Since 1845, when Congress set an official date for presidential elections, November 4th has held a special role as a day when two-term Presidents get elected to the White House.
Since then, 11 Presidents have been elected to serve two terms in office. Of those 11 Presidents, eight were able to serve two full terms in the White House, and of those eight Presidents, four were elected on a November 4th.
Link: List of presidential election dates
If you’re curious, the four two-term Presidents elected to a first term on November 4th were Grover Cleveland, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Other Presidents elected on a November 4th were Calvin Coolidge (his first full term) in 1924 and James Buchanan in 1856.
This year’s presidential election takes place on November 8, 2016. Franklin Roosevelt is the only two-term President first elected on that date since 1845, but John Kennedy and George H.W. Bush were elected to single terms on a November 8th.
Also, the next election scheduled for a November 4th date is in the year 2036.
Here is a breakdown of the 11 Presidents elected to two terms since 1845, and how their terms fared.
Ulysses Grant (first elected Nov. 3, 1868). Grant served two full terms and tried unsuccessfully for a third term in 1880.
Grover Cleveland (first elected Nov. 4, 1884). Cleveland lost a re-election bid in 1888 in the Electoral College, despite taking the popular vote. He won a second term in 1892.
William McKinley (first elected Nov. 3, 1896). McKinley twice defeated William Jennings Bryan but was assassinated at the start of his second term in 1901.
Woodrow Wilson (first elected Nov. 5, 1912). Wilson served two full terms but was incapacitated at times during his second term after suffering a stroke.
Franklin Roosevelt (first elected Nov. 8, 1932). FDR is the only President to win four elections by popular vote and in the Electoral College. He died shortly after his final term started in 1945.
Dwight Eisenhower (first elected Nov. 4, 1952). Eisenhower served two full terms after a long, distinguished military career.
Richard Nixon (first elected Nov. 5, 1968). Nixon easily won re-election in 1972 but his term was cut short by a resignation related to the Watergate affair.
Ronald Reagan (first elected Nov. 4, 1980). ). Reagan served two full terms after he defeated an incumbent elected President, Jimmy Carter.
Bill Clinton (first elected Nov. 3, 1992). Clinton served two full terms after he defeated an incumbent elected President, George H.W. Bush.
George W. Bush (first elected Nov. 7, 2000). Bush served two full terms, after defeating Al Gore in an election that needed a Supreme Court ruling to sort out contested results in Florida.
Barack Obama (first elected Nov. 4, 2008). Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries and John McCain in the general election to become the first elected black President.
