Louisiana's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1812-2020

The U.S. presidential election has technically been held in Louisiana on 53 occasions since 1812, although the results were invalidated in the 1864 and 1872 elections. Of the 51 valid elections, Louisiana correctly voted for the winning candidate 32 times, giving a success rate of 63 percent. Historically, Louisiana has voted for the more conservative option of the major party candidates; switching from being predominantly Democratic in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, to become a Republican stronghold since the 1960s during the civil rights movement. In 2020, Donald Trump carried the state with almost sixty percent of the popular vote.

Exceptions

Excluding the invalidated results from the Civil War and Reconstruction era, there were a few times where Louisiana did not vote for the more conservative, major party candidate. The 1948 and 1968 elections were the only times in Louisiana's history where third party candidates carried the Pelican State; these were Storm Thurmond and George Wallace respectively, both of which were staunchly right-wing and ran on pro-segregationist platforms. Louisiana supported Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, which was the last time a Democratic nominee carried the majority of the south, and it also supported Bill Clinton in both the 1992 and 1996 elections.

Louisianians in elections

As of 2020, Louisiana has been the home state of just one president; this was Zachary Taylor, who ascended to the presidency after the 1848 election, although he died less than two years into his first term. No other president or major party nominee has come from or resided in Louisiana. Throughout its history, Louisiana's share of electoral votes grew from just three votes in 1812 to ten votes in 1912; it then dropped to nine votes in the 1992 election, and has stood at eight since 2012. It is expected to remain at eight votes in the 2024 election.