1860
The 1860 U.S. presidential election was won by Abraham Lincoln (Republican) with 180 of 303 electoral votes, defeating John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 108 (180 to 72). Popular-vote margin: 21.6 percentage points. Turnout was 81.8%. The cycle falls in the Civil War era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
A sectional map breaks open
Lincoln won as the nation fractured along sectional lines. The Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions, with Stephen Douglas running for the North (29.5% of the popular vote, second nationally) and John C. Breckinridge for the South, while the Constitutional Union party drew border-state voters behind John Bell. Lincoln carried the popular vote in every Northern state — though New Jersey split its electors 4–3 with Douglas — and received zero votes in most Southern states; his victory triggered Southern secession within months. Lincoln won a majority of electoral votes with only 39.65% of the popular vote.
Slavery in the territories; Southern secession threats; preservation of the Union
Four-way race where Lincoln won with 39.65% popular vote; triggered Southern secession
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.
States · 33 reporting
State results · 1860
| State | Electoral votes | Popular vote |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama1 | 9 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Arkansas2 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| California3 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Connecticut4 | 6 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Delaware5 | 3 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Florida6 | 3 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Georgia7 | 10 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Illinois8 | 11 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Indiana9 | 13 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Iowa10 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Kentucky11 | 12 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Louisiana12 | 6 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Maine13 | 8 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Maryland14 | 8 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Massachusetts15 | 13 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Michigan16 | 6 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Minnesota17 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Mississippi18 | 7 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Missouri19 | 9 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Hampshire20 | 5 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New Jersey21 | 7 EV Lincoln 4, Douglas 3 | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| New York22 | 35 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| North Carolina23 | 10 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Ohio24 | 23 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Oregon25 | 3 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Pennsylvania26 | 27 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Rhode Island27 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| South Carolina28 | 8 EV | Electors were chosen by the legislature. |
| Tennessee29 | 12 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Texas30 | 4 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Vermont31 | 5 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Virginia32 | 15 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
| Wisconsin33 | 5 EV | State popular vote not yet sourced. |
Notes on the figures
- Alabama State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Arkansas State popular vote not yet sourced.
- California State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Florida State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Illinois State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Indiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Iowa State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Louisiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Maine State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Michigan State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Minnesota State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Mississippi State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Missouri State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
- New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
- North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Ohio State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Oregon State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
- South Carolina The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Tennessee State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Texas State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.
- Wisconsin State popular vote not yet sourced.
SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1860 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled
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