List of political elections featuring Abraham Lincoln as a candidate
This is the
electoral history of
Abraham Lincoln
. Lincoln served one term in the
United States House of Representatives
from
Illinois
(1847–1849). He later served as the
16th
president of the United States
(1861–1865).
[1]
Illinois House of Representatives
[
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]
[3]
[4]
United States House of Representatives
[
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]
1842:
Despite aspirations for the congressional office, Lincoln did not actively run for the
Whig Party
nomination; as a delegate to the Whig nominating convention, Lincoln helped cut a deal that would give
John J. Hardin
the nomination in 1842,
Edward Dickinson Baker
the nomination in 1844 and Lincoln the nomination in 1846.
[5]
[6]
[7]
1846 elections
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Illinois House of Representatives
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]
1854
- Wins seat in Illinois House of Representatives, declines seat to focus on future candidacy for
United States Senate
.
[9]
The election was held in November 1854, for a term starting in March 1855.
1855 US Senate election
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The election was held on February 8, 1855,
[10]
[11]
[12]
for a term starting in March 1855.
- Note: At this time, U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by vote of the people
Candidate
|
Round 1
|
Round 2
|
Round 3
|
Round 4
|
Round 5
|
Round 6
|
Round 7
|
Round 8
|
Round 9
|
Round 10
|
James Shields
, Democrat
|
41
|
41
|
41
|
41
|
42
|
41
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Abraham Lincoln
, Whig
|
45
|
44
|
41
|
38
|
34
|
36
|
38
|
27
|
15
|
0
|
Lyman Trumbull
, Democrat
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
11
|
10
|
8
|
9
|
18
|
35
|
51
|
William B. Ogden
, Democrat
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
Joel A. Matteson
, Democrat
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
44
|
46
|
47
|
47
|
William Kellogg
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Gustavus Koerner
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
Cyrus Edwards
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Orlando B. Ficklin
, Democrat
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
William A. Denning
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Martin P. Sweet
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Archibald Williams
, Whig
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
J. Young Scammon
, Whig
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Orville H. Browning
, Whig
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
John A. Logan
, Democrat
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
John A. McClernand
, Democrat
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
51 votes needed for election
-
Candidate won that Round of voting
-
Candidate won Senate seat
Note: Five "anti-Nebraska" Democrats (i.e. opposed to the
Kansas?Nebraska Act
) voted for Trumbull rather than vote for Lincoln, a Whig. When pro-Nebraska Democrats were unable to reelect Shields, they switched their allegiance to Matteson, who had no stance on the Act. Lincoln then withdrew and threw his support to Trumbull, so that an anti-Nebraska candidate would be assured victory.
[10]
[11]
1856 presidential election
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Vice presidential nomination for the Republican Party
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1858 US Senate election
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]
- Note: At this time, U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by vote of the people
1860 presidential election
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Republican Party nomination
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]
Upon seeing how close Lincoln was to the 233 votes needed after the third ballot, a delegate from Ohio switched 4 votes from Chase to Lincoln. This triggered an avalanche towards Lincoln with a final count of 364 votes out of 466 cast.
[13]
General election
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]
Source (Popular Vote):
Leip, David.
"1860 Presidential Election Results"
.
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
. Retrieved
July 27,
2005
.
Source (Electoral Vote):
"Electoral College Box Scores 1789?1996"
.
National Archives and Records Administration
. Retrieved
July 31,
2005
.
(a)
The popular vote figures exclude
South Carolina
where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.
1864 presidential election
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]
Republican Party nomination
[
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]
General election
[
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]
Source (Popular Vote):
Leip, David.
"1864 Presidential Election Results"
.
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
. Retrieved
July 27,
2005
.
Source (Electoral Vote):
"Electoral College Box Scores 1789?1996"
.
National Archives and Records Administration
. Retrieved
July 31,
2005
.
(a)
The states in rebellion did not participate in the election of 1864.
(b)
One Elector from Nevada did not vote
(c)
Andrew Johnson had been a Democrat, and after 1869 was a Democrat. The Republican Party called itself the National Union Party to accommodate the War Democrats in this election.
See also
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References
[
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]
- ^
"The History Place presents Abraham Lincoln"
. Retrieved
4 August
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Theodore Calvin, Pease (1923).
Illinois election returns, 1818-1848;
. Collections of the Illinois state historical library, vol. XVIII. [Statistical series, vol. I]. Springfield, Illinois: The Trustees of the Illinois state historical library.
- ^
Bulletin. [Vol. 36, no. 1]
. 2008.
- ^
Bulletin. [Vol. 37, no. 1]
. 2008.
- ^
"Seventh Congressional District Election Return (1846)"
.
Office of the Illinois Secretary of State
.
- ^
"Congressional Nomination of 1843"
.
Mr. Lincoln and Friends
. Retrieved
2023-09-11
.
- ^
"Papers Of Abraham Lincoln"
.
papersofabrahamlincoln.org
. Retrieved
2023-09-11
.
- ^
Miller, Richard Lawrence (10 January 2014).
Lincoln and His World
.
ISBN
9780786461929
. Retrieved
4 August
2015
.
- ^
"History Cooperative - A short history of nearly everything!"
. Archived from
the original
on 5 August 2011
. Retrieved
4 August
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Goodwin, Doris Kearns
(26 September 2006).
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
. Simon & Schuster. pp. 170?173.
ISBN
0-7432-7075-4
.
- ^
a
b
"Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2"
. Retrieved
4 August
2015
.
- ^
Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 1855
. Springfield, IL: Lanphier & Walker, Printers. 1855.
- ^
"Proceedings of the Republican national convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860"
.
Internet Archive
. 1860
. Retrieved
4 August
2015
.
External links
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]