1860 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

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1860 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg
  1856 November 6, 1860 1864  
  Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Hesler, 1860-restored (cropped).png John C Breckinridge-04775-restored (cropped).jpg
Nominee Abraham Lincoln
Party Republican Democratic (Fusion)
Home state Illinois
Running mate Hannibal Hamlin
Electoral vote270
Popular vote268,030178,871
Percentage56.26%37.54%

Pennsylvania Presidential Election Results 1860.svg
County Results

President before election

James Buchanan
Democratic

Elected President

Abraham Lincoln
Republican

The 1860 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 6, 1860, as part of the 1860 United States presidential election. Voters chose 27 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

The Democratic Party chose its slate of electors before the National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina. Since this was decided before the party split, both supporters of Stephen A. Douglas and supporters of John C. Breckinridge claimed the right for their man to be considered the party candidate and the support of the electoral slate. Eventually, the state party worked out an agreement: if either candidate could win the national election with Pennsylvania's electoral vote, then all her electoral votes would go to that candidate. Of the 27 electoral candidates, 15 were Breckinridge supporters; the remaining 12 were for Douglas. This was often referred to as the Reading electoral slate, because it was in that city that the state party chose it. [1]

Not all of the Douglas supporters agreed to the Reading slate deal and established a separate Douglas-only ticket. This slate comprised the 12 Douglas electoral candidates on the Reading ticket, and 15 additional Douglas supporters. This ticket was usually referred to as the Straight Douglas ticket. Thus 12 electoral candidates appeared on 2 tickets, Reading and Straight Douglas. [1]

Results

1860 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania [2]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Republican Abraham Lincoln 268,03056.26%27
Democratic (Fusion) John C. Breckinridge / Stephen A. Douglas 178,87137.54%0
Democratic ("Straight Douglas")Stephen A. Douglas16,7653.52%0
Constitutional Union John Bell 12,7762.68%0
Totals476,442100.0%27

Results By County

1860 United States Presidential Election in Pennsylvania (By County) [3]
CountyAbraham Lincoln

Republican

John C. Breckinridge/

Stephen A. Douglas Fusion

Stephen A. Douglas

Democratic

("Straight Douglas")

