A Candidate Can Win Ohio and Florida and Still Lose
The Claim
President Donald Trump is the first candidate to win Ohio and Florida but still to lose a presidential election.
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Emerging story
In December 2020, as states certified their election results and confirmed that Democratic candidate Joe Biden had won the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump continued to push baseless claims that the election was “rigged,” “stolen,” or marred with widespread voter fraud. On Dec. 9, Trump furthered this false narrative by claiming on social media that his election loss was a historic oddity.
Users across social media quickly pointed out that this statement was not true.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar team has determined that the claim is false. In 1960, John F. Kennedy (303 electoral college votes) beat out Richard Nixon (219 electoral college votes) while losing both Ohio and Florida.
Furthermore, it should be noted that it is not required to win both Ohio and Florida in order to win the presidential election. A candidate needs to win 270 electoral college votes in order to secure the presidency.
While Trump is projected to win both Ohio and Florida, he only is projected to receive 232 electoral votes, compared to Biden’s 306.
Trump has repeatedly tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. While winning Ohio and Florida is helpful in securing the presidency, it is by no means necessary in order to win the election. We rate the claim as false.
