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Tuesday, November 3, 1868

1868 presidential election results

Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) and running mate Schuyler Colfax won with 214 electoral votes and 52.7% of the popular vote.

Tipping-point state: North Carolina, R+6.8 (nation R+5.4). It delivered electoral vote number 148 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?

Nominees
CandidateRunning matePartyElectoral votesPopular voteShareStates won
Ulysses S. Grant Won Schuyler Colfax Republican 214 3,013,65052.70% 25
Horatio Seymour Francis Blair, Jr. Democratic 80 2,708,74447.30% 8
Total popular votes counted5,722,440

Electoral College map

Full-screen map
Alabama: Ulysses S. Grant +2.5 (8 EV)AlaskaArizonaArkansas: Ulysses S. Grant +7.4 (5 EV)California: Ulysses S. Grant +0.5 (5 EV)ColoradoConnecticut: Ulysses S. Grant +3.1 (6 EV)Delaware: Horatio Seymour +18.0 (3 EV)District of ColumbiaFlorida: 3 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Ulysses GrantGeorgia: Horatio Seymour +28.5 (9 EV)HawaiiIdahoIllinois: Ulysses S. Grant +11.4 (16 EV)Indiana: Ulysses S. Grant +2.8 (13 EV)Iowa: Ulysses S. Grant +23.8 (8 EV)Kansas: Ulysses S. Grant +37.7 (3 EV)Kentucky: Horatio Seymour +49.1 (11 EV)Louisiana: Horatio Seymour +41.4 (7 EV)Maine: Ulysses S. Grant +24.8 (7 EV)Maryland: Horatio Seymour +34.4 (7 EV)Massachusetts: Ulysses S. Grant +39.5 (12 EV)Michigan: Ulysses S. Grant +14.0 (8 EV)Minnesota: Ulysses S. Grant +21.6 (4 EV)MississippiMissouri: Ulysses S. Grant +13.9 (11 EV)MontanaNebraska: Ulysses S. Grant +27.8 (3 EV)Nevada: Ulysses S. Grant +10.8 (3 EV)New Hampshire: Ulysses S. Grant +10.5 (5 EV)New Jersey: Horatio Seymour +1.8 (7 EV)New MexicoNew York: Horatio Seymour +1.2 (33 EV)North Carolina: Ulysses S. Grant +6.8 (9 EV)North DakotaOhio: Ulysses S. Grant +8.0 (21 EV)OklahomaOregon: Horatio Seymour +0.7 (3 EV)Pennsylvania: Ulysses S. Grant +4.4 (26 EV)Rhode Island: Ulysses S. Grant +33.4 (4 EV)South Carolina: Ulysses S. Grant +15.9 (6 EV)South DakotaTennessee: Ulysses S. Grant +36.9 (10 EV)TexasUtahVermont: Ulysses S. Grant +57.1 (5 EV)VirginiaWashingtonWest Virginia: Ulysses S. Grant +17.7 (5 EV)Wisconsin: Ulysses S. Grant +12.5 (8 EV)WyomingVermont: Ulysses S. Grant +57.1 (5 EV)New Hampshire: Ulysses S. Grant +10.5 (5 EV)Massachusetts: Ulysses S. Grant +39.5 (12 EV)Rhode Island: Ulysses S. Grant +33.4 (4 EV)Connecticut: Ulysses S. Grant +3.1 (6 EV)New Jersey: Horatio Seymour +1.8 (7 EV)Delaware: Horatio Seymour +18.0 (3 EV)Maryland: Horatio Seymour +34.4 (7 EV)District of Columbia
Tap a state for its full result. Shading shows the winning margin.

Margin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.

