Presidential Roundup

With 11 days left to the election, I present my 11 interesting Presidential Election Facts:

1. FDR wont the election with 98.5% of the electoral vote, the highest percentage ever, higher than George Washington (97.8% in 1792).

2. James Monroe was also more popularly elected in 1820 at 98.3% of the vote..

2. The 3rd runner-up in the infamous Adams v Jefferson election of 1796, Thomas Pinckney, had a father named Charles, a brother named Charles, a cousin named Charles and named his son Charles.

3. Charles Pinckney (the brother) and Charles Pinckney (the cousin) both signed the Constitution. Charles Pinckney (the brother) went on to run for President in 1804 and 1808 and lost both times.

4. From 1808 to 1820, the Vice President was decided by election, not by nomination from the President.

5. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution states that the Senate shall decide the Vice President. This has only happened once, in 1836, when Richard Johnson was chosen.

6. The popular vote doesn't always matter. Three times in U.S. history the popular vote has gone to a different person than the electoral vote: 1876 (Tilden), 1888 (Cleveland), and 2000 (Gore).

7. First president to not run for re-election (excluding those exempted by death): James K. Polk

8. Presidents who died in office: Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, Roosevelt, Kennedy.

9. The logging industry is considered the deadliest job in America, with a fatality rate of 92.4 per 100,000, or 0.09%. Fatality rate for Presidents: 18.6%

10. Roosevelts love to be President. Teddy Roosevelt, President from 1901-1908, ran again in 1912 for a third term, and lost. FDR was successfully elected to 4 terms.

11. 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died, on July 4, 1826. Adams final words were "Jefferson lives!" although Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.