Which presidents were the most effective based on pure results?

I’m going to empirically measure this based on election results. Categories are based on the following:

• How many terms?
• How many congresses with a trifecta?
• Average percentage of the popular vote?

This list does not judge based on the morality of the decisions the president made, only in the president’s ability to gain and keep power.

I scored every president with the following rubric:

• 1 point per term
• 1 point per congress with a trifecta all the way through
• For popular vote:
  • If the president did not win the popular vote: 0 points
  • Won a plurality, but not a majority, of the popular vote as Vice President: 0.25 points
  • Won a plurality, but not a majority, of the popular vote: 0.5 points
  • Won a majority of the popular vote as Vice President: 0.5 points
  • Won a majority of the popular vote: 1 point

Sum these numbers for each president and that is the Presidents power score.

For tie breakers, more terms > popular vote status > congresses

Starting with the most insignificant presidents to the most important president in history:

One term, no trifecta, never won popular vote

John Quincy Adams never won the popular vote and never enjoyed a trifecta. Despite this he was way ahead of his time in terms of policy.

Rutherford Hayes served only one term, never had a trifecta, and never won a plurality of the popular vote. Hayes didn’t even run in 1880.

Gerald Ford is the only president who did not appear on the presidential ballot before serving, and he never enjoyed a trifecta. He lost his reelection campaign.

Hayes and Ford were the least charismatic and forgettable presidents in history. 1 point.

Former Vice President, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote as VP candidate, no trifecta

These two presidents succeeded their predecessors who had died in office. They never ran for President on their own merit. They received a plurality but not a majority of the vote as the Vice Presidential candidate. 1.25 points

• Millard Fillmore
• Chester Alan Arthur

Former Vice Presidents, won popular vote as VP candidate, no trifecta

These two presidents succeeded their predecessors who had died in office. They never ran for President on their own merit. 1.5 points

• Andrew Johnson

One Term, no trifecta, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote

A handful of Presidents have served only one term or less and never had a trifecta. They are forgettable or disastrous. 1.5 points

• Zachary Taylor
• James Buchanan
• James Garfield

One Term, no trifecta, won popular vote

2 points

• George H. W. Bush

Former Vice President, 2 years of trifecta

John Tyler had a trifecta for his first two years. 2.5 points.

One term, 2 years of trifecta, lost popular vote

Benjamin Harrison never won a majority of the popular vote, but they did enjoy two years of trifecta under their presidency, so they did better than Hayes and Ford. 2 points.

One term, 2 years of trifecta, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote

James K Polk receives 2.5 points

One term, 4 years of trifecta, no popular vote

John Adams receives 3 points.

One term, 2 years of trifecta, won popular vote

3 points

• William Henry Harrison, in his defense, he was dead in a month.
• Franklin Pierce
• William Howard Taft
• Herbert Hoover
• Joe Biden

Two terms, no popular vote, 2 years of trifecta

George Washington receives 3 points.

One term, 4 years of trifecta, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote

John Fitzgerald Kennedy receives 3.5 points

Two terms, no trifecta, won a plurality but not a majority once, won popular vote once

Richard Nixon receives 3.5 points

One term, 4 years of trifecta, won popular vote

From our purely results driven calculation, these 5 presidents had only one term, but they were popular enough for their party to win in the midterm. 4 points

• Martin van Buren
• Warren Harding
• James Earl Carter

Two terms, won a plurality but not a majority of the vote twice, 4 years of trifecta

Grover Cleveland receives 4 points

Two terms, Won the popular vote twice, no trifecta

Ronald Reagan receives 4 points

One term, won a majority once, won a majority as VP, 4 years of trifecta

Calvin Coolidge receives 4.5 points

Two terms, won a majority once, only a plurality once, 2 years of trifecta

Bill Clinton receives 4.5 points

Two terms, won a plurality but not a majority once, lost the popular vote once, 4 years of trifecta

Donald Trump receives 4.5 points, so far

Two terms, Lost the popular vote at least once, won the popular vote once, 4 years of trifecta

George W. Bush receives 5 points

Two terms, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote twice, 4 years of trifecta

Woodrow Wilson receives 5 points

Two terms, won the popular vote twice, 2 years of trifecta

5 points

• Dwight Eisenhower
• Barack Obama

Two terms, won a plurality but not a majority of the popular vote as Vice President, won a majority

Lyndon Baines Johnson receives 5.25 points.

Two terms, won the popular vote once, 4 years of trifecta

Harry Truman receives 5.5 points

Two terms, won a majority of the the popular vote once, won a plurality of the popular vote but not a majority once, 4 years of trifecta

Abraham Lincoln receives 5.5 points

Two terms, no popular vote, 8 years of trifecta

From the Era of Good Feelings, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe score 6 points each.

Two terms, won the popular vote twice, 6 years of trifecta

7 points each

Andrew Jackson was a major political force for his era, even if many of his decisions were major human rights violations.

Ulysses S. Grant kept a trifecta until being a victim of the 6 year itch.

William McKinley was a major political force for his era, winning the popular vote twice and having a constant trifecta before his assassination in 1901.

Two terms, won the popular vote once, 8 years of trifecta

Theodore Roosevelt is similar to Truman, differing only in how he always had a trifecta, putting him slightly higher in our list. He receives 7.5 points

Four terms, won the popular vote four times, 14 years of trifecta

You knew he had to be on top, the only president to win the popular vote four times, Hitler’s arch-enemy, defender of the poor, builder of infrastructure, undoubtedly the most influential president in the history of these United States, his face is on the dime, he receives a whopping 15 points by my rubric, the most important president in history could only be:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

 

Download the source as an xlsx file here: http://www.stidmatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/presidential_influence.xlsx