Comparing Landslides

GEORGE WASHINGTON swept every state both times he ran. James Monroe did it in 1820, when the roster of states had grown to 24.

Until Nixon, there were only three truly monumental landslides in 20th century America.

> Warren Harding in 1920 captured 60.3% of the vote in defeating James Cox. He won 404 to 127 in electoral votes and lost only eleven states.

> Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 took 60.8% of the popular vote and lost only eight electoral votes (Maine and Vermont) out of 531 to Alf Landon.

> Lyndon Johnson in 1964 won 61.1% of the vote, with 486 electoral votes to Goldwater's 52.

Thus, with 97% of the precincts counted, Nixon's 60.7% of the popular vote nearly equaled L.B.J.'s record. Nixon took 521 of a possible 538 electors, a performance exceeded only by F.D.R.'s 523 out of 531. He matched Roosevelt's record of losing only two states; indeed, he might well argue that he surpassed it since he lost only one state plus the District of Columbia and had two more to capture, as Roosevelt's arena contained only 48 states.

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