1840
Reading the 1840 result in Alabama
Alabama backed VanBuren (Democratic) in the 1840 presidential election, casting 7 electoral votes for the ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — William Henry Harrison (Whig) won the presidency, leaving Alabama among the states he did not carry.
It marked the 4th consecutive election in which Alabama backed the Democratic party, a streak reaching back to 1828. The region divided — Mississippi and Georgia joined Alabama for the Democratic ticket, while Tennessee did not. Across the 51 presidential elections Alabama has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (30 times). The vote fell within the Second Party System — Jackson, Whigs, and the rise of mass politics.
In the national count, William Henry Harrison took 234 of the 294 electoral votes, against Martin Van Buren's 60. William Henry Harrison led the national popular vote with 52.87% of the ballots cast.
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