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1856 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

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1856 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

← 1852 November 4, 1856 1860 →
 
Nominee James Buchanan John C. Frémont Millard Fillmore
Party Democratic Republican Know Nothing
Home state Pennsylvania California New York
Running mate John C. Breckinridge William L. Dayton Andrew Donelson
Electoral vote 27 0 0
Popular vote 230,686 147,286 82,189
Percentage 50.13% 32.01% 17.86%

County Results

President before election

Franklin Pierce
Democratic

Elected President

James Buchanan
Democratic

The 1856 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 4, 1856, as part of the 1856 United States presidential election. Voters chose 27 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Pennsylvania voted for the Democratic candidate, James Buchanan, over the Republican candidate, John C. Frémont, and the Know Nothing candidate, Millard Fillmore. Buchanan, a lifelong Pennsylvanian, won his home state by a margin of 18.12%.

Following the election, Pennsylvania would establish itself as a Republican stronghold. This would be the final time that Pennsylvania would vote for a Democratic candidate until Franklin D. Roosevelt won the state in 1936, as well as the last time that the state voted for a non-Republican candidate until Theodore Roosevelt’s third-party bid in 1912.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the only time Snyder County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[1] Lebanon County has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate once since, in 1936. Blair, Dauphin, and Philadelphia counties would not vote Democratic again until 1936, and Delaware County until 1964. Lancaster, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties have voted for a Democrat once since, in 1964.

This is the first time Adams county voted for a Democratic party candidate, though it did vote for Andrew Jackson in 1824, who would be the party's first two nominees in 1828 and 1832.

This remains the only presidential election in history in which New York voted Republican while its neighboring state, Pennsylvania, voted Democratic. This is also one of only four occasions where Pennsylvania and Michigan voted for different presidential candidates ever since the Democrats and Republicans became the two major parties in U.S. politics.[2][a]

Results

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1856 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania[3]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic James Buchanan 230,686 50.13% 27
Republican John C. Frémont 147,286 32.01% 0
Know Nothing Millard Fillmore 82,189 17.86% 0
Totals 460,161 100.0% 27

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The other times were in 1932, 1940, and 1976.

References

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  1. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 286-290 ISBN 0786422173
  2. ^ Brownstein, Ronald (September 16, 2024). "Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics". CNN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "1856 Presidential General Election Results – Pennsylvania". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 3, 2012.