Tuesday, November 4, 1856
1856 presidential election results
James Buchanan (Democratic) and running mate John C. Breckinridge won with 174 electoral votes and 45.3% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Indiana, D+10.3 (nation D+12.2). It delivered electoral vote number 149 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan Won | John C. Breckinridge | Democratic | 174 | 1,836,072 | 45.30% | 18 |
| John C. Fremont | William L. Dayton | Republican | 114 | 1,342,345 | 33.10% | 11 |
| Millard Fillmore | Andrew Jackson Donelson | Whig-American | 8 | 873,053 | 21.60% | 1 |
| Total popular votes counted | 4,054,647 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | James Buchanan | John C. Fremont | Millard Fillmore | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 62.1% 9 | 0.0% | 37.9% | 24.2 | 9 | 75,291 |
| Arkansas | 67.1% 4 | 0.0% | 32.9% | 34.2 | 4 | 32,642 |
| California | 48.4% 4 | 18.8% | 32.8% | 15.6 | 4 | 110,255 |
| Connecticut | 43.6% | 53.2% 6 | 3.3% | 9.6 | 6 | 80,360 |
| Delaware | 54.8% 3 | 2.1% | 43.0% | 11.8 | 3 | 14,598 |
| Florida | 56.8% 3 | 0.0% | 43.2% | 13.6 | 3 | 11,191 |
| Georgia | 57.1% 10 | 0.0% | 42.9% | 14.3 | 10 | 99,020 |
| Illinois | 44.1% 11 | 40.2% | 15.7% | 3.9 | 11 | 239,334 |
| Indiana | 50.4% 13 | 40.1% | 9.5% | 10.3 | 13 | 235,401 |
| Iowa | 40.7% | 48.8% 4 | 10.5% | 8.1 | 4 | 92,310 |
| Kentucky | 52.5% 12 | 0.0% | 47.5% | 5.1 | 12 | 142,058 |
| Louisiana | 51.7% 6 | 0.0% | 48.3% | 3.4 | 6 | 42,873 |
| Maine | 35.7% | 61.3% 8 | 3.0% | 25.7 | 8 | 109,689 |
| Maryland | 45.0% | 0.3% | 54.6% 8 | 9.6 | 8 | 86,860 |
| Massachusetts | 23.1% | 63.6% 13 | 11.5% | 40.5 | 13 | 170,048 |
| Michigan | 41.5% | 57.2% 6 | 1.3% | 15.6 | 6 | 125,558 |
| Mississippi | 59.4% 7 | 0.0% | 40.6% | 18.9 | 7 | 59,647 |
| Missouri | 54.4% 9 | 0.0% | 45.6% | 8.9 | 9 | 106,486 |
| New Hampshire | 45.7% | 53.7% 5 | 0.6% | 8.0 | 5 | 69,774 |
| New Jersey | 47.2% 7 | 28.5% | 24.3% | 18.7 | 7 | 99,396 |
| New York | 32.8% | 46.3% 35 | 20.9% | 13.4 | 35 | 596,486 |
| North Carolina | 56.8% 10 | 0.0% | 43.2% | 13.6 | 10 | 84,963 |
| Ohio | 44.2% | 48.5% 23 | 7.3% | 4.3 | 23 | 386,640 |
| Pennsylvania | 50.1% 27 | 32.1% | 17.8% | 18.0 | 27 | 460,937 |
| Rhode Island | 33.7% | 57.8% 4 | 8.5% | 24.2 | 4 | 19,822 |
| South Carolina | 8 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to James Buchanan | — | — | — | ||
| Tennessee | 52.2% 12 | 0.0% | 47.8% | 4.4 | 12 | 133,582 |
| Texas | 66.6% 4 | 0.0% | 33.4% | 33.3 | 4 | 48,005 |
| Vermont | 20.9% | 78.1% 5 | 1.1% | 57.2 | 5 | 50,675 |
| Virginia | 60.0% 15 | 0.0% | 40.0% | 19.9 | 15 | 150,233 |
| Wisconsin | 43.8% | 55.7% 5 | 0.5% | 11.8 | 5 | 120,513 |
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 1856
- Louisiana James Buchanan by 1,455 votes (3.39 pts)
- Illinois James Buchanan by 9,253 votes (3.87 pts)
- Ohio John C. Fremont by 16,623 votes (4.30 pts)
- Tennessee James Buchanan by 5,826 votes (4.36 pts)
- Kentucky James Buchanan by 7,226 votes (5.09 pts)
- New Hampshire John C. Fremont by 5,582 votes (8.00 pts)
- Iowa John C. Fremont by 7,505 votes (8.13 pts)
- Missouri James Buchanan by 9,442 votes (8.87 pts)
Flipped since 1852
- Connecticut: Democratic → Republican (6 EV)
- Iowa: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- Kentucky: Whig → Democratic (12 EV)
- Maine: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
- Maryland: Democratic → Whig-American (8 EV)
- Massachusetts: Whig → Republican (13 EV)
- Michigan: Democratic → Republican (6 EV)
- New Hampshire: Democratic → Republican (5 EV)
- New York: Democratic → Republican (35 EV)
- Ohio: Democratic → Republican (23 EV)
- Rhode Island: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- Tennessee: Whig → Democratic (12 EV)
- Vermont: Whig → Republican (5 EV)
- Wisconsin: Democratic → Republican (5 EV)
Why the state electoral votes do not add up to the national total
In 1856 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 James Buchanan
Source: 1856
Questions and answers
Who won the 1856 presidential election?
James Buchanan (Democratic) won the 1856 election with 174 electoral votes, with John C. Breckinridge as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1856?
James Buchanan 174; John C. Fremont 114; Millard Fillmore 8 (out of 296).
Who won the popular vote in 1856?
James Buchanan received the most popular votes: 1,836,072 (45.3%) of 4,054,647 counted.
What was the closest state in 1856?
Louisiana, which James Buchanan won by 1,455 votes (3.39 points).
Which states flipped in 1856?
Compared with 1852, 14 states changed party: Connecticut (to Republican), Iowa (to Republican), Kentucky (to Democratic), Maine (to Republican), Maryland (to Whig-American), Massachusetts (to Republican), Michigan (to Republican), New Hampshire (to Republican), New York (to Republican), Ohio (to Republican), Rhode Island (to Republican), Tennessee (to Democratic), Vermont (to Republican) and Wisconsin (to Republican).
What was the tipping-point state in 1856?
Indiana. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 149; it voted Democratic by 10.3 points, against Democratic by 12.2 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data