1868 Presidential Election

November 3, 1868 · Civil War & Reconstruction · 294 electoral votes, 148 to win

Grant's margin rested on newly enfranchised Black voters in the Reconstruction South; Seymour carried the white-line vote. 'Let us have peace' met organized Klan violence at the polls.

Elected

Ulysses S. Grant

Republican

Electoral vote

214 of 294

Popular vote

52.7%

3,013,650 votes

Turnout

80.9%

The result

EV share
Ulysses S. GrantRepublicanSchuyler Colfax214
3,013,65052.70%27
Horatio SeymourDemocraticFrancis Preston Blair Jr.80
2,708,74447.30%7

5,722,394 votes recorded for the candidates listed.

Results by state

AlabamaUlysses S. Grant51.3%8Horatio Seymour · 48.8%
ArkansasUlysses S. Grant53.7%5Horatio Seymour · 46.3%
CaliforniaUlysses S. Grant50.2%5Horatio Seymour · 49.8%
ConnecticutUlysses S. Grant51.5%6Horatio Seymour · 48.5%
DelawareHoratio Seymour59.0%3Ulysses S. Grant · 41.0%
FloridaUlysses S. Grant3
GeorgiaHoratio Seymour64.3%9Ulysses S. Grant · 35.7%
IllinoisUlysses S. Grant55.7%16Horatio Seymour · 44.3%
IndianaUlysses S. Grant51.4%13Horatio Seymour · 48.6%
IowaUlysses S. Grant61.9%8Horatio Seymour · 38.1%
KansasUlysses S. Grant68.8%3Horatio Seymour · 31.2%
KentuckyHoratio Seymour74.6%11Ulysses S. Grant · 25.5%
LouisianaHoratio Seymour70.7%7Ulysses S. Grant · 29.3%
MaineUlysses S. Grant62.4%7Horatio Seymour · 37.6%
MarylandHoratio Seymour67.2%7Ulysses S. Grant · 32.8%
MassachusettsUlysses S. Grant69.8%12Horatio Seymour · 30.2%
MichiganUlysses S. Grant57.0%8Horatio Seymour · 43.0%
MinnesotaUlysses S. Grant60.8%4Horatio Seymour · 39.2%
MissouriUlysses S. Grant57.0%11Horatio Seymour · 43.0%
NebraskaUlysses S. Grant63.9%3Horatio Seymour · 36.1%
NevadaUlysses S. Grant55.4%3Horatio Seymour · 44.6%
New HampshireUlysses S. Grant55.2%5Horatio Seymour · 44.8%
New JerseyHoratio Seymour50.9%7Ulysses S. Grant · 49.1%
New YorkHoratio Seymour50.6%33Ulysses S. Grant · 49.4%
North CarolinaUlysses S. Grant53.4%9Horatio Seymour · 46.6%
OhioUlysses S. Grant54.0%21Horatio Seymour · 46.0%
OregonUlysses S. Grant49.6%3Horatio Seymour · 50.4%
PennsylvaniaUlysses S. Grant52.2%26Horatio Seymour · 47.8%
Rhode IslandUlysses S. Grant66.7%4Horatio Seymour · 33.3%
South CarolinaUlysses S. Grant57.9%6Horatio Seymour · 42.1%
TennesseeUlysses S. Grant68.4%10Horatio Seymour · 31.6%
VermontUlysses S. Grant78.6%5Horatio Seymour · 21.4%
West VirginiaUlysses S. Grant58.8%5Horatio Seymour · 41.2%
WisconsinUlysses S. Grant56.3%8Horatio Seymour · 43.8%

The state table accounts for 217 of Ulysses S. Grant's 214 official electoral votes; 77 of Horatio Seymour's 80 official electoral votes. The remainder reflect split delegations, district allocations, faithless electors or votes not counted, as recorded at the electoral count.

The Congress it seated

41th Congress

1869–1871

Unified government

Senate

11–61

Democratic vs Republican

House

73–170

Democratic vs Republican