Ohio's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1804-2020

The state of Ohio has taken part in 55 U.S. presidential elections, voting for the nationwide winner in 45 of these elections, giving a success rate of 82 percent. With this high success rate and relatively high number of electoral votes, Ohio has generally been viewed as a battleground state throughout U.S. history. Before 2020, Ohio had voted for the overall winner in every election since 1964, and had only failed to choose the winner in three elections since 1888. In the 2020 election, however, the Buckeye State somewhat lost its reputation as a bellweather state, as Donald Trump carried the popular vote by an 8.1 percent margin; the same margin as his victory in 2016.

Ohioans in office

Seven U.S. president were born in Ohio, which is the second highest number after Virginia's eight presidents. Despite being the birthplace of so many presidents, all of these men served in office between 1869 and 1925, meaning that seven of the ten presidents who served between these years were from Ohio; the first was Ulysses S. Grant, who was first elected in 1868, and the final was Warren G. Harding, who was elected in 1920. No other major party candidate, before or after these years, was born in Ohio; although William Henry Harrison did live and hold public office there before winning the 1840 election.

Electoral votes

Ohio's allocation of electoral votes has been among the highest in the country since the 1820s, staying between 21 and 26 votes between the 1832 and 2008 elections. However, after peaking at 26 votes in the 1960s, Ohio's allocation of votes has gradually fallen to just 18 votes in recent elections, and is expected to fall again in the 2024 election. It remains to be seen whether Ohio will regain its reputation as a key battleground state in future elections.