In a normal election, candidates need the popular vote to get enough electoral votes to win. There were only 3 other elections in history that a president-elect won elections by electoral votes and not popular votes and that was George W. Bush in 2000, Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and Rutherford Hayes in 1876. one election were neither candidate reached enough electoral votes to win and had to be decided by the House of Representatives and they chose John Quincy Adams in 1824. It's very rare that a president wins by electoral votes alone.