President-elect of the United States

winning candidate of the U.S. presidential election in the time before inauguration

President-elect of the United States is the title used for an incoming president of the United States between the general election on Election Day in November and noon Eastern Standard Time on Inauguration Day, January 20. During this time, the elected nominee is not in office yet.

President-elect of
the United States
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthThe period between the United States presidential election on Election Day in November, and Noon (Eastern Standard Time) on the following January 20, Inauguration Day
Inaugural holderGeorge Washington
April 6, 1789[1]
Logo of President-elect during Biden-Harris transition

Since the election for U.S. president is not by popular vote, the title is used for the apparent winner.[2] The decision is finalized when votes of the Electoral College, cast in December, are counted by a joint session of Congress in early January.

If the current president has won re-election, they are not given the title of president-elect because he or she is already in office and not waiting to become president. If a new president is scheduled to enter, then the current-standing one is said to hold the office on a lame duck basis.[3]

List of presidents-elect

change
President–elect Party From To
1 George Washington   Nonpartisan April 6, 1789[4] April 30, 1789
2 John Adams   Federalist December 1796 March 4, 1797
3 Thomas Jefferson   Democratic-Republican February 17, 1801[5] March 4, 1801
4 James Madison   Democratic-Republican December 1808 March 4, 1809
5 James Monroe   Democratic-Republican December 1816 March 4, 1817
6 John Quincy Adams   Democratic-Republican February 9, 1825[5] March 4, 1825
7 Andrew Jackson   Democratic December 3, 1828 March 4, 1829
8 Martin Van Buren   Democratic December 7, 1836 March 4, 1837
9 William Henry Harrison   Whig December 2, 1840 March 4, 1841
10 James K. Polk   Democratic December 4, 1844 March 4, 1845
11 Zachary Taylor   Whig November 7, 1848 March 4, 1849
12 Franklin Pierce   Democratic November 2, 1852 March 4, 1853
13 James Buchanan   Democratic November 4, 1856 March 4, 1857
14 Abraham Lincoln   Republican November 6, 1860 March 4, 1861
15 Ulysses S. Grant   Republican November 3, 1868 March 4, 1869
16 Rutherford B. Hayes   Republican March 2, 1877 March 4, 1877
17 James A. Garfield   Republican November 2, 1880 March 4, 1881
18 Grover Cleveland   Democratic November 4, 1884 March 4, 1885
19 Benjamin Harrison   Republican November 6, 1888 March 4, 1889
20 Grover Cleveland   Democratic November 8, 1892 March 4, 1893
21 William McKinley   Republican November 3, 1896 March 4, 1897
22 William Howard Taft   Republican November 3, 1908 March 4, 1909
23 Woodrow Wilson   Democratic November 5, 1912 March 4, 1913
24 Warren G. Harding   Republican November 2, 1920 March 4, 1921
25 Herbert Hoover   Republican November 6, 1928 March 4, 1929
26 Franklin D. Roosevelt   Democratic November 8, 1932 March 4, 1933
27 Dwight D. Eisenhower   Republican November 4, 1952 January 20, 1953
28 John F. Kennedy   Democratic November 8, 1960 January 20, 1961
29 Richard Nixon   Republican November 5, 1968 January 20, 1969
30 Jimmy Carter   Democratic November 2, 1976 January 20, 1977
31 Ronald Reagan   Republican November 4, 1980 January 20, 1981
32 George H. W. Bush   Republican November 8, 1988 January 20, 1989
33 Bill Clinton   Democratic November 3, 1992 January 20, 1993
34 George W. Bush   Republican December 13, 2000[6] January 20, 2001
35 Barack Obama   Democratic November 4, 2008 January 20, 2009
36 Donald Trump   Republican November 8, 2016 January 20, 2017
37 Joe Biden   Democratic November 7, 2020 January 20, 2021

References

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  1. "Journal of the First Session of the Senate of The United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New York, March 4, 1789, And In The Thirteenth Year of the Independence of the Said States". Senate Journal. Gales & Seaton. 1820. pp. 7–8.
  2. "Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-277)". General Services Administration. Archived from the original on 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  3. "Lame Duck Definition". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  4. Date the House and Senate met in joint session to count the electoral votes, and declared Washington elected president
  5. 5.0 5.1 Date of election by House of Representatives
  6. The election date was November 7, 2000. On December 13, 2000, Al Gore conceded following the U.S. Supreme Court's halting of recount efforts in Florida (See: Ian Christopher McCaleb (December 13, 2000). "Bush, now president-elect, signals will to bridge partisan gaps". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2009-02-10.).