How many electoral votes were needed to win in 1872?

A majority of the 352 electoral votes was required (177); Ulysses S. Grant finished with 286.

What share of the popular vote did Ulysses S. Grant win in 1872?

Ulysses S. Grant drew 55.58% of the national popular vote in 1872.

ReconstructionCycle 22 / 60

1872

Ulysses S. Grant and the 1872 map.

Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) defeated Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican), 55.6% to 43.8% of the popular vote.

The 1872 U.S. presidential election was won by Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) with 286 of 352 electoral votes, defeating Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican). Electoral-vote margin: 286 (286 to 0). Popular-vote margin: 11.8 percentage points. Turnout was 72.1%. The cycle falls in the Reconstruction era of American electoral history.

Grant

286 EV

Other

66 EV

0177 to win352

The map · 1872

31 states for Rep · 0 for LR

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

Narrative

Ulysses S. Grant and the 1872 map

Grant won re-election in a landslide over the Liberal Republican nominee Horace Greeley, who was also endorsed by the Democrats. Greeley, the famous newspaper editor, died three weeks after the election before the Electoral College voted, so 63 of his 66 pledged electors scattered among four other men, while three Georgia votes cast for the dead Greeley were rejected outright. The Credit Mobilier scandal had damaged Grant's reputation but voters chose him over Greeley, whose eccentric campaign style failed to inspire confidence.

Key issue

Corruption reform; Reconstruction continuation; Liberal Republican revolt

Notable

Nominee Horace Greeley died before electoral votes were cast; 63 of his 66 pledged EVs scattered; 3 votes for the dead Greeley were rejected

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

1 Horace Greeley died November 29, 1872, after the election, but before the meeting of the electors. By resolution of the House, the 3 electoral votes cast for him were not counted.

2 Following Greeley's death, electors in several states cast their votes variously for President or Vice President. Benjamin Gratz Brown, Greeley's running mate, received 18 electoral votes for President and 47 electoral votes for Vice President. Several others received electoral votes for either President or Vice President.

3 Vice President Henry Wilson died in Washington, D.C., on November 22, 1875.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1872, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

States · 37 reporting

Dem · 15 EV · Brown 8, Hendricks 6, Davis 1

Massachusetts

Rep · 13 EV

Kentucky

Dem · 12 EV · Hendricks 8, Brown 4

Dem · 8 EV · Brown 6, Jenkins 2

State results · 1872

Popular vote by state, with each state's electoral votes.

Closest states

Maryland Greeley by 923 · 0.7 pts
Virginia Grant by 1,975 · 1.1 pts
Arkansas Grant by 2,945 · 3.8 pts
Delaware Grant by 910 · 4.2 pts
West Virginia Grant by 2,746 · 4.4 pts

Tipping point

OhioGrant won it by 7.1 points; its electoral votes took the total to 197, past the 177 needed.

Line up the states the winner carried from widest margin to narrowest and add up their electoral votes: the tipping point is the state that takes the total past a majority.

Scroll the table sideways for every column.

