No candidate in Trump's position since the advent of TV, modern polling has won the popular vote

Voters on Super Tuesday.
(Image credit: Getty Images/Matthew Cavanaugh)

Can Donald Trump pull off what has so far been impossible in the modern era? He'll have to if he wants to be president. Looking at the last 16 consecutive elections, at this point in the campaign a candidate in Trump's position has never gone on to win the popular vote, Politico reports.

"When you come out of the conventions, the leader in the last 16 elections has not lost the popular vote," said Christopher Wlezien, a University of Texas professor who co-authored The Timeline of Presidential Elections: How Campaigns Do (and Do Not) Matter. Wlezien explained that "not everybody's locked in" at this point in the election season but "there's a lot" who already have their minds made up.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.