Elections in New England

Elections in New England have been defined by the region's political and cultural history, demographics, economy, and its loyalty to particular U.S. political parties. Within the elections in the United States, New England is sometimes viewed in terms of a single voting bloc.

Presidential Parties Nonpartisan Federalist Democratic-Republican National Republican Democratic Anti-Masonic Whig Republican

Bold denotes election winner. Presidential electoral votes in the New England states since 1789Year Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont 1789 Washington Prior to 1820, modern-Maine

was a part of

MassachusettsWashington Washington No election No election 1792 Washington Washington Washington Washington Washington 1796 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams 1800 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams 1804 Pinckney Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson 1808 Pinckney Pinckney Pinckney Pinckney Madison 1812 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Madison 1816 King King Monroe Monroe Monroe 1820 Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe 1824 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams 1828 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams 1832 Clay Jackson Clay Jackson Clay Wirt 1836 Van Buren Van Buren Webster Van Buren Van Buren Harrison 1840 Harrison Harrison Harrison Van Buren Harrison Harrison 1844 Clay Polk Clay Polk Clay Clay 1848 Taylor Cass Taylor Cass Taylor Taylor 1852 Pierce Pierce Scott Pierce Pierce Scott 1856 Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont 1860 Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln 1864 Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln 1868 Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant 1872 Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant 1876 Tilden Hayes Hayes Hayes Hayes Hayes 1880 Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield 1884 Cleveland Blaine Blaine Blaine Blaine Blaine 1888 Cleveland Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison 1892 Cleveland Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison 1896 McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley 1900 McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley 1904 Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt 1908 Taft Taft Taft Taft Taft Taft 1912 Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Taft 1916 Hughes Hughes Hughes Wilson Hughes Hughes 1920 Harding Harding Harding Harding Harding Harding 1924 Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge 1928 Hoover Hoover Smith Hoover Smith Hoover 1932 Hoover Hoover Roosevelt Hoover Roosevelt Hoover 1936 Roosevelt Landon Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Landon 1940 Roosevelt Willkie Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Willkie 1944 Roosevelt Dewey Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Dewey 1948 Dewey Dewey Truman Dewey Truman Dewey 1952 Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower 1956 Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower 1960 Kennedy Nixon Kennedy Nixon Kennedy Nixon 1964 Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson 1968 Humphrey Humphrey Humphrey Nixon Humphrey Nixon 1972 Nixon Nixon McGovern Nixon Nixon Nixon 1976 Ford Ford Carter Ford Carter Ford 1980 Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Carter Reagan 1984 Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan 1988 Bush Bush Dukakis Bush Dukakis Bush 1992 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton 1996 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton 2000 Gore Gore Gore Bush Gore Gore 2004 Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry 2008 Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama 2012 Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama 2016 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton 2020 Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden Biden 2024 Harris Harris Harris Harris Harris HarrisYear Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

In the 2000 presidential election, Democratic candidate Al Gore carried all of the New England states except for New Hampshire, and in 2004, John Kerry, a New Englander himself, won all six New England states. In both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, every congressional district with the exception of New Hampshire's 1st district were won by Gore and Kerry respectively. During the 2008 Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton won the three New England states containing Greater Boston (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire), while Barack Obama won the three that did not (Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont). In the 2008 presidential election, Obama carried all six states by 9 percentage points or more. He carried every county in New England except for Piscataquis County, Maine, which he lost by 4% to Senator John McCain (R-AZ). As of the 2010 census, New England collectively has 33 electoral votes.

The six states of New England voted for the Democratic Presidential nominee in the 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections, and every state but New Hampshire voted for Al Gore in the presidential election of 2000. In the 113th Congress the House delegations from all six states of New England are all Democratic. New England is home to the only two independent politicians currently serving in the U.S. Senate: Angus King, who represents Maine and Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont.

New Hampshire primary

Historically, the New Hampshire primary has been the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years. Held in the state of New Hampshire, it usually marks the beginning of the U.S. presidential election process. Even though few delegates are chosen from New Hampshire, the primary has always been pivotal to both New England and American politics. One college in particular, Saint Anselm College, has been home to numerous national presidential debates and visits by candidates to its campus.

Local factories and diners are valuable photo opportunities for candidates, who hope to use this quintessential New England image to their advantage by portraying themselves as sympathetic to blue collar workers. Media coverage of the primary enables candidates low on funds to "rally back"; an example of this was President Bill Clinton who referred to himself as "The Comeback Kid" following the 1992 primary. National media outlets have converged on small New Hampshire towns, such as during the 2007 and 2008 national presidential debates held at Saint Anselm College in the town of Goffstown. Goffstown and other towns in New Hampshire have been experiencing this influx of national media since the 1950s.

Political party strength Judging purely by party registration rather than voting patterns, New England today is one of the most Democratic regions in the U.S., with four of the six states considered among the most solidly Democratic in the country. New Hampshire and Maine are generally swing states in federal elections. Republicans in New England are considered by both liberals and conservatives to be more moderate (even socially liberal) compared to Republicans in other parts of the U.S.

State Governor Senior U.S. Senator Junior U.S. Senator U.S. House Delegation Upper House Majority Lower House Majority CT N. Lamont R. Blumenthal C. Murphy Democratic 5–0 Democratic 23–13 Democratic 97–54 ME J. Mills S. Collins A. King Democratic 2–0 Democratic 22-13 Democratic 80–65-4-1-1 MA M. Healey E. Warren E. Markey Democratic 9–0 Democratic 37-3 Democratic 129–31 NH K. Ayotte J. Shaheen M. Hassan Democratic 2–0 Republican 16-8 Republican 221-177-1 RI D. McKee J. Reed S. Whitehouse Democratic 2–0 Democratic 33–5 Democratic 65-10 VT P. Scott B. Sanders P. Welch Democratic 1–0 Democratic 16-13-1 Democratic 87-56-4-1-3

See also Politics of New England Elections in Vermont Elections in New Hampshire Elections in Maine Elections in Massachusetts Elections in Connecticut Elections in Rhode Island

Notes Clinton, Biden and Harris won the overall state, but Donald Trump won Maine's 2nd congressional district in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections. Elected as an independent, but caucuses with the Democratic Party.

References