John Bell

Constitutional Union

Total Votes Cast
#%#%#%#%
Adams 2,72450.06%2,64448.59%360.66%380.70%5,442
Allegheny 16,72568.15%6,72527.40%5232.13%5702.32%24,543
Armstrong 3,35560.80%2,10838.20%50.09%500.91%5,518
Beaver 2,82462.66%1,62135.97%40.09%581.29%4,507
Bedford 2,50551.87%2,22446.06%140.29%861.78%4,829
Berks 6,70941.64%8,84654.91%4202.61%1360.84%16,111
Blair 3,05061.48%1,27525.70%2394.82%3978.00%4,961
Bradford 7,09176.17%2,18823.50%90.10%220.24%9,310
Bucks 6,44352.82%5,17442.41%4873.99%950.78%12,199
Butler 3,64060.60%2,33238.82%130.22%220.37%6,007
Cambria 2,27754.81%1,64339.55%1102.65%1242.99%4,154
Carbon 1,75850.97%1,30137.72%36910.70%210.61%3,449
Centre 3,02155.07%2,42344.17%260.47%160.29%5,486
Chester 7,77158.68%5,00837.81%2631.99%2021.53%13,244
Clarion 1,82946.67%2,07853.02%00.00%120.31%3,919
Clearfield 1,70247.80%1,83651.56%00.00%230.65%3,561
Clinton 1,73656.88%1,24440.76%722.36%00.00%3,052
Columbia 1,87343.17%2,36654.53%861.98%140.32%4,339
Crawford 5,77965.49%2,96133.56%620.70%220.25%8,824
Cumberland 3,59351.71%3,18345.81%260.36%1472.12%6,949
Dauphin 4,53162.18%2,39232.83%1952.68%1692.32%7,287
Delaware 3,18162.12%1,50029.29%1522.97%2885.62%5,121
Elk 40743.76%52356.24%00.00%00.00%930
Erie 6,16070.02%2,53128.77%170.19%901.02%8,798
Fayette 3,45449.82%3,30847.71%240.35%1472.12%6,933
Forest 10769.48%4730.52%00.00%00.00%154
Franklin 4,15156.37%2,51534.15%6228.45%761.03%7,364
Fulton 78845.05%91152.09%10.06%492.80%1,749
Greene 1,61437.34%2,66561.66%260.60%170.39%4,322
Huntingdon 3,08964.52%1,62233.88%551.15%220.46%4,788
Indiana 3,91074.07%1,34725.52%00.00%220.42%5,279
Jefferson 1,70459.81%1,13439.80%60.21%50.18%2,849
Juniata 1,49455.23%1,14742.40%20.07%622.29%2,705
Lancaster 13,35267.93%5,13526.12%7283.70%4412.24%19,656
Lawrence 2,93777.86%78820.89%160.42%310.82%3,772
Lebanon 3,86865.58%1,91732.50%100.17%1031.75%5,898
Lehigh 4,17049.28%4,09448.39%1451.71%520.61%8,461
Luzerne 7,30051.76%6,80348.24%00.00%00.00%14,103
Lycoming 3,49456.59%2,40238.91%1873.03%911.47%6,174
McKean 1,07764.49%59135.39%00.00%20.12%1,670
Mercer 3,85559.75%2,54639.46%20.03%490.76%6,452
Mifflin 1,70156.53%1,18939.51%832.76%361.20%3,009
Monroe 84435.21%1,26252.65%29112.14%00.00%2,397
Montgomery 5,82646.18%5,59044.31%5094.03%6905.47%12,615
Montour 1,04348.65%78636.66%31114.51%40.19%2,144
Northampton 3,83944.02%4,59752.71%1151.32%1711.96%8,722
Northumberland 2,42249.46%2,30647.09%971.98%721.47%4,897
Perry 2,37157.00%1,74341.90%80.19%380.91%4,160
Philadelphia 39,22350.78%21,61927.99%9,27412.01%7,1319.23%77,247
Pike 38131.41%83168.51%00.00%10.08%1,213
Potter 1,54574.78%52125.22%00.00%00.00%2,066
Schuylkill 7,56857.78%4,96837.93%4223.22%1391.06%13,097
Snyder 1,67863.25%91034.30%602.26%50.19%2,653
Somerset 3,21873.07%1,17526.68%10.02%100.23%4,404
Sullivan 42946.28%49753.61%00.00%10.11%927
Susquehanna 4,47063.62%2,54836.27%20.03%60.09%7,026
Tioga 4,75478.57%1,27721.10%110.18%90.15%6,051
Union 1,82468.31%81230.41%281.05%60.22%2,670
Venango 2,68057.96%1,93241.78%60.13%60.13%4,624
Warren 2,28467.67%1,08732.21%40.12%00.00%3,375
Washington 4,72453.69%3,97545.18%80.09%911.03%8,798
Wayne 2,85752.16%2,61847.80%00.00%20.04%5,477
Westmoreland 4,88750.33%4,79649.40%130.13%130.13%9,709
Wyoming 1,28650.81%1,23748.87%80.32%00.00%2,531
York 5,12843.60%5,49746.74%5624.78%5744.88%11,761
Total268,03056.26%178,87137.54%16,7653.52%12,7762.68%476,442

Analysis

Pennsylvania voted for the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, over the fusion ticket. Lincoln won Pennsylvania by a margin of 18.72%. Lincoln's victory was the first of eighteen out of nineteen Republican victories in the state, as Pennsylvania would not vote Democratic again until Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, and would not vote for a different candidate again until Theodore Roosevelt’s third-party bid in 1912.

Pennsylvania in the election was one of the four states that had a fusion ticket for the Democratic Party. The other three states were New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

The 1860 presidential election in Pennsylvania began a trend in which the state would vote the same as nearby Michigan in presidential elections, as the two states have voted for president in lockstep with each other on all but three occasions since Lincoln's victory – 1932, 1940, and 1976.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dubin, Michael J., United States Presidential Elections, 1788–1860: The Official Results by County and State, McFarland & Company, 2002, p. 188
  2. "1860 Presidential General Election Results - Pennsylvania". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  3. "Presidential Results: Pennsylvania, 1860". votearchive.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.