How Many U.S. Presidents Served 2 Terms in Office?

For almost two and a half centuries, the United States has been governed by a presidential system. Throughout that time, there have been 45 presidents, but many have served more than one term. How many presidents served 2 terms in office, consecutive terms, and, in rare cases, non-consecutive terms?

The system for voting in the US head of state hasn’t always been the same. The president has always, however, not been elected by popular vote but rather by a designated number of electors or “delegates” from each state. Early on in US history, the system of the popular vote determining the vote of the electors was adopted. As the United States has changed geographically and politically, the number of electors from each state has changed. The first election had 69 electors, while today, the number stands at a total of 538.

The first person to be elected president was, of course, George Washington in 1789. He served his first term until 1792 when he was re-elected. He was the first of 21 presidents who served a second term. Many of them, however, would not end up finishing their second term in office due to unforeseen circumstances.

Two Full Terms

A total of 14 presidents have served two full terms. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all served two terms and each spent a total of 2,922 days in office. George Washington also served two terms. After he was elected, however, there were issues that delayed the official start of his term in office, so he only served 2,865 days in office, slightly fewer than other presidents who served two full terms.

Only one president has served more than two full terms in office. Franklin D. Roosevelt proved so popular that he was elected for a third and even a fourth term, though he died just two months and 23 days into his fourth term. Serving from 1933 to 1945, his popularity stemmed from his efforts to pull the United States out of the Great Depression and steer US foreign policy during World War II.

The Second Amendment, which limits presidents to a maximum of two terms, was introduced in 1947, shortly after Roosevelt’s fourth term.

Not all the presidents elected for a second term completed their term in office. Many of them had their presidency terminated due to unforeseen disasters and unfortunate events. Some of those who served out the remainder of these terms in their place went on to be elected afterward.

Harry S. Truman took over as president after Roosevelt died in office and was later elected. Likewise, Theodore Roosevelt was vice president when President William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt took the reins of the presidency and was subsequently elected to another term. Lyndon Johnson’s presidency was similar. He took over when John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963 and then was elected in 1964 after a landslide victory. Calvin Coolidge also became president after the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding in 1923. Coolidge was then elected to the position of president the following year.

Richard Nixon completed a term in office and was re-elected in 1972, only to have his second term cut short after he resigned following the Watergate Scandal. Meanwhile, William McKinley and Abraham Lincoln had their second terms cut short by being assassinated.

Non-Consecutive Terms: Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump

While many presidents have served two terms, until recently, Grover Cleveland was the only president to have served two non-consecutive terms. He was the first president from the Democratic party to win an election after the Civil War, with broad bipartisan support, taking office in 1885. In 1888, he won the popular vote but lost the electoral college vote to Republican Benjamin Harrison. Nevertheless, he was back in the White House in 1893, having won both the popular and electoral votes. Thus, he is considered the 22nd and 24th president.

He was recently joined as a non-consecutive president by Donald Trump, a wealthy celebrity who unexpectedly named president in 2017, making him the 45th American president. He proved a divisive figure and so narrowly missed re-election in 2021, with the Republican being replaced by Democrat Joe Biden. However, he returned to office as the 47th president in 2025 and is the current incumbent.

The current polarized character of American politics suggests that we can expect more future presidents to serve non-consecutive terms.