The American Vote
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Second Party SystemCycle 16 / 60

1848

Zachary Taylor and the 1848 map.
Zachary Taylor (Whig) defeated Lewis Cass (Democratic), 47.3% to 42.5% of the popular vote.

The 1848 U.S. presidential election was won by Zachary Taylor (Whig) with 163 of 290 electoral votes, defeating Lewis Cass (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 36 (163 to 127). Popular-vote margin: 4.8 percentage points. Turnout was 72.8%. The cycle falls in the Second Party System era of American electoral history.

Taylor
163 EV
Cass
127 EV
0146 to win290
The map · 1848
15 states for Whig · 15 for Dem
ALAKAZARCACOFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMIMNMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVAWAWVWIWY

Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.

Narrative

Zachary Taylor and the 1848 map

War hero Zachary Taylor won for the Whigs despite having no political record, while the slavery question fractured both major parties. The Free Soil Party, running former president Martin Van Buren on an anti-slavery-expansion platform, won 10% of the popular vote and no electoral votes but drew enough support from Democrats in New York to help Taylor win that state. Taylor died of illness in July 1850, leaving Millard Fillmore to handle the Compromise of 1850.

Key issue

Slavery in territories gained from Mexico; Wilmot Proviso

Notable

Taylor won without taking any position on slavery; Free Soil Party foreshadowed Republican Party

This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.

From the National Archives

Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States, died on July 9, 1850. He was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore, who took the oath of office on July 10, 1850.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1848, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

State results · 1848

Electoral votes by state. State popular votes for 1848 are not yet published here.
1848 presidential election results by state: electoral votes
StateElectoral votesPopular vote
Alabama1
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Arkansas2
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Connecticut3
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Delaware4
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Florida5
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Georgia6
10 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Illinois7
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Indiana8
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Iowa9
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Kentucky10
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Louisiana11
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maine12
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maryland13
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Massachusetts14
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Michigan15
5 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Mississippi16
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Missouri17
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Hampshire18
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Jersey19
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New York20
36 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
North Carolina21
11 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Ohio22
23 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Pennsylvania23
26 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Rhode Island24
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
South Carolina25
9 EV
Electors were chosen by the legislature.
Tennessee26
13 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Texas27
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Vermont28
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Virginia29
17 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Wisconsin30
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.

Notes on the figures

  1. Alabama State popular vote not yet sourced.
  2. Arkansas State popular vote not yet sourced.
  3. Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
  4. Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
  5. Florida State popular vote not yet sourced.
  6. Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
  7. Illinois State popular vote not yet sourced.
  8. Indiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  9. Iowa State popular vote not yet sourced.
  10. Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
  11. Louisiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  12. Maine State popular vote not yet sourced.
  13. Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
  14. Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
  15. Michigan State popular vote not yet sourced.
  16. Mississippi State popular vote not yet sourced.
  17. Missouri State popular vote not yet sourced.
  18. New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
  19. New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
  20. New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
  21. North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
  22. Ohio State popular vote not yet sourced.
  23. Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
  24. Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
  25. South Carolina The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
  26. Tennessee State popular vote not yet sourced.
  27. Texas State popular vote not yet sourced.
  28. Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
  29. Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.
  30. Wisconsin State popular vote not yet sourced.

SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1848 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled

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1844
James K. Polk · Dem

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