1864 United States elections
The 1864 United States elections elected the members of the 39th United States Congress. Nebraska joined the union during the 39th Congress. This election took place during the Third Party System and the Civil War, and the election was held shortly after the Union victory in the Battle of Atlanta. Republicans kept control of the both houses of Congress. Abe. Lincoln was elected President under his new party that he created, National Union Party
| Presidential election year | |
| Election day | November 8 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | Abraham Lincoln (Republican) |
| Next Congress | 39th |
| Presidential election | |
| Partisan control | Republican Hold |
| Popular vote margin | Republican +10.0% |
| Electoral vote | |
| Abraham Lincoln (R)[1] | 212[2] |
| George B. McClellan (D) | 21 |
  | |
| 1864 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Lincoln, blue denotes states won by McClellan, and brown denotes Confederate states that did not participate in the election. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate. | |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Republican Hold |
| Seats contested | 14 of 50 seats[3] |
| Net seat change | Republican +2[4] |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Republican Hold |
| Seats contested | All 243 voting members |
| Net seat change | Republican +50[4] |
 | |
| 1864 House of Representatives election results
Democratic seat | |
In the Presidential election, National Union Party President Abraham Lincoln defeated Democratic General George B. McClellan.[5] Despite factionalism in the Republican Party and earlier concern about the progress of the war, Lincoln easily carried the popular vote and won the greatest share of the electoral vote since James Monroe won re-election unopposed in 1820. Lincoln's win made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson, and the first two-term President unaffiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party or the Democratic Party since John Adams. Lincoln formed a bipartisan electoral alliance with War Democrats by selecting Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate and campaigning on the National Union ticket, making this the first and to date only election in which a winning ticket was composed of members of two separate parties.
Republicans made major gains in the House, turning their plurality into a majority.[6]
In the Senate, Republicans gained several seats, and continued to hold a commanding majority.[7]
See also
References
- For the 1864 election, the Republican presidential ticket was labeled as the National Union Party ticket.
- Lincoln won elections held in Louisiana and Tennessee, which collectively had an additional 17 electoral votes, but these electoral votes were not counted by Congress.
- Not counting special elections.
- Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
- "1864 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved 25 June 2014.