1872 presidential election results by state: popular vote, margin and electoral votes
State	Electoral votes	Ulysses S. Grant Rep	Horace Greeley Dem	Also named	Margin	Leader
Alabama^1,2	10 EV	90,272¹ 53.2%	79,444¹ 46.8%	None	10,828 6.4 pts	Grant Rep
Arkansas^3,4	0 EV	40,569 51.9%	37,624 48.1%	None	2,945 3.8 pts	Grant Rep
California^5,6	6 EV	54,020⁵ 56.4%	40,718⁵ 42.5%	Charles O'Conor 1,068 · 1.1%⁵	13,302 13.9 pts	Grant Rep
Connecticut^7,8	6 EV	50,638⁷ 52.2%	45,872⁷ 47.3%	None	4,766 4.9 pts	Grant Rep
Delaware^9,10	3 EV	11,115⁹ 51.0%	10,205⁹ 46.8%	Charles O'Conor 487 · 2.2%⁹	910 4.2 pts	Grant Rep
Florida^11,12	4 EV	17,765¹¹ 53.5%	15,428¹¹ 46.5%	None	2,337 7.0 pts	Grant Rep
Georgia^13,14	8 EV Brown 6, Jenkins 2	62,715¹³ 43.9%	76,278¹³ 53.3%	Charles O'Conor 4,000 · 2.8%¹³	13,563 9.5 pts	Greeley Dem
Illinois^15,16	21 EV	241,248¹⁵ 56.2%	184,770¹⁵ 43.1%	None	56,478 13.2 pts	Grant Rep
Indiana^17,18	15 EV	186,144¹⁷ 53.0%	163,637¹⁷ 46.6%	None	22,507 6.4 pts	Grant Rep
Iowa^19,20	11 EV	131,233¹⁹ 64.1%	71,134¹⁹ 34.8%	Charles O'Conor 2,221 · 1.1%¹⁹	60,099 29.4 pts	Grant Rep
Kansas^21,22	5 EV	67,048²¹ 66.6%	32,970²¹ 32.8%	None	34,078 33.9 pts	Grant Rep
Kentucky^23,24	12 EV Hendricks 8, Brown 4	88,816²³ 46.4%	100,212²³ 52.4%	Charles O'Conor 2,374 · 1.2%²³	11,396 6.0 pts	Greeley Dem
Louisiana^25,26	0 EV	State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maine^27,28	7 EV	61,422²⁷ 67.9%	29,087²⁷ 32.1%	None	32,335 35.7 pts	Grant Rep
Maryland^29,30	8 EV	66,762²⁹ 49.6%	67,685²⁹ 50.3%	None	923 0.7 pts	Greeley Dem
Massachusetts^31,32	13 EV	133,472³¹ 69.3%	59,260³¹ 30.7%	None	74,212 38.5 pts	Grant Rep
Michigan^33,34	11 EV	136,202³³ 62.7%	77,027³³ 35.4%	Charles O'Conor 2,861 · 1.3%³³	59,175 27.2 pts	Grant Rep
Minnesota^35,36	5 EV	55,709³⁵ 61.3%	35,211³⁵ 38.7%	None	20,498 22.5 pts	Grant Rep
Mississippi^37,38	8 EV	81,916³⁷ 63.4%	47,191³⁷ 36.6%	None	34,725 26.9 pts	Grant Rep
Missouri^39,40	15 EV Brown 8, Hendricks 6, Davis 1	119,196³⁹ 43.7%	151,433³⁹ 55.5%	None	32,237 11.8 pts	Greeley Dem
Nebraska^41,42	3 EV	18,245⁴¹ 70.3%	7,705⁴¹ 29.7%	None	10,540 40.6 pts	Grant Rep
Nevada^43,44	3 EV	8,413⁴³ 57.4%	6,236⁴³ 42.6%	None	2,177 14.9 pts	Grant Rep
New Hampshire^45,46	5 EV	37,168⁴⁵ 54.0%	31,425⁴⁵ 45.6%	None	5,743 8.3 pts	Grant Rep
New Jersey^47,48	9 EV	91,611⁴⁷ 54.2%	76,801⁴⁷ 45.4%	None	14,810 8.8 pts	Grant Rep
New York^49,50	35 EV	440,759⁴⁹ 53.1%	387,279⁴⁹ 46.7%	None	53,480 6.4 pts	Grant Rep
North Carolina^51,52	10 EV	94,304⁵¹ 57.6%	69,474⁵¹ 42.4%	None	24,830 15.2 pts	Grant Rep
Ohio^53,54	22 EV	281,852⁵³ 53.2%	244,321⁵³ 46.1%	None	37,531 7.1 pts	Grant Rep
Oregon^55,56	3 EV	11,820⁵⁵ 58.7%	7,746⁵⁵ 38.5%	Charles O'Conor 572 · 2.8%⁵⁵	4,074 20.2 pts	Grant Rep
Pennsylvania^57,58	29 EV	349,689⁵⁷ 62.1%	211,961⁵⁷ 37.6%	None	137,728 24.5 pts	Grant Rep
Rhode Island^59,60	4 EV	13,665⁵⁹ 71.9%	5,329⁵⁹ 28.1%	None	8,336 43.9 pts	Grant Rep
South Carolina^61