Bush 2 won it at his re-election, but Regan was the last Republican to win his initial term with a popular vote (and no incumbent advantage). Also of note is t

Bush 2 won it at his re-election, but Regan was the last Republican to win his initial term with a popular vote (and no incumbent advantage). Also of note is that of the five times the popular vote winner did not win, four of those times it was the Republican who won and once it was the more conservative of the two parties (before the Republicans existed). So yeah, the EC so far has only ever benefited the Conservative Party.