How many US presidents have only been in power for one term? Complete list
Not all United States presidents seek or win re-election. Here is the list of the country’s leaders who were in power for only one term or less.
Many presidents of the United States have sought to stay in power by seeking a second term, and many are successful because there is a high chance for an incumbent to once again win the ballot.
Only a handful of them have chosen not to run for re-election because they earlier promised voters that they would not do so, or due to some unfortunate event.
Aside from those who did not campaign to extend their stay at the White House, other presidents have been limited to serving only once either because they did not win on their second attempt, or they died while still in office.
Complete list of one-term presidents
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The United States has elected 46 presidents in all. 21 of them served a second term, eight of them died in office, while the rest lost their re-election bid or did not run a second time.
Here is the list of presidents who stayed at the White House for only a single term, or less.
| PRESIDENT | TERM | REASON FOR SINGLE TERM |
|---|---|---|
| John Adams | March 4, 1797-March 4, 1801 | Lost re-election bid |
| John Quincy Adams | March 4, 1825-March 4, 1829 | Lost re-election bid |
| Martin Van Buren | March 4, 1837-March 4, 1841 | Lost re-election bid |
| William Henry Harrison | March 4, 1841-April 4, 1841 | Died from pneumonia |
| John Tyler | April 4, 1841-March 4, 1845 | Lost re-election bid |
| James K. Polk | March 4, 1845-March 4, 1849 | Did not run for re-election |
| Zachary Taylor | March 4, 1849-July 9, 1850 | Died from suspected gastroenteritis |
| Millard Fillmore | July 9, 1850-March 4, 1853 | Lost re-election bid |
| Franklin Pierce | March 4, 1853-March 4, 1857 | Lost re-election bid |
| James Buchanan | March 4, 1857-March 4, 1861 | Did not run for re-election |
| Andrew Johnson | April 15, 1865-March 4, 1869 | Did not run for re-election |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | March 4, 1877-March 4, 1881 | Did not run for re-election |
| James A. Garfield | March 4, 1881-Sept. 19, 1881 | Died from complications of assassination attempt |
| Chester A. Arthur | Sept. 19, 1881-March 4, 1885 | Did not run for re-election |
| Benjamin Harrison | March 4, 1889-March 4, 1893 | Lost re-election bid |
| William Howard Taft | March 4, 1909-March 4, 1913 | Lost re-election bid |
| Warren G. Harding | March 4, 1921-Aug. 2, 1923 | Died of a heart attack |
| Herbert Hoover | March 4, 1929-March 4, 1933 | Lost re-election bid |
| John F. Kennedy | Jan. 20, 1961-Nov. 22, 1963 | Assassinated |
| Gerald Ford | Aug. 9, 1974-Jan. 20, 1977 | Lost re-election bid |
| Jimmy Carter | Jan. 20, 1977-Jan. 20, 1981 | Lost re-election bid |
| George H. W. Bush | Jan. 20, 1989-Jan. 20, 1993 | Lost re-election bid |
| Donald Trump | Jan. 20, 2017-Jan. 20, 2021 | Lost re-election bid |
| Joseph Biden | Jan. 20, 2021-July.21, 2024 | Did not run for re-election |
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