Tuesday, November 2, 1852
1852 presidential election results
Franklin Pierce (Democratic) and running mate William R. King won with 254 electoral votes and 50.8% of the popular vote.
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Pierce Won | William R. King | Democratic | 254 | 1,607,510 | 50.80% | 26 |
| Winfield Scott | William Graham | Whig | 42 | 1,386,942 | 43.90% | 4 |
| John P. Hale | George Washington Julian | Free Soil | 0 | 155,210 | 4.90% | 0 |
| Total popular votes counted | 3,161,830 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Franklin Pierce | Winfield Scott | John P. Hale | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 60.9% 9 | 34.1% | 0.0% | 26.8 | 9 | 44,147 |
| Arkansas | 62.2% 4 | 37.8% | 0.0% | 24.4 | 4 | 19,577 |
| California | 53.0% 4 | 46.8% | 0.1% | 6.2 | 4 | 76,810 |
| Connecticut | 49.8% 6 | 45.5% | 4.7% | 4.3 | 6 | 66,781 |
| Delaware | 49.9% 3 | 49.7% | 0.5% | 0.2 | 3 | 12,673 |
| Florida | 60.0% 3 | 40.0% | 0.0% | 20.1 | 3 | 7,193 |
| Georgia | 64.7% 10 | 26.6% | 0.0% | 38.1 | 10 | 62,626 |
| Illinois | 51.9% 11 | 41.8% | 6.4% | 10.1 | 11 | 154,974 |
| Indiana | 52.0% 13 | 44.2% | 3.8% | 7.9 | 13 | 183,176 |
| Iowa | 50.2% 4 | 44.8% | 4.5% | 5.4 | 4 | 35,364 |
| Kentucky | 48.3% | 51.4% 12 | 0.2% | 3.1 | 12 | 111,643 |
| Louisiana | 51.9% 6 | 48.1% | 0.0% | 3.9 | 6 | 35,902 |
| Maine | 50.6% 8 | 39.6% | 9.8% | 11.0 | 8 | 82,182 |
| Maryland | 53.3% 8 | 46.7% | 0.0% | 6.6 | 8 | 75,120 |
| Massachusetts | 35.1% | 41.4% 13 | 22.0% | 6.4 | 13 | 127,103 |
| Michigan | 50.4% 6 | 40.8% | 8.7% | 9.6 | 6 | 82,939 |
| Mississippi | 60.5% 7 | 39.5% | 0.0% | 21.0 | 7 | 44,454 |
| Missouri | 56.4% 9 | 43.6% | 0.0% | 12.8 | 9 | 68,801 |
| New Hampshire | 56.4% 5 | 30.6% | 13.0% | 25.8 | 5 | 50,535 |
| New Jersey | 52.8% 7 | 45.9% | 0.4% | 6.9 | 7 | 83,926 |
| New York | 50.2% 35 | 45.0% | 4.8% | 5.2 | 35 | 522,294 |
| North Carolina | 50.4% 10 | 49.5% | 0.0% | 0.9 | 10 | 78,891 |
| Ohio | 47.9% 23 | 43.2% | 8.8% | 4.7 | 23 | 352,903 |
| Pennsylvania | 51.2% 27 | 46.2% | 2.2% | 5.0 | 27 | 387,920 |
| Rhode Island | 51.4% 4 | 44.8% | 3.8% | 6.5 | 4 | 17,005 |
| South Carolina | 8 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Franklin Pierce | — | — | — | ||
| Tennessee | 49.3% | 50.7% 12 | 0.0% | 1.5 | 12 | 115,486 |
| Texas | 73.5% 4 | 26.5% | 0.0% | 47.0 | 4 | 20,223 |
| Vermont | 29.8% | 50.6% 5 | 19.7% | 20.8 | 5 | 43,838 |
| Virginia | 55.7% 15 | 44.3% | 0.0% | 11.4 | 15 | 132,604 |
| Wisconsin | 52.0% 5 | 34.4% | 13.7% | 17.6 | 5 | 64,740 |
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 1852
- Delaware Franklin Pierce by 25 votes (0.20 pts)
- North Carolina Franklin Pierce by 745 votes (0.94 pts)
- Tennessee Winfield Scott by 1,686 votes (1.46 pts)
- Kentucky Winfield Scott by 3,479 votes (3.12 pts)
- Louisiana Franklin Pierce by 1,392 votes (3.88 pts)
- Connecticut Franklin Pierce by 2,890 votes (4.33 pts)
- Ohio Franklin Pierce by 16,616 votes (4.71 pts)
- Pennsylvania Franklin Pierce by 19,386 votes (5.00 pts)
Flipped since 1848
- Connecticut: Whig → Democratic (6 EV)
- Delaware: Whig → Democratic (3 EV)
- Florida: Whig → Democratic (3 EV)
- Georgia: Whig → Democratic (10 EV)
- Louisiana: Whig → Democratic (6 EV)
- Maryland: Whig → Democratic (8 EV)
- New Jersey: Whig → Democratic (7 EV)
- New York: Whig → Democratic (35 EV)
- North Carolina: Whig → Democratic (10 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Whig → Democratic (27 EV)
- Rhode Island: Whig → Democratic (4 EV)
Why the state electoral votes do not add up to the national total
In 1852 some states had no popular vote; their electors were chosen another way, so their electoral votes appear only in these notes:
- South Carolina: 8 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Franklin Pierce
Source: 1852
Questions and answers
Who won the 1852 presidential election?
Franklin Pierce (Democratic) won the 1852 election with 254 electoral votes, with William R. King as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1852?
Franklin Pierce 254; Winfield Scott 42 (out of 296).
Who won the popular vote in 1852?
Franklin Pierce received the most popular votes: 1,607,510 (50.8%) of 3,161,830 counted.
What was the closest state in 1852?
Delaware, which Franklin Pierce won by 25 votes (0.20 points).
Which states flipped in 1852?
Compared with 1848, 11 states changed party: Connecticut (to Democratic), Delaware (to Democratic), Florida (to Democratic), Georgia (to Democratic), Louisiana (to Democratic), Maryland (to Democratic), New Jersey (to Democratic), New York (to Democratic), North Carolina (to Democratic), Pennsylvania (to Democratic) and Rhode Island (to Democratic).
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data