This Is What It Looks Like to Win the Presidential Election
This Is What It Looks Like to Win the Presidential Election
1 minute read
President-elect Harry Truman jubilantly holds up Chicago Daily Tribune newspaper with headlines "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" which overconfident Republican editors had rushed to print on night of the election.W. Eugene Smith—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
It’s nerve-racking to wait for the results of the presidential election — especially for the nominees. But when the results do finally roll in, the new president-elect often looks like the picture of joy. Whether celebrating privately or with a mass of supporters, a good outcome on Election Day is cause for a smile.
This year’s election is has been an unusually controversial one, and it ends with polls showing a close race. It should all be over in soon, as Americans head to the polls on Tuesday and the world will find out whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will take the nation’s highest office. But, before that person takes office, there will be time to celebrate—just like the presidents-elect who have come before.
Here, TIME takes a look back at what it’s like to win a presidential election.
A crowd of people gathered in Times Square to watch the returns of the election to decide the new American President on Nov. 13, 1928. President-elect Herbert Hoover was returned with an overwhelming majority. APPresident-elect Theodore Roosevelt gives a speech upon winning the election in 1901.Photo 12/UIG/Getty ImagesPresident-elect Calvin Coolidge and first lady Grace Coolidge are shown with their dog at the White House portico in Washington, D.C., after winning the election on Nov. 5, 1924. APPresident-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York holds one of many congratulatory telegrams received on his victory in the presidential election at the Hotel Biltmore in New York City, on Nov. 8, 1932. His wife Eleanor smiles as she reads over his shoulder. APPresident-elect Harry Truman jubilantly holds up Chicago Daily Tribune newspaper with headlines "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" which overconfident Republican editors had rushed to print on night of the election.W. Eugene Smith—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresident-elect Dwight Eisenhower and the First Lady-elect Mamie Eisenhower wave to the cheering crowd in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Commodore in New York City on Nov. 5, 1952. Matty Zimmerman—APPresident-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon salute a cheering crowd at Republican election headquarters after Adlai Stevenson conceded, with the Republicans winning in a landslide in Washington, on Nov. 7, 1956. APFrom left, Rose, Jackie, and President-elect John F. Kennedy on the morning after Election Day in 1960.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresident-elect Jimmy Carter embraces his wife Rosalynn after receiving the final news of his victory in the national general election, on Nov. 2, 1976.Hulton Archive—Getty ImagesPresident-elect Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy wave to supporters after speaking at his election night headquarters in Los Angeles, on Nov. 5, 1980. Reagan swept to an unusually lopsided win over President Jimmy Carter. APThe Reagans smile and gather together during Ronald Reagan's victory, on Nov. 6, 1984.Reed Saxon—APPresident-elect George H.W. Bush waves to the Houston rally honoring him while surrounded by his family after his election to the nation's top office, on Nov. 9, 1988. APPresident-elect Bill Clinton reaches into a crowd of supporters as his wife Hillary and Tipper Gore, right, cheer at the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Nov. 3, 1992. J. Scott Applewhite—APPresident-elect George W. Bush (L) and First Lady Laura Bush (C) are joined by daughter Barbara (2L), former U.S. president George H.W. Bush (2R) and his wife former first lady Barbara (R) watching the election retursn in the White House in November of 2004.Stephen Jaffe—AFP/Getty ImagesPresident-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle embrace on stage during Obama's election night victory rally at Grant Park in Chicago on November 4, 2008. Emmanuel Dunand—AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama is re-elected to office in Chicago on Nov. 6, 2012. Nikki Kahn—The Washington Post/Getty Images
