Nixon was one, who were the other three?

Because some of my readers are political junkies just as much as I am, one of you noticed that I said yesterday that Nixon was one of only four presidential candidates to get more than 60% of the popular vote and asked who the other three were.

Because I aim to please, here’s the list:

1920 — Republican Warren Harding is the first presidential candidate to top 60% of the popular vote (he got 60.3%). The Electoral College vote wasn’t quite as lopsided, but the race still wasn’t close. Democrat James Cox won 11 states, or 24% of the available electoral votes.

1936 — FDR beat Republican Alfred Landon with 60.8% of the popular vote. FDR also set the record for the most lopsided Electoral College vote ever, winning 98.5% of the available votes. (Landon carried two states — Vermont and Maine.)

1964 — Lyndon Johnson defeated Republican Barry Goldwater. Johnson took 61% of the popular vote, an all time record. Goldwater carried just six states, and got 10% of the electoral vote.

1972 — And as I mentioned yesterday, Nixon beat McGovern. Nixon got 60% of the popular vote and 96.6% of the electoral vote. McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.