Rep Rep 2–1 Rep Rep NP Rep Rep 3–0
Nevada D+2 Rep Rep Split Rep 3–1 Dem Rep Dem Split Dem 3–1
New Hampshire D+1 Dem Rep Split Split 1–1 Dem Rep Rep Dem Dem 2–0
New Jersey D+6 Rep Dem Dem Split 6–6 Dem Rep Dem Dem Dem 7–5
New Mexico D+4 Rep Split Dem Dem 2–1 Dem Rep Dem Dem Dem 2–1
New York D+11 Dem Split[lower-alpha 2] Dem Dem 18–9 Dem Dem Split Dem Dem 18–9
North Carolina R+3 Rep Rep Rep Rep 10–3 Rep Dem Rep Rep Rep 10–3
North Dakota R+10 Rep Rep Split Rep 1–0 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 1–0
Ohio R+1 Rep Rep Split Rep 12–4 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 12–4
Oklahoma R+19 Rep Rep Rep Rep 5–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 5–0
Oregon D+5 Dem Dem Dem Dem 4–1 Dem Dem Dem Dem Dem 4–1
Pennsylvania D+1 Dem Rep Split Rep 13–5 Rep Dem Rep Split Rep 13–5
Rhode Island D+11 Dem Dem Dem Dem 2–0 Dem Dem Dem Dem Dem 2–0
South Carolina R+8 Rep Rep Rep Rep 6–1 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 6–1
South Dakota R+10 Rep Rep Rep Rep 1–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 1–0
Tennessee R+12 Rep Rep Rep Rep 7–2 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 7–2
Texas R+10 Rep Rep Rep Rep 25–11 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 25–11
Utah R+22 Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 4–0
Vermont D+16 Dem Dem Split D/I[lower-alpha 3] Dem 1–0 Dem Rep Dem Split D/I[lower-alpha 3] Dem 1–0
Virginia Even Dem Rep Dem Rep 8–3 Dem Dem Rep Dem Rep 7–4
Washington D+5 Dem Split[lower-alpha 2] Dem Dem 6–4 Dem Dem Split Dem Dem 6–4
West Virginia R+13 Dem Rep Split Rep 3–0 Rep Dem Rep Split Rep 3–0
Wisconsin D+2 Rep Rep Split Rep 5–3 Rep Rep Rep Split Rep 5–3
Wyoming R+22 Rep Rep Rep Rep 1–0 Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep 1–0
United States Even Rep 31–18 Rep 30–11 Rep 54–46[lower-alpha 4] Rep 247–188 Rep Rep 33–16 Rep 32–13 Rep 52–48[lower-alpha 4] Rep 241–194
Washington, D.C. D+40 Dem[lower-alpha 5] Dem — Dem Dem Dem[lower-alpha 5] Dem — Dem
American Samoa — NP/I[lower-alpha 6] NP Rep — NP/D[lower-alpha 7] NP Rep
Guam Rep Dem Dem Dem[lower-alpha 8] Rep Dem Dem
N. Mariana Islands Rep Split Ind[lower-alpha 9] — Rep Rep Ind[lower-alpha 9]
Puerto Rico PDP/D[lower-alpha 10] PDP PNP/D[lower-alpha 11] PNP/D[lower-alpha 12] PNP PNP/R[lower-alpha 13]
U.S. Virgin Islands Ind Dem Dem Ind Dem Dem
Subdivision PVI Governor State leg. US Senate US House Pres. Governor State leg. US Senate US House
Subdivision and PVI Before 2016 elections After 2016 elections

