1796 Presidential Election
November 4 – December 7, 1796 · The Founding Era · 276 electoral votes, 139 to win
The first contested presidential election produced a Federalist president and a Democratic-Republican vice president, Adams and Jefferson, an awkwardness the two-vote system made possible. Margin in the Electoral College: three votes.
Elected
John Adams
Federalist
Electoral vote
71 of 276
Popular vote
53.4%
35,726 votes
Turnout
20.1%
The result
| EV share | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Federalist | — | 71 | 35,726 | 53.40% | 9 | |
| Thomas Jefferson | Democratic-Republican | — | 68 | 31,115 | 46.50% | 7 | |
| Aaron Burr | Democratic-Republican | — | 30 | — | — | — | |
| Samuel Adams | Democratic-Republican | — | 15 | — | — | — | |
| Oliver Ellsworth | Federalist | — | 11 | — | — | — | |
| George Clinton | Democratic-Republican | — | 7 | — | — | — | |
| John Jay | Federalist | — | 5 | — | — | — | |
| James Iredell | Federalist | — | 3 | — | — | — | |
| George Washington | Independent | — | 2 | — | — | — | |
| John Henry | Democratic-Republican | — | 2 | — | — | — | |
| Samuel Johnston | Federalist | — | 2 | — | — | — | |
| Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | Federalist | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Before 1824 most electors were chosen by state legislatures, so popular-vote figures cover only a handful of states, and until the 12th Amendment each elector cast two votes, with the runner-up becoming vice president.
Results by state
| Connecticut | John Adams | — | 9 | — |
| Delaware | John Adams | — | 3 | — |
| Georgia | Thomas Jefferson | — | 4 | — |
| Kentucky | Thomas Jefferson | — | 4 | — |
| Maryland | John Adams | — | 7 Adams · 4 Jefferson | — |
| Massachusetts | John Adams | — | 16 | — |
| New Hampshire | John Adams | — | 6 | — |
| New Jersey | John Adams | — | 7 | — |
| New York | John Adams | — | 12 | — |
| North Carolina | Thomas Jefferson | — | 1 Adams · 11 Jefferson | — |
| Pennsylvania | Thomas Jefferson | — | 1 Adams · 14 Jefferson | — |
| Rhode Island | John Adams | — | 4 | — |
| South Carolina | Thomas Jefferson | — | 8 | — |
| Tennessee | Thomas Jefferson | — | 3 | — |
| Vermont | John Adams | — | 4 | — |
| Virginia | Thomas Jefferson | — | 1 Adams · 20 Jefferson | — |
States marked without popular votes chose their electors in the legislature.
The Congress it seated
5th Congress
1797–1799
Unified government
Senate
10–22
Anti-Administration vs Pro-Administration
House
49–57
Anti-Administration vs Pro-Administration