Election of 1856
LINKS
| Abbreviations | Definitions | Sources |
BASICS
| Category | Result |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | Franklin Pierce (D) |
| Prior streak | D (1) |
| Prior five elections | D (3), W (2) |
| Population | 27,838,856 |
| States | 31 |
| Electoral votes | 296 |
| Popular votes | 4,054,647 |
| Voter turnout | 78.9% |
FIELD OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES
| Candidate | Party | PI | Age | State | Position | Nom | Win | CS | ROP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan | D | 5.1 | 65.52 | Pennsylvania | Former Cabinet member | X | X | 79.35 | 156 |
| John Fremont | R | 5.3 | 43.78 | California | Former senator | X | — | 68.16 | 129 |
| Millard Fillmore | AW | 7.4 | 56.82 | New York | Former president | — | — | 45.15 | 61 |
| Franklin Pierce | D | 8.1 | 51.94 | New Hampshire | President | — | — | 43.05 | 53 |
| Stephen Douglas | D | 7.1 | 43.52 | Illinois | Senator | — | — | 18.86 | 27 |
| John McLean | R | 4.2 | 71.64 | Ohio | Supreme Court justice | — | — | 15.19 | 36 |
GENERAL ELECTION
| Candidate | Party | SC | PV | PV% | EV | EV% | PV*EQ | EV*EQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan | D | 19 | 1,836,072 | 45.28% | 174 | 58.78% | 45,283,153 | 316 |
| John Fremont | R | 11 | 1,342,345 | 33.11% | 114 | 38.51% | 33,106,335 | 207 |
| Millard Fillmore | AW | 1 | 873,053 | 21.53% | 8 | 2.70% | 21,532,158 | 15 |
REGIONAL SPLITS
| Candidate | Party | PV% | East | South | Midwest | West | EV | East | South | Midwest | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan | D | 45.28% | 38.85% | 57.29% | 45.60% | 48.38% | 174 | 37 | 100 | 33 | 4 |
| John Fremont | R | 33.11% | 43.19% | 0.00% | 43.03% | 18.78% | 114 | 76 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| Millard Fillmore | AW | 21.53% | 17.79% | 42.71% | 11.36% | 32.83% | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PV BY STATES
| State | Total PV | Buchanan | Fremont | Fillmore | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 75,291 | 46,739 | — | 28,552 | — |
| Arkansas | 32,642 | 21,910 | — | 10,732 | — |
| California | 110,255 | 53,342 | 20,704 | 36,195 | 14 |
| Connecticut | 80,360 | 35,028 | 42,717 | 2,615 | — |
| Delaware | 14,598 | 8,004 | 310 | 6,275 | 9 |
| Florida | 11,191 | 6,358 | — | 4,833 | — |
| Georgia | 99,020 | 56,581 | — | 42,439 | — |
| Illinois | 239,334 | 105,528 | 96,275 | 37,531 | — |
| Indiana | 235,401 | 118,670 | 94,375 | 22,356 | — |
| Iowa | 92,310 | 37,568 | 45,073 | 9,669 | — |
| Kentucky | 142,058 | 74,642 | — | 67,416 | — |
| Louisiana | 42,873 | 22,164 | — | 20,709 | — |
| Maine | 109,689 | 39,140 | 67,279 | 3,270 | — |
| Maryland | 86,860 | 39,123 | 285 | 47,452 | — |
| Massachusetts | 170,048 | 39,244 | 108,172 | 19,626 | 3,006 |
| Michigan | 125,558 | 52,136 | 71,762 | 1,660 | — |
| Mississippi | 59,647 | 35,456 | — | 24,191 | — |
| Missouri | 106,486 | 57,964 | — | 48,522 | — |
| New Hampshire | 69,774 | 31,891 | 37,473 | 410 | — |
| New Jersey | 99,396 | 46,943 | 28,338 | 24,115 | — |
| New York | 596,486 | 195,878 | 276,004 | 124,604 | — |
| North Carolina | 84,963 | 48,243 | — | 36,720 | — |
| Ohio | 386,640 | 170,874 | 187,497 | 28,121 | 148 |
| Pennsylvania | 460,937 | 230,772 | 147,963 | 82,202 | — |
| Rhode Island | 19,822 | 6,680 | 11,467 | 1,675 | — |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | 133,582 | 69,704 | — | 63,878 | — |
| Texas | 48,005 | 31,995 | — | 16,010 | — |
| Vermont | 50,675 | 10,569 | 39,561 | 545 | — |
| Virginia | 150,233 | 90,083 | — | 60,150 | — |
| Wisconsin | 120,513 | 52,843 | 67,090 | 580 | — |
| Total | 4,054,647 | 1,836,072 | 1,342,345 | 873,053 | 3,177 |
PV% BY STATES
| State | PV winner | Buchanan | Fremont | Fillmore | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Buchanan | 62.08% | — | 37.92% | — |
| Arkansas | Buchanan | 67.12% | — | 32.88% | — |
| California | Buchanan | 48.38% | 18.78% | 32.83% | 0.01% |
| Connecticut | Fremont | 43.59% | 53.16% | 3.25% | — |
| Delaware | Buchanan | 54.83% | 2.12% | 42.99% | 0.06% |
