In some cases, a candidate may have gained recognition in multiple states before running for national office, such as 2016 Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton, who was born in Illinois, yet served as First Lady of Arkansas while her husband Bill Clinton was that state's governor from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992, and then served as the United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009.
While many successful candidates have won the presidency without winning their birth state, only four (James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon,[2] and Donald Trump) have won election despite losing their state of residence at the time of the election.
Similarly, many losing presidential candidates have still managed to win their home state, even in elections that were otherwise landslide losses for them.
[3] By contrast, in 2000, Al Gore failed to win the popular vote in his home state, Tennessee, which both he and his father had represented in the Senate, making him the first major-party presidential candidate to have lost his home state since George McGovern lost South Dakota in 1972.
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