Presidential election of 1840
1840 presidential election results
William Henry Harrison (Whig) and running mate John Tyler won with 234 electoral votes and 52.9% of the popular vote.
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Henry Harrison Won | John Tyler | Whig | 234 | 1,275,390 | 52.90% | 19 |
| Martin Van Buren | Richard Johnson | Democratic | 60 | 1,128,854 | 46.80% | 6 |
| Total popular votes counted | 2,411,808 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | William Henry Harrison | Martin Van Buren | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 45.6% | 54.4% 7 | 8.8 | 7 | 62,511 |
| Arkansas | 43.6% | 56.4% 3 | 12.8 | 3 | 11,839 |
| Connecticut | 55.6% 8 | 44.4% | 11.1 | 8 | 56,879 |
| Delaware | 55.0% 3 | 44.9% | 10.1 | 3 | 10,852 |
| Georgia | 55.8% 11 | 44.2% | 11.6 | 11 | 72,322 |
| Illinois | 48.9% | 50.9% 5 | 2.0 | 5 | 93,175 |
| Indiana | 55.5% 9 | 44.0% | 11.6 | 9 | 117,605 |
| Kentucky | 64.2% 15 | 35.8% | 28.4 | 15 | 91,104 |
| Louisiana | 59.7% 5 | 40.3% | 19.5 | 5 | 18,912 |
| Maine | 50.2% 10 | 49.8% | 0.5 | 10 | 92,802 |
| Maryland | 53.8% 10 | 46.2% | 7.7 | 10 | 62,280 |
| Massachusetts | 57.4% 14 | 41.3% | 16.2 | 14 | 126,825 |
| Michigan | 52.1% 3 | 47.9% | 4.2 | 3 | 44,029 |
| Mississippi | 53.4% 4 | 46.6% | 6.9 | 4 | 36,525 |
| Missouri | 43.4% | 56.6% 4 | 13.3 | 4 | 52,923 |
| New Hampshire | 43.9% | 54.7% 7 | 10.8 | 7 | 59,956 |
| New Jersey | 51.7% 8 | 48.1% | 3.6 | 8 | 64,454 |
| New York | 51.2% 42 | 48.2% | 3.0 | 42 | 441,543 |
| North Carolina | 57.7% 15 | 42.3% | 15.4 | 15 | 80,735 |
| Ohio | 54.3% 21 | 45.4% | 8.8 | 21 | 272,890 |
| Pennsylvania | 50.1% 30 | 49.9% | 0.1 | 30 | 287,695 |
| Rhode Island | 60.4% 4 | 37.8% | 22.6 | 4 | 8,631 |
| South Carolina | 11 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Martin van Buren | — | — | — | |
| Tennessee | 55.7% 15 | 44.3% | 11.3 | 15 | 108,145 |
| Vermont | 63.9% 7 | 35.5% | 28.4 | 7 | 50,782 |
| Virginia | 49.4% | 50.6% 23 | 1.3 | 23 | 86,394 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1840
- Pennsylvania William Henry Harrison by 351 votes (0.12 pts)
- Maine William Henry Harrison by 422 votes (0.45 pts)
- Virginia Martin Van Buren by 1,120 votes (1.30 pts)
- Illinois Martin Van Buren by 1,867 votes (2.00 pts)
- New York William Henry Harrison by 13,268 votes (3.00 pts)
- New Jersey William Henry Harrison by 2,317 votes (3.59 pts)
- Michigan William Henry Harrison by 1,837 votes (4.17 pts)
- Mississippi William Henry Harrison by 2,505 votes (6.86 pts)
Flipped since 1836
- Connecticut: Democratic → Whig (8 EV)
- Louisiana: Democratic → Whig (5 EV)
- Maine: Democratic → Whig (10 EV)
- Michigan: Democratic → Whig (3 EV)
- Mississippi: Democratic → Whig (4 EV)
- New York: Democratic → Whig (42 EV)
- North Carolina: Democratic → Whig (15 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Democratic → Whig (30 EV)
- Rhode Island: Democratic → Whig (4 EV)
Why the state electoral votes do not add up to the national total
In 1840 some states had no popular vote; their electors were chosen another way, so their electoral votes appear only in these notes:
- South Carolina: 11 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Martin van Buren
Source: 1840
Questions and answers
Who won the 1840 presidential election?
William Henry Harrison (Whig) won the 1840 election with 234 electoral votes, with John Tyler as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1840?
William Henry Harrison 234; Martin Van Buren 60 (out of 294).
Who won the popular vote in 1840?
William Henry Harrison received the most popular votes: 1,275,390 (52.9%) of 2,411,808 counted.
What was the closest state in 1840?
Pennsylvania, which William Henry Harrison won by 351 votes (0.12 points).
Which states flipped in 1840?
Compared with 1836, 9 states changed party: Connecticut (to Whig), Louisiana (to Whig), Maine (to Whig), Michigan (to Whig), Mississippi (to Whig), New York (to Whig), North Carolina (to Whig), Pennsylvania (to Whig) and Rhode Island (to Whig).
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data