Who won Virginia in the 1860 presidential election?

Bell (Constitutional Union) carried Virginia in 1860, winning its 15 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Virginia have in 1860?

Virginia cast 15 electoral votes in the 1860 presidential election.

Did Virginia vote for the national winner in 1860?

No. Virginia backed Bell, while Abraham Lincoln won the presidency nationally.

Civil WarVA · 15 EV

1860

Virginia: Bell carries 15 EV.

Virginia cast its 15 electoral votes for Bell (Constitutional Union). National winner: Abraham Lincoln (Republican) — Virginia voted against the national winner this cycle.

Virginia in 1860

The 1860 contest saw Virginia line up behind Bell, delivering 15 electoral votes to the Constitutional Union ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — Abraham Lincoln (Republican) won the presidency, leaving Virginia among the states he did not carry.

Bell's win closed out Virginia's 8-election run of voting Democratic. The region divided — Tennessee and Kentucky joined Virginia for the Constitutional Union ticket, while North Carolina and Maryland did not. Across the 58 presidential elections Virginia has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (33 times). The vote fell within the Civil War — Lincoln, war, and Reconstruction begins.

In the national count, Abraham Lincoln took 180 of the 303 electoral votes, against John C. Breckinridge's 72. Abraham Lincoln led the national popular vote with 39.65% of the ballots cast.

The 1860 national map

Virginia full history →