Final answer:
A presidential candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election due to the Electoral College system, where winning states by different margins can result in securing fewer electoral votes despite having a higher nationwide vote count.
Step-by-step explanation:
A presidential candidate can win the nation’s popular vote but lose the election due to the structure of the Electoral College. In the United States, the president is not elected directly by the popular vote but indirectly by electors who are part of the Electoral College. This system can lead to a situation where a candidate secures more individual votes across the country (the popular vote) but fails to win a sufficient number of electoral votes in the Electoral College to secure the presidency. This is because most states have a winner-take-all approach where the candidate with the majority of the popular vote in that state receives all the state’s electoral votes, irrespective of the margin of victory.
Therefore, if a candidate wins small states by large margins but loses large states by small margins, they can end up with more total votes nationwide but fewer electoral votes. This situation has occurred in the past, resulting in the election of presidents who did not win the majority of the popular vote. Notable examples include John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W. Bush.