| Florida | Buchanan | 56.81% | — | 43.19% | — |
| Georgia | Buchanan | 57.14% | — | 42.86% | — |
| Illinois | Buchanan | 44.09% | 40.23% | 15.68% | — |
| Indiana | Buchanan | 50.41% | 40.09% | 9.50% | — |
| Iowa | Fremont | 40.70% | 48.83% | 10.47% | — |
| Kentucky | Buchanan | 52.54% | — | 47.46% | — |
| Louisiana | Buchanan | 51.70% | — | 48.30% | — |
| Maine | Fremont | 35.68% | 61.34% | 2.98% | — |
| Maryland | Fillmore | 45.04% | 0.33% | 54.63% | — |
| Massachusetts | Fremont | 23.08% | 63.61% | 11.54% | 1.77% |
| Michigan | Fremont | 41.52% | 57.15% | 1.32% | — |
| Mississippi | Buchanan | 59.44% | — | 40.56% | — |
| Missouri | Buchanan | 54.43% | — | 45.57% | — |
| New Hampshire | Fremont | 45.71% | 53.71% | 0.59% | — |
| New Jersey | Buchanan | 47.23% | 28.51% | 24.26% | — |
| New York | Fremont | 32.84% | 46.27% | 20.89% | — |
| North Carolina | Buchanan | 56.78% | — | 43.22% | — |
| Ohio | Fremont | 44.20% | 48.49% | 7.27% | 0.04% |
| Pennsylvania | Buchanan | 50.07% | 32.10% | 17.83% | — |
| Rhode Island | Fremont | 33.70% | 57.85% | 8.45% | — |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Buchanan | 52.18% | — | 47.82% | — |
| Texas | Buchanan | 66.65% | — | 33.35% | — |
| Vermont | Fremont | 20.86% | 78.07% | 1.08% | — |
| Virginia | Buchanan | 59.96% | — | 40.04% | — |
| Wisconsin | Fremont | 43.85% | 55.67% | 0.48% | — |
| Total | Buchanan | 45.28% | 33.11% | 21.53% | 0.08% |
EV BY STATES
| State | Total EV | Buchanan | Fremont | Fillmore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| California | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Delaware | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Indiana | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Maine | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Maryland | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Michigan | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| New York | 35 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Virginia | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 296 | 174 | 114 | 8 |
MARGINS AND FLIPS
| State | PV winner | Runnerup | Gap (votes) | Gap (points) | Flip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Buchanan | Fillmore | 18,187 | 24.16 | 9,094 |
| Arkansas | Buchanan | Fillmore | 11,178 | 34.24 | 5,590 |
| California | Buchanan | Fillmore | 17,147 | 15.55 | 8,574 |
| Connecticut | Fremont | Buchanan | 7,689 | 9.57 | 3,845 |
| Delaware | Buchanan | Fillmore | 1,729 | 11.84 | 865 |
| Florida | Buchanan | Fillmore | 1,525 | 13.63 | 763 |
| Georgia | Buchanan | Fillmore | 14,142 | 14.28 | 7,072 |
| Illinois | Buchanan | Fremont | 9,253 | 3.87 | 4,627 |
| Indiana | Buchanan | Fremont | 24,295 | 10.32 | 12,148 |
| Iowa | Fremont | Buchanan | 7,505 | 8.13 | 3,753 |
| Kentucky | Buchanan | Fillmore | 7,226 | 5.09 | 3,614 |
| Louisiana | Buchanan | Fillmore | 1,455 | 3.39 | 728 |
| Maine | Fremont | Buchanan | 28,139 | 25.65 | 14,070 |
| Maryland | Fillmore | Buchanan | 8,329 | 9.59 | 4,165 |
| Massachusetts | Fremont | Buchanan | 68,928 | 40.54 | 34,465 |
| Michigan | Fremont | Buchanan | 19,626 | 15.63 | 9,814 |
| Mississippi | Buchanan | Fillmore | 11,265 | 18.89 | 5,633 |
| Missouri | Buchanan | Fillmore | 9,442 | 8.87 | 4,722 |
| New Hampshire | Fremont | Buchanan | 5,582 | 8.00 | 2,792 |
| New Jersey | Buchanan | Fremont | 18,605 | 18.72 | 9,303 |
| New York | Fremont | Buchanan | 80,126 | 13.43 | 40,064 |
| North Carolina | Buchanan | Fillmore | 11,523 | 13.56 | 5,762 |
| Ohio | Fremont | Buchanan | 16,623 | 4.30 | 8,312 |
| Pennsylvania | Buchanan | Fremont | 82,809 | 17.97 | 41,405 |
| Rhode Island | Fremont | Buchanan | 4,787 | 24.15 | 2,394 |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Buchanan | Fillmore | 5,826 | 4.36 | 2,914 |
| Texas | Buchanan | Fillmore | 15,985 | 33.30 | 7,993 |
| Vermont | Fremont | Buchanan | 28,992 | 57.21 | 14,497 |
| Virginia | Buchanan | Fillmore | 29,933 | 19.92 | 14,967 |
| Wisconsin | Fremont | Buchanan | 14,247 | 11.82 | 7,124 |
| Total | Buchanan | Fremont | 493,727 | 12.18 | 246,864 |