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But Who Finished Second? Trivia Quiz

Everybody remembers the winners of US presidential elections. But who finished second?

A multiple-choice quiz by thok. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
thok

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
365,702

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
448

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Let's start at the beginning. George Washington won the first US presidential election in 1788, but who finished second in the Electoral College? Hint

John Adams

John Jay

George Clinton

Thomas Jefferson

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Question 2 of 10

2. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson became US president, but only after the House of Representatives broke a tie in the Electoral College on the 36th vote. Who eventually lost the tie-breaker? Hint

Thomas Pinckney

Aaron Burr

Alexander Hamilton

John Adams

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Question 3 of 10

3. James Buchanan was elected US president in 1856, in the process beating the first presidential candidate of the modern Republican party. Who was that candidate? Hint

Millard Fillmore

Abraham Lincoln

John C. Fremont

Andrew Jackson

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Question 4 of 10

4. Abraham Lincoln won th US presidential election in 1860 against three other candidates. Who finished second in the Electoral College? Hint

Stephen A. Douglas

George McClellan

John Bell

John C. Breckinridge

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Question 5 of 10

5. Grover Cleveland famously won election to US President for two non-consecutive terms in 1884 and 1892. Who finished second to him in the Electoral College in 1892? Hint

Benjamin Harrison

James A. Garfield

James G. Blaine

Rutherford B. Hayes

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Question 6 of 10

6. Who finished second in US presidential elections to William McKinley twice, despite his famous "Cross of Gold" speech? Hint

William Howard Taft

William Jennings Bryan

Theodore Roosevelt

Eugene V. Debs

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Question 7 of 10

7. Who finished second to Harry S. Truman in a US presidential election, even though the Chicago Tribune expected him to win? Hint

Wendell Willkie

Strom Thurmond

Thomas E. Dewey

Adlai Stevenson

8. It may seem surprising now, but in 1972 US presidential candidate Richard Nixon received 520 Electoral College votes. Who finished second with a minuscule 17 votes in the Electoral College? Hint

Ted Kennedy

George McGovern

Ed Muskie

Robert F. Kennedy

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Which US presidential candidate finished second in the Electoral College in 2000, despite receiving a majority of the popular vote? Hint

George W. Bush

Al Gore

John Kerry

Bill Clinton

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which US presidential candidate finished second to Barack Obama in 2012, ironically with 47% of the popular vote? Hint

Mitt Romney

George W. Bush

John McCain

Paul Ryan

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Let's start at the beginning. George Washington won the first US presidential election in 1788, but who finished second in the Electoral College?

Answer: John Adams

John Adams received 34 electoral votes, ahead of John Jay, Robert Harrison, and John Rutledge. By finishing second John Adams won the right to be the first vice-president.

2. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson became US president, but only after the House of Representatives broke a tie in the Electoral College on the 36th vote. Who eventually lost the tie-breaker?

Answer: Aaron Burr

Jefferson and Burr ran on the Democratic-Republican ticket as President and Vice-President, but the Constitution originally didn't have separate elections for the two positions. When they received the same number of votes in the Electoral College, many Federalists in the House of Representatives tried to vote for Aaron Burr, with the exception of Alexander Hamilton, who felt Jefferson was "by far not so dangerous a man" as Burr. Hamilton would later lose his life in a duel with Aaron Burr.

The Twelfth Amendment was passed in response to this election and separated the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections.

3. James Buchanan was elected US president in 1856, in the process beating the first presidential candidate of the modern Republican party. Who was that candidate?

Answer: John C. Fremont

Millard Fillmore finished third, while representing the Whig party. He was the last member of the Whig party to receive electoral votes.

4. Abraham Lincoln won th US presidential election in 1860 against three other candidates. Who finished second in the Electoral College?

Answer: John C. Breckinridge

Breckinridge finished second in the Electoral College, ahead of Bell, and then Douglas. However, Douglas finished second in the popular vote. McClellan ran against Lincoln in 1864, despite being his former general.

5. Grover Cleveland famously won election to US President for two non-consecutive terms in 1884 and 1892. Who finished second to him in the Electoral College in 1892?

Answer: Benjamin Harrison

Grover Cleveland beat Harrison in 1892 after losing to him in 1888. Blaine finished second in 1884.

6. Who finished second in US presidential elections to William McKinley twice, despite his famous "Cross of Gold" speech?

Answer: William Jennings Bryan

Bryan also finished second to Taft in 1908.

The "Cross of Gold" speech called for changing the monetary standard so that both gold and silver could be exchanged for currency, at a time when the US was unofficially on the gold standard.

7. Who finished second to Harry S. Truman in a US presidential election, even though the Chicago Tribune expected him to win?

Answer: Thomas E. Dewey

Truman famously posed with a copy of the Tribune with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" the day after the election. Dewey also lost to FDR in the previous election.

8. It may seem surprising now, but in 1972 US presidential candidate Richard Nixon received 520 Electoral College votes. Who finished second with a minuscule 17 votes in the Electoral College?

Answer: George McGovern

McGovern won Electoral College votes in only Massachusetts and Washington D.C.

9. Which US presidential candidate finished second in the Electoral College in 2000, despite receiving a majority of the popular vote?

Answer: Al Gore

Al Gore narrowly lost to George W. Bush, and the election result wasn't resolved until a Supreme Court decision on December 12, over a month after the Election Day.

Surprisingly, Bill Clinton received fewer popular votes for President in 1996 than Gore and Bush received in 2000 and Kerry received in 2004. That's partially because the population of the US increases over time, and partially because Clinton had to deal with a popular third party candidate in Ross Perot.

10. Which US presidential candidate finished second to Barack Obama in 2012, ironically with 47% of the popular vote?

Answer: Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney was secretly recorded at a fundraiser claiming that 47% of the population would support Obama because they were dependent on government aid. Reaction to this comment significantly hurt his campaign.

Source: Author thok

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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