are denoted by green on the map.
Prior to independence In the first national elections in
1907, the North became a stronghold of the
Progresista Party, the primary opposition party to the
Nacionalista Party at that time.
Third Republic presidential elections Before the election of
Ferdinand Marcos in 1965, it was President
Elpidio Quirino who consistently carried the Ilocano heartland in the presidential elections during which he was a candidate. Despite
Ramon Magsaysay's landslide victory in the
1953 presidential election, Quirino still won in his home province of
Ilocos Sur, as well as
Ilocos Norte,
Abra and
La Union. In the
1965 presidential election, Senator
Ferdinand Marcos of the
Nacionalista Party, from
Ilocos Norte, faced the incumbent president
Diosdado Macapagal of the
Liberal Party, who hailed from
Pampanga. Marcos successfully campaigned on the issues of graft, peace and order, and economic progress, although these had been staple campaign issues since independence. Marcos carried not only the Solid North, but most of
Luzon as well, with Macapagal only carrying the provinces of
Pampanga,
Tarlac and
Bataan. While Marcos won an even larger mandate during his successful reelection bid in
1969, support from the Solid North was not as crucial in his victory. Pampanga and
Antique in the
Visayas were the only provinces that he did not win.
1986 snap presidential election Marcos eventually declared martial law and stayed in power until 1986, when he called for a "
snap election". With his popularity declining after the
assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr., Marcos relied heavily on support from the Solid North in the
1986 election, when he faced Aquino's widow,
Corazon Aquino. Marcos depended on the
Ilocos Region, described as "impregnable to the opposition", and on
Eastern Visayas, the home region of his wife, First Lady
Imelda Marcos. Marcos was eventually declared the winner but allegations of massive fraud erupted into the
People Power Revolution which drove the Marcoses into exile and concluded with Aquino's ascension into the presidency.
Fifth Republic elections Beginning in
1992, the Solid North did not deliver a solid vote for a single candidate. Two figures associated with Ferdinand Marcos, his widow,
Imelda Marcos, and one of his allies,
Danding Cojuangco, won in several provinces of the Solid North. In the vice presidential election, Joseph Estrada won all provinces as running mate of Cojuangco. In
1998, Imelda, who initially planned to run again, endorsed eventual winner
Joseph Estrada, who won in all northern provinces except
Cagayan which was won by
Juan Ponce Enrile. In
2004,
Fernando Poe Jr.'s
campaign was endorsed by Imelda for the presidency. He would win in most provinces except
Benguet,
Ifugao,
Ilocos Sur,
Kalinga, and
Mountain Province. Poe narrowly lost to incumbent president
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but the election would later be tainted by
fraud allegations. In
2010, the Marcoses supported the
candidacy of
Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party, while
Joseph Estrada ran again but without support from the Marcoses. The bloc was divided between Villar, Estrada, and winner
Aquino III in the presidential election; and divided between winner
Jejomar Binay,
Loren Legarda and
KBL candidate
Jay Sonza. Both Villar and Estrada lost the presidential election. Meanwhile, several Marcoses ran in the elections;
Bongbong Marcos, who ran for senator under Villar's slate, won a seat, Imelda Marcos won a seat in the
House of Representatives, and
Imee Marcos won the gubernatorial election in
Ilocos Norte. Bongbong's Senate victory is the highest elected position won by a Marcos since their ouster in 1986. According to Bongbong, his candidacy made the Solid North "intact again." In
2016, Bongbong ran for vice president as the running mate of senator
Miriam Defensor Santiago. Marcos won in all of the Solid North provinces except Batanes, but lost to
Leni Robredo. Marcos later filed an
electoral protest which was dismissed. In the presidential race, the bloc was not as solid, with some voting for
Jejomar Binay, running mate of Estrada in 2010, and
Rodrigo Duterte, who has been endorsed by some alongside Marcos, and
Grace Poe, daughter of Fernando Poe Jr. ==Solid North in the presidential elections==