Electoral history of Abraham Lincoln
Encyclopedia
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Illinois House of Representatives
1832 - Lost1834 - Won
1836 - Won
1838 - Won
1840 - Won
United States House of Representatives
1844 - Lost Whig PartyWhig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
nomination to Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker was an English-born American politician, lawyer, military leader. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. A long-time close friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S...
1846
- Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Whig Party: 6,340 (55.53%) - Peter CartwrightPeter CartwrightPeter Cartwright may refer to:* Peter Cartwright , American revivalist and politician in Illinois*Peter Cartwright , husband of the Governor-General of New Zealand, Silvia Cartwright, and chair of the Broadcasting Standards Authority*Peter Cartwright played Elphias Doge in Harry Potter and the...
, Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
: 4,829 (42.29%) - Elihu Walcott, Liberty PartyLiberty Party (1840s)The Liberty Party was a minor political party in the United States in the 1840s . The party was an early advocate of the abolitionist cause...
: 249 (2.18%)
Illinois House of Representatives
1854 - Wins seat in Illinois House of Representatives, declines seat to focus on future candidacy for United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
1855 Senate election
February 8, 1855Source
- Note: At this time, U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by popular vote of the people
Candidate Round 1 ... Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Lyman Trumbull Lyman TrumbullLyman Trumbull was a United States Senator from Illinois during the American Civil War, and co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Education and early career:...
, Democrat5 ? ? 35 51 Joel Matteson Joel Aldrich MattesonJoel Aldrich Matteson was the tenth Governor of Illinois, serving from 1853 to 1857. In 1855, he became the first governor to reside in the Illinois Executive Mansion. After his term as governor ended he was for many years the president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad...
, Democrat0 44 46 47 ? Abraham Lincoln Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Whig45 ? ? 15 Withdrew James Shields James ShieldsJames Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...
(inc.IncumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
), Democrat41 ? ? ? Withdrew
51 votes needed for election
- Candidate won that Round of voting
- Candidate withdrew
- Candidate won Senate seat
Note: Five anti-Nebraska Act Democrats voted for Trumbull rather than vote for Lincoln, a Whig. When pro-Nebraska Act Democrats were unable to reelect Shields, they switched their allegiance to Matteson, who had no stance on the Act. Lincoln then withdrew and threw his support to Trumbull, so that an anti-Nebraska candidate would be assured victory.
Vice Presidential nomination for the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
- William Lewis Dayton: 523 (64.73%)
- Abraham Lincoln: 110 (13.61%)
- Nathaniel Prentice BanksNathaniel Prentice BanksNathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
: 46 (5.69%) - David WilmotDavid WilmotDavid Wilmot was a U.S. political figure. He was a sponsor and eponym of the Wilmot Proviso which aimed to ban slavery in land gained from Mexico in the Mexican-American War of 1846–1848. Wilmot was a Democrat, a Free Soiler, and a Republican during his political career...
: 43 (5.32%) - Charles SumnerCharles SumnerCharles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
: 35 (4.33%) - Jacob CollamerJacob CollamerJacob Collamer was an American politician from Vermont.-Biography:Jacob Collamer was born in Troy, New York. He graduated from the University of Vermont at Burlington, served in the War of 1812, studied law in St. Albans, Vermont, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and served as an officer in a...
: 15 (1.86%) - John Alsop KingJohn Alsop KingJohn Alsop King was an American politician who served as governor of New York.He was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on 3 January 1788 and was educated at Harrow School in England...
: 9 (1.11%) - Samuel C. PomeroySamuel C. PomeroySamuel Clarke Pomeroy was an American Republican Senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century, serving in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives...
: 8 (0.99%) - Thomas FordThomas FordThomas Ford or Tom Ford may refer to:* Thomas F. Ford , California politician and foreign-trade expert* Thomas Ford , English composer, lutenist, and viol player...
: 7 (0.87%) - Henry Charles CareyHenry Charles CareyHenry Charles Carey , a leading 19th century economist of the American School of capitalism. He is now best known for the book The Harmony of Interests, to compare and contrast what he called the "British System" of laissez faire free trade capitalism with the "American System" of developmental...
: 3 (0.37%) - Cassius M. Clay: 3 (0.37%)
- Joshua R. Giddings: 2 (0.25%)
- Whitfield Johnson: 2 (0.25%)
- Aaron Pennington: 1 (0.12%)
- Henry WilsonHenry WilsonHenry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
: 1 (0.12%)
1858 Senate election
- Note: At this time, U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by popular vote of the people
- Stephen A. DouglasStephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
(inc.IncumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
), Democratic: 54 (54.00%) - Abraham Lincoln, Republican: 46 (46.00%)
- Stephen A. Douglas
Republican Party Nomination
| Presidential Ballot | |||||
| Nominee | Home State | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd "corrected" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William H. Seward William H. Seward William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson... |
New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... |
173.5 | 184.5 | 180 | 111.5 |
| Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and... |
Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... |
102 | 181 | 231.5 | 349 |
| Simon Cameron Simon Cameron Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,... |
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... |
50.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Salmon P. Chase Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members... |
Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
49 | 42.5 | 24.5 | 2 |
| Edward Bates Edward Bates Edward Bates was a U.S. lawyer and statesman. He served as United States Attorney General under Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1864... |
Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... |
48 | 35 | 22 | 0 |
| William L. Dayton William L. Dayton William Lewis Dayton was an American politician.A distant relation of U.S. House Speaker and U.S. Constitution signatory Jonathan Dayton, he was born in Basking Ridge, New Jersey to farmer Joel Dayton and his wife... |
New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware... |
14 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| John McLean John McLean John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice on the Ohio and U.S... |
Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
12 | 8 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer was an American politician from Vermont.-Biography:Jacob Collamer was born in Troy, New York. He graduated from the University of Vermont at Burlington, served in the War of 1812, studied law in St. Albans, Vermont, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and served as an officer in a... |
Vermont Vermont Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England... |
10 | 0 | - | - |
| Benjamin F. Wade | Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
3 | 0 | - | - |
| John M. Read John M. Read John Meredith Read was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.-Early life:... |
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... |
1 | 0 | - | - |
| Charles Sumner Charles Sumner Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,... |
Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... |
1 | 0 | - | - |
| John C. Fremont John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder... |
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
1 | 0 | - | - |
| Cassius M. Clay | Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... |
- | 2 | 1 | 1 |
After seeing how close Lincoln was to the 233 votes needed, a delegate from Ohio switched 4 votes from Chase to Lincoln. This triggered an avalanche towards Lincoln with a final count of 364 votes out of 466 cast.
General election
Source (Popular Vote):Source (Electoral Vote):
(a) The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.
Republican Party nomination
| Presidential Ballot | ||
| Ballot | 1st Before Shifts | 1st After Shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and... | 484 | 506 |
| Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America... | 22 | 0 |
General election
Source (Popular Vote):Source (Electoral Vote):
(a) The states in rebellion did not participate in the election of 1864.
(b) One Elector from Nevada did not vote
(c) Andrew Johnson had been a Democrat, and after 1869 was a Democrat. The Republican Party called itself the National Union Party to accommodate the War Democrats in this election.