Results by state

Download CSV
State Ulysses S. Grant Horatio Seymour MarginEVTotal votes
Alabama 51.3% 8 48.7% 2.5 8 149,594
Arkansas 53.7% 5 46.3% 7.4 5 41,190
California 50.2% 5 49.8% 0.5 5 108,656
Connecticut 51.5% 6 48.5% 3.1 6 98,570
Delaware 41.0% 59.0% 3 18.0 3 18,571
Florida 3 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Ulysses Grant — — —
Georgia 35.7% 64.3% 9 28.5 9 159,816
Illinois 55.7% 16 44.3% 11.4 16 449,420
Indiana 51.4% 13 48.6% 2.8 13 343,528
Iowa 61.9% 8 38.1% 23.8 8 194,439
Kansas 68.8% 3 31.2% 37.7 3 43,630
Kentucky 25.5% 74.5% 11 49.1 11 155,455
Louisiana 29.3% 70.7% 7 41.4 7 113,488
Maine 62.4% 7 37.6% 24.8 7 112,962
Maryland 32.8% 67.2% 7 34.4 7 92,795
Massachusetts 69.8% 12 30.2% 39.5 12 195,508
Michigan 57.0% 8 43.0% 14.0 8 225,632
Minnesota 60.8% 4 39.2% 21.6 4 71,620
Missouri 57.0% 11 43.0% 13.9 11 152,488
Nebraska 63.9% 3 36.1% 27.8 3 15,291
Nevada 55.4% 3 44.6% 10.8 3 11,689
New Hampshire 55.2% 5 44.8% 10.5 5 68,304
New Jersey 49.1% 50.9% 7 1.8 7 163,133
New York 49.4% 50.6% 33 1.2 33 849,771
North Carolina 53.4% 9 46.6% 6.8 9 181,498
Ohio 54.0% 21 46.0% 8.0 21 518,665
Oregon 49.6% 50.4% 3 0.7 3 22,086
Pennsylvania 52.2% 26 47.8% 4.4 26 655,662
Rhode Island 66.7% 4 33.3% 33.4 4 19,511
South Carolina 57.9% 6 42.1% 15.9 6 107,538
Tennessee 68.4% 10 31.6% 36.9 10 82,757
Vermont 78.6% 5 21.4% 57.1 5 56,224
West Virginia 58.8% 5 41.2% 17.7 5 49,321
Wisconsin 56.3% 8 43.7% 12.5 8 193,628

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 1868

  1. California Ulysses S. Grant by 520 votes (0.48 pts)
  2. Oregon Horatio Seymour by 164 votes (0.74 pts)
  3. New York Horatio Seymour by 9,995 votes (1.18 pts)
  4. New Jersey Horatio Seymour by 2,869 votes (1.76 pts)
  5. Alabama Ulysses S. Grant by 3,746 votes (2.50 pts)
  6. Indiana Ulysses S. Grant by 9,568 votes (2.79 pts)
  7. Connecticut Ulysses S. Grant by 3,008 votes (3.05 pts)
  8. Pennsylvania Ulysses S. Grant by 28,898 votes (4.41 pts)

Flipped since 1864

  • Maryland: Republican → Democratic (7 EV)
  • New York: Republican → Democratic (33 EV)
  • Oregon: Republican → Democratic (3 EV)

Swing in every state, 1864 to 1868 →

Why the state electoral votes do not add up to the national total

In 1868 some states had no popular vote; their electors were chosen another way, so their electoral votes appear only in these notes:

  • Florida: 3 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to Ulysses Grant

Source: 1868

Questions and answers

Who won the 1868 presidential election?

Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won the 1868 election with 214 electoral votes, with Schuyler Colfax as vice president.

How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1868?

Ulysses S. Grant 214; Horatio Seymour 80 (out of 294).

Who won the popular vote in 1868?

Ulysses S. Grant received the most popular votes: 3,013,650 (52.7%) of 5,722,440 counted.

What was the closest state in 1868?

California, which Ulysses S. Grant won by 520 votes (0.48 points).

Which states flipped in 1868?

Compared with 1864, 3 states changed party: Maryland (to Democratic), New York (to Democratic) and Oregon (to Democratic).

What was the tipping-point state in 1868?

North Carolina. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 148; it voted Republican by 6.8 points, against Republican by 5.4 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

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