1872 Presidential Election
November 5, 1872 · Civil War & Reconstruction · 352 electoral votes, 177 to win
Grant routed Greeley, the strange Liberal Republican-Democratic fusion nominee, who died between the election and the electoral count, his votes scattering among four men. The only major-party nominee to die mid-election.
Elected
Ulysses S. Grant
Republican
Electoral vote
286 of 352
Popular vote
55.6%
3,598,235 votes
Turnout
72.1%
The result
| EV share | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses S. Grant | Republican | Henry Wilson | 286 | 3,598,235 | 55.60% | 29 | |
| Thomas A. Hendricks | Democratic | — | 42 | — | — | — | |
| Benjamin Gratz Brown | Liberal Republican | — | 18 | — | — | — | |
| Charles J. Jenkins | Democratic | — | 2 | — | — | — | |
| David Davis | Liberal Republican | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
| Horace Greeley | Liberal Republican | Benjamin Gratz Brown | 0 | 2,834,761 | 43.80% | 6 | |
| Charles O'Conor | Straight-Out Democrats | John Quincy Adams II | — | 18,602 | 0.30% | — | |
| James Black | Prohibition | John Russell | — | 5,607 | 0.10% | — |
6,457,205 votes recorded for the candidates listed.
Results by state
| Alabama | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.2% | 10 | Horace Greeley · 46.8% |
| Arkansas | Ulysses S. Grant | 52.2% | — | — |
| California | Ulysses S. Grant | 56.4% | 6 | Horace Greeley · 42.5% |
| Connecticut | Ulysses S. Grant | 52.4% | 6 | Horace Greeley · 47.6% |
| Delaware | Ulysses S. Grant | 51.0% | 3 | Horace Greeley · 46.8% |
| Florida | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.5% | 4 | Horace Greeley · 46.5% |
| Georgia | Horace Greeley | 55.0% | 11 | Ulysses S. Grant · 45.0% |
| Illinois | Ulysses S. Grant | 56.3% | 21 | Horace Greeley · 43.0% |
| Indiana | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.2% | 15 | Horace Greeley · 46.8% |
| Iowa | Ulysses S. Grant | 60.8% | 11 | Horace Greeley · 32.9% |
| Kansas | Ulysses S. Grant | 66.5% | 5 | Horace Greeley · 32.8% |
| Kentucky | Horace Greeley | 52.3% | 12 | Ulysses S. Grant · 46.4% |
| Louisiana | Ulysses S. Grant | 55.7% | — | — |
| Maine | Ulysses S. Grant | 67.9% | 7 | Horace Greeley · 32.1% |
| Maryland | Horace Greeley | 50.3% | 8 | Ulysses S. Grant · 49.7% |
| Massachusetts | Ulysses S. Grant | 69.3% | 13 | Horace Greeley · 30.7% |
| Michigan | Ulysses S. Grant | 62.6% | 11 | Horace Greeley · 35.5% |
| Minnesota | Ulysses S. Grant | 61.4% | 8 | Horace Greeley · 38.5% |
| Mississippi | Ulysses S. Grant | 63.5% | 8 | Horace Greeley · 36.5% |
| Missouri | Horace Greeley | 55.5% | 15 | Ulysses S. Grant · 43.7% |
| Nebraska | Ulysses S. Grant | 70.7% | 3 | Horace Greeley · 29.3% |
| Nevada | Ulysses S. Grant | 57.4% | 3 | Horace Greeley · 42.6% |
| New Hampshire | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.9% | 5 | Horace Greeley · 45.6% |
| New Jersey | Ulysses S. Grant | 54.5% | 9 | Horace Greeley · 45.5% |
| New York | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.2% | 35 | Horace Greeley · 46.8% |
| North Carolina | Ulysses S. Grant | 57.4% | 10 | Horace Greeley · 42.5% |
| Ohio | Ulysses S. Grant | 53.2% | 22 | Horace Greeley · 46.2% |
| Oregon | Ulysses S. Grant | 58.8% | 3 | Horace Greeley · 38.5% |
| Pennsylvania | Ulysses S. Grant | 62.3% | 29 | Horace Greeley · 37.8% |
| Rhode Island | Ulysses S. Grant | 71.9% | 4 | Horace Greeley · 28.1% |
| South Carolina | Ulysses S. Grant | 75.7% | 7 | Horace Greeley · 23.8% |
| Tennessee | Horace Greeley | 52.2% | 12 | Ulysses S. Grant · 47.8% |
| Texas | Horace Greeley | 58.5% | 8 | Ulysses S. Grant · 41.4% |
| Vermont | Ulysses S. Grant | 79.2% | 5 | Horace Greeley · 20.9% |
| Virginia | Ulysses S. Grant | 50.5% | 11 | Horace Greeley · 49.5% |
| West Virginia | Ulysses S. Grant | 51.7% | 5 | Horace Greeley · 47.3% |
| Wisconsin | Ulysses S. Grant | 54.6% | 10 | Horace Greeley · 44.9% |
The state table accounts for 289 of Ulysses S. Grant's 286 official electoral votes; 66 of Horace Greeley's 0 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
43th Congress
1873–1875
Unified government
Senate
19–54
Democratic vs Republican
House
88–203
Democratic vs Republican