1864 United States elections

Summary

The 1864 United States elections were held on November 8, 1864. National Union President Abraham Lincoln was elected to a second term, while the Republicans added to their majorities in Congress. The elections were held during the American Civil War. Lincoln would be assassinated shortly into his second term.

1864 United States elections
1862          1863          1864          1865          1866
Presidential election year
Election dayNovember 8
Incumbent presidentAbraham Lincoln (Republican)
Next Congress39th
Presidential election
Partisan controlRepublican hold
Popular vote marginRepublican +10.0%
Electoral vote
Abraham Lincoln (R)[1]212[2]
George B. McClellan (D)21
1864 United States presidential election in California1864 United States presidential election in Oregon1864 United States presidential election in Nevada1864 United States presidential election in Kansas1864 United States presidential election in Minnesota1864 United States presidential election in Iowa1864 United States presidential election in Missouri1864 United States presidential election in Louisiana1864 United States presidential election in Wisconsin1864 United States presidential election in Illinois1864 United States presidential election in Michigan1864 United States presidential election in Indiana1864 United States presidential election in Ohio1864 United States presidential election in Kentucky1864 United States presidential election in Tennessee1864 United States presidential election in West Virginia1864 United States presidential election in Maryland1864 United States presidential election in Delaware1864 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania1864 United States presidential election in New Jersey1864 United States presidential election in New York1864 United States presidential election in Connecticut1864 United States presidential election in Rhode Island1864 United States presidential election in Maryland1864 United States presidential election in Vermont1864 United States presidential election in New Hampshire1864 United States presidential election in Maine1864 United States presidential election in Massachusetts1864 United States presidential election in Maryland1864 United States presidential election in Delaware1864 United States presidential election in New Jersey1864 United States presidential election in Connecticut1864 United States presidential election in Rhode Island1864 United States presidential election in Massachusetts1864 United States presidential election in Vermont1864 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
1864 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Lincoln, blue denotes states won by McClellan, and brown denotes Confederate states that did not participate in the election. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.
Senate elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contested14 of 50 seats[3]
Net seat changeRepublican +2[4]
House elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contestedAll 243 voting members
Net seat changeRepublican +40[4]
1864 House of Representatives election results

  Democratic seat
  Republican seat

  Independent seat

In the presidential election, National Union Party nominee President Abraham Lincoln defeated Democratic nominee former General George B. McClellan.[5] Despite factionalism in the Republican Party and earlier concern about the progress of the war, Lincoln easily carried the popular vote and won the greatest share of the electoral vote since James Monroe won re-election unopposed in 1820. Lincoln's win made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson, and the first two-term President unaffiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party or the Democratic Party since John Adams. Lincoln formed a bipartisan electoral alliance with War Democrats by selecting Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate and campaigning on the National Union ticket, making this the first and to date only election in which a winning ticket was composed of members of two separate parties.

Republicans gained seats in the House of Representatives, making their plurality into a majority.[6]

In the Senate, Republicans gained several seats, and continued to hold a majority.[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ For the 1864 election, the Republican presidential ticket was labeled as the National Union Party ticket.
  2. ^ Lincoln won elections held in Louisiana and Tennessee, which collectively had an additional 17 electoral votes, but these electoral votes were not counted by Congress.
  3. ^ Not counting special elections.
  4. ^ a b Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
  5. ^ "1864 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved 25 June 2014.