United States presidential election, 2016 (We Can Do Better)

The United States presidential election of 2016 was the 58th and most recent quadrennial American presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator John F. Kennedy, Jr., and his running mate, Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon, defeated the Republican Party nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and his running mate, Governor of Indiana Mike Pence. The US Elections Project estimates that 131.7 million Americans cast a ballot in 2016, out of 231 million eligible voters—a turnout rate of 56.9 percent.

Voters selected presidential electors, who in turn will vote, based on the results of their jurisdiction, for a new president and vice president through the Electoral College on December 19, 2016. Kennedy is expected to take office as the 44th President on January 20, 2017; Nixon is expected to take office as the 47th Vice President.

The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses took place between February and June 2016, staggered among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. This nominating process was also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of delegates to a political party's nominating convention, who in turn elected their party's presidential nominee. Businessman and reality television personality Donald Trump became the Republican Party's presidential nominee on July 19, 2016, after defeating U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and 15 other major candidates in the Republican primary elections. U.S. Senator from New York John F. Kennedy, Jr. became the Democratic Party's presidential nominee on July 26, 2016, after defeating Arkansas Senator Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.

A total of 29 third party and independent presidential candidates appeared on the ballot in at least one state. Former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson and physician Jill Stein repeated their 2012 roles as the nominees for the Libertarian Party and Green Party, respectively. With ballot access to the entire electoral college, Johnson won 3.2 million votes. Stein won 1.2 million votes, the most for a Green nominee since Ralph Nader in 2000. Independent Evan McMullin entered the race in hopes of being a spoiler to Trump, planning to split the vote in his home state of Utah, he managed 20 percent of its total votes.

By late in the night of November 8, 2016, initial vote counts indicated that John F. Kennedy, Jr. was projected to obtain over 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 electors in the electoral college required to make him the president-elect of the United States. Kennedy was highly favored by most polls conducted in the days and weeks leading up to the election and defeated Trump in the popular vote and the electoral college, winning 339 electoral votes, 7 more than President Obama did in 2012. Kennedy carried all states Obama carried in 2012 except Ohio, while picking up North Carolina and Missouri.

This was the first time since 1948 when a party won three consecutive presidential elections. It was also the first time since 1944 where both major party candidates were from the same state. The 1944 candidates were also both from New York. Kennedy became the second president to be the son of a previous president, the first being John Q. Adams. Kennedy became the sixth president from New York after Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his uncle Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy became the fourth sitting Senator to become President after his father, John F. Kennedy, his uncle Robert F. Kennedy, and his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama.

Background

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of the provides that the President and Vice President of the United States must be  of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the political parties of the United States, in which case each party devises a method (such as a ) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. Traditionally, the primary elections are s where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the ; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President.

President Barack Obama, a and former  from, is ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to restrictions of the ; in accordance with Section I of the , his term expires at 12 noon on January 20, 2017.

2008 presidential election

 * Further information: United States presidential election, 2008

In the 2008 election, Obama was elected president, defeating the nominee, Governor Rick Perry of Texas, with 53% of the  and 68% of the electoral vote, succeeding two-term Republican President John McCain, the former Senator from. Since the end of 2009, Obama's first year in office, polling companies such as have found Obama's  to be between 40–50%.

2010 midterm elections

 * Further information: United States elections, 2010

In the 2010 midterm elections, the suffered significant losses in Congress; the Republicans gained 63 seats in the House of Representatives – taking back control of the chamber in the process – and six seats in the Senate, though short of achieving a majority. As a result of the Republicans' recapture of the House after losing it to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections, ??? became the 53rd Speaker of the House of Representatives, making Obama the first President in 16 years to lose the House of Representatives in the first half of his first term, in an election that was characterized by the economy's slow recovery.

2012 presidential election

 * Further information: United States presidential election, 2012

In the 2012 presidential election, Obama defeated former Mitt Romney with 51% of the popular vote and 62% of the electoral vote. Meanwhile, despite minor losses, Republicans retained their majority of seats in the while Democrats increased their majority in the.

Speculation about the 2016 campaign began almost immediately following the 2012 campaign, with  magazine declaring the race had begun in an article published on November 8, two days after the 2012 election. Frequently mentioned names for 2016 were Senators John F. Kennedy and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Senator Marco Rubio for the Republicans.

2014 midterm elections

 * Further information: United States elections, 2014

In the 2014 midterm elections, was the lowest since : 36% of eligible voters voted. The Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives, increasing their majority to its largest since March 4, 1929, and came two seats short of a majority in the Senate.