Tuesday, November 5, 1872
1872 presidential election results
Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) and running mate Henry Wilson won with 286 electoral votes and 55.6% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Illinois, R+13.3 (nation R+11.8). It delivered electoral vote number 144 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses S. Grant Won | Henry Wilson | Republican | 286 | 3,598,468 | 55.60% | 31 |
| Horace Greeley | Benjamin Brown | Democratic | 0 | 2,835,315 | 43.80% | 6 |
| Total popular votes counted | 6,470,676 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Horace Greeley died on November 29, 1872, after the popular election, but before the Electoral College met. His electoral votes were split among four individuals including 18 for Benjamin Gratz Brown, Greeley's running mate.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Ulysses S. Grant | Horace Greeley | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 53.2% 10 | 46.8% | 6.4 | 10 | 169,716 |
| Arkansas | 52.2% | 47.8% | 4.4 | — | 79,300 |
| California | 56.4% 6 | 42.5% | 13.9 | 6 | 95,785 |
| Connecticut | 52.4% 6 | 47.6% | 4.8 | 6 | 95,992 |
| Delaware | 51.0% 3 | 46.8% | 4.2 | 3 | 21,822 |
| Florida | 53.5% 4 | 46.5% | 7.0 | 4 | 33,190 |
| Georgia | 45.0% | 55.0% | 9.9 | — | 138,906 |
| Illinois | 56.3% 21 | 43.0% | 13.3 | 21 | 429,971 |
| Indiana | 53.2% 15 | 46.8% | 6.4 | 15 | 349,779 |
| Iowa | 60.8% 11 | 32.9% | 27.9 | 11 | 216,365 |
| Kansas | 66.5% 5 | 32.8% | 33.7 | 5 | 100,512 |
| Kentucky | 45.5% | 54.5% | 5.9 | — | 191,552 |
| Louisiana | 55.7% | 44.3% | 11.4 | — | 128,692 |
| Maine | 67.9% 7 | 32.1% | 35.7 | 7 | 90,523 |
| Maryland | 49.7% | 50.3% | 0.7 | — | 134,447 |
| Massachusetts | 69.3% 13 | 30.7% | 38.6 | 13 | 192,650 |
| Michigan | 62.6% 11 | 35.5% | 27.1 | 11 | 221,569 |
| Minnesota | 61.4% 5 | 38.5% | 22.9 | 5 | 91,339 |
| Mississippi | 63.5% 8 | 36.5% | 27.0 | 8 | 129,457 |
| Missouri | 43.7% | 55.5% | 11.8 | — | 273,059 |
| Nebraska | 70.7% 3 | 29.3% | 41.4 | 3 | 25,932 |
| Nevada | 57.4% 3 | 42.6% | 14.9 | 3 | 14,649 |
| New Hampshire | 53.9% 5 | 45.6% | 8.3 | 5 | 68,906 |
| New Jersey | 54.5% 9 | 45.5% | 8.8 | 9 | 168,467 |
| New York | 53.1% 35 | 46.7% | 6.5 | 35 | 829,692 |
| North Carolina | 57.4% 10 | 42.5% | 14.9 | 10 | 165,163 |
| Ohio | 53.2% 22 | 46.1% | 7.1 | 22 | 529,435 |
| Oregon | 58.8% 3 | 38.5% | 20.3 | 3 | 20,107 |
| Pennsylvania | 62.2% 29 | 37.8% | 24.5 | 29 | 561,629 |
| Rhode Island | 71.9% 4 | 28.1% | 43.9 | 4 | 18,994 |
| South Carolina | 75.7% 7 | 23.8% | 52.0 | 7 | 95,452 |
| Tennessee | 47.8% | 52.2% | 4.3 | — | 179,046 |
| Texas | 41.4% | 58.5% | 17.1 | — | 115,700 |
| Vermont | 78.3% 5 | 20.6% | 57.7 | 5 | 52,961 |
| Virginia | 50.5% 11 | 49.5% | 1.0 | 11 | 185,195 |
| West Virginia | 51.7% 5 | 47.3% | 4.5 | 5 | 62,467 |
| Wisconsin | 54.6% 10 | 44.9% | 9.7 | 10 | 192,255 |
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 1872
- Maryland Horace Greeley by 927 votes (0.69 pts)
- Virginia Ulysses S. Grant by 1,816 votes (0.98 pts)
- Delaware Ulysses S. Grant by 924 votes (4.23 pts)
- Tennessee Horace Greeley by 7,736 votes (4.32 pts)
- Arkansas Ulysses S. Grant by 3,446 votes (4.35 pts)
- West Virginia Ulysses S. Grant by 2,788 votes (4.46 pts)
- Connecticut Ulysses S. Grant by 4,622 votes (4.81 pts)
- Kentucky Horace Greeley by 11,238 votes (5.87 pts)
Source: 1872
Questions and answers
Who won the 1872 presidential election?
Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won the 1872 election with 286 electoral votes, with Henry Wilson as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1872?
Ulysses S. Grant 286 (out of 286).
Who won the popular vote in 1872?
Ulysses S. Grant received the most popular votes: 3,598,468 (55.6%) of 6,470,676 counted.
What was the closest state in 1872?
Maryland, which Horace Greeley won by 927 votes (0.69 points).
Which states flipped in 1872?
Compared with 1868, 7 states changed party: Delaware (to Republican), Louisiana (to Republican), Missouri (to Democratic), New Jersey (to Republican), New York (to Republican), Oregon (to Republican) and Tennessee (to Democratic).
What was the tipping-point state in 1872?
Illinois. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 144; it voted Republican by 13.3 points, against Republican by 11.8 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