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 One of Maine's Senators is a Republican, the other (Angus King) is an independent who has caucused with the Democrats since taking office in 2013.
  2. 1 2 In New York and Washington, Democrats control the House and a coalition of Republicans and Democrats control the Senate.
  3. 1 2 One of Vermont's Senators is a Democrat, the other (Bernie Sanders) was elected as an independent but has caucused with the Democrats since taking office in 2007.
  4. 1 2 Including two Independents who caucus with the Democrats.
  5. 1 2 Washington, D.C. does not elect a governor, but it does elect a mayor.
  6. ↑ Although elections for governor of American Samoa are non-partisan, Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga was an Independent when first elected governor in 2014.
  7. ↑ With the 2016 election, Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga affiliated himself with the Democratic Party at the national level.
  8. ↑ Although Guam does not have a vote in the Electoral College, the territory has held a presidential advisory vote for every presidential election since 1980.
  9. 1 2 Delegate Gregorio Sablan was elected as an independent, but he has caucused with the Democrats since taking office in 2009.
  10. ↑ Governor Alejandro García Padilla is a member of the Popular Democratic Party, but also affiliates with the Democratic Party at the national level.
  11. ↑ Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi is a member of the New Progressive Party, but he has caucused with the Democrats since taking office in 2009.
  12. ↑ Governor Ricardo Rosselló is a member of the New Progressive Party, but also affiliates with the Democratic Party at the national level.
  13. ↑ Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González is member of the New Progressive Party, but she has caucused with the Republicans since taking office in 2017.

References

  1. ↑ "Wall Street spends record $2bn on US election lobbying". Financial Times. March 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Wall Street Spent $2 Billion Trying to Influence the 2016 Election". Fortune. March 8, 2017.
  3. ↑ Becker, Bernie (February 13, 2016). "Trump's six populist positions". Politico. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ Nicholas Confessore & Karen Yourish, "Measuring Donald Trump's Mammoth Advantage in Free Media", The New York Times (March 16, 2016).
  5. ↑ Walsh, Kenneth. "How Donald Trump's Media Dominance Is Changing the 2016 Campaign". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  6. ↑ Chozick, Amy (March 4, 2016). "Clinton Offers Economic Plan Focused on Jobs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ Miller, Greg; Entous, Adam. "Declassified report says Putin 'ordered' effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump". The Washington Post.
  8. ↑ Eichenwald, Kurt (January 10, 2017). "Trump, Putin and the hidden history of how Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election". Newsweek.
  9. ↑ "Gov. DeSantis: Russians hacked voting databases in two Florida counties; The GOP governor said the incidents took place in 2016 and no election results were compromised". NBC News. Associated Press. May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  10. ↑ Farrington, Brendan (May 14, 2019). "DeSantis: Russians accessed 2 Florida voting databases". AP News. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  11. ↑ Parks, Miles (May 14, 2019). "Florida Governor Says Russian Hackers Breached 2 Counties In 2016". NPR. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ Jones, Bradley (August 9, 2018). "An examination of the 2016 electorate, based on validated voters". Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  13. ↑ Caughell, Leslie (October 2016). "When Playing the Woman Card is Playing Trump: Assessing the Efficacy of Framing Campaigns as Historic". PS: Political Science & Politics. 49 (4): 736–742. doi:10.1017/S1049096516001438. ISSN 1049-0965. S2CID 158022463.
  14. ↑ "How Groups Voted in 2016 | Roper Center for Public Opinion Research". ropercenter.cornell.edu. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ Yglesias, Matthew. "How Hillary Clinton unleashed the Great Awokening". www.slowboring.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 2016". U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present". United States House of Representatives. 2016. p. 84.
  18. ↑ Warnock, Kae (March 11, 2016). "2016 Legislative Races by State and Legislative Chamber". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  19. ↑ "State legislative elections, 2016".
  20. ↑ "2016 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ Mayer, Steven. "Karen Goh installed as mayor of Bakersfield". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake says she won't seek re-election". Fox News. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  23. ↑ Gossie, Michael (July 15, 2017). "Most Influential Women: Jenn Daniels, Town of Gilbert". AZ Big Media. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  24. ↑ Theen, Andrew (October 26, 2015). "Portland Mayor Charlie Hales withdraws re-election bid". OregonLive. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Mayor Kevin Johnson won't seek re-election". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Steinberg wins Sacramento mayor's race by wide margin". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  27. ↑ "GT Bynum Defeats Incumbent Bartlett For Tulsa Mayor". NewsOn6.com. June 28, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Partisan Voter Index by State, 1994–2014" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2016. PVI in 2014
  29. ↑ "2016 State and Legislative Partisan Composition" (PDF). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  30. ↑ "State & Legislative Partisan Composition (2016 Election)" (PDF). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
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