Question

In an election between two candidates, a candidate who got 30% of the total votes is defeated by 15000 votes. The number of votes obtained by the winning candidate is:

• A. 26,250
• B. 25,250
• C. 24,250
• D. 26,130

Hint:

In a two-candidate election, the difference in their percentage points directly corresponds to the margin of victory in votes.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Determine the vote share for each candidate. Assuming all votes went to one of the two candidates: Losing candidate's share = 30% of total votes. Winning candidate's share = 100% - 30% = 70% of total votes.

Step 2: Calculate the difference in vote share (the margin of victory). Margin = Winning % - Losing % = 70% - 30% = 40%.

Step 3: Equate the margin percentage to the actual vote difference. We are given that the margin of victory is 15,000 votes. Therefore, 40% of the total votes corresponds to 15,000.

Step 4: Calculate the number of votes for the winning candidate. We need to find the value of 70% of the total votes. We can set up a proportion: If 40% = 15,000 votes, Then 1% = \( \frac{15,000}{40} = 375 \) votes. So, 70% = \( 70 \times 375 = 26,250 \) votes. The winning candidate received 26,250 votes.