Statistical Breakdown
For the 50 contested elections in which the heights of all the major-party candidates are known, the tallest candidate won 26 times (about 52 percent of the elections), a shorter candidate won 20 times (about 40 percent of the elections), and the winning candidate and tallest opponent were of the same height four times (about eight percent of the elections).
The tallest candidate has won 19 of 29 elections since 1900 but, conversely, between the 1789 and 1924 elections, shorter candidates won 15 elections while the tallest candidates won only 11.
One important point to note is that there have been three cases where the tallest candidate received more popular votes than the shorter, winning candidate but lost the election at the electoral college. This occurred in the 1876, 1888 and 2000 elections; the tallest candidate still did not receive the most votes in the other election where an opponent won more votes than the winner (1824). This means that the tallest candidate has won the majority of popular votes 29 times (about 58 percent) and a shorter candidate has done this only 17 times (about 34 percent).
These figures lend some support to the belief that the taller candidate prevails in presidential elections, but the win-loss margin is smaller than what has been suggested in the above-mentioned sources.
| Outcome | Electoral vote winner | Popular vote winner |
|---|---|---|
| Tallest candidate among the major parties wins | 52 percent of the time | 58 percent of the time |
| A shorter candidate wins | 40 percent of the time | 34 percent of the time |
| Winner and tallest opponent same height | 8 percent of the time | 8 percent of the time |
Read more about this topic: Heights Of Presidents And Presidential Candidates Of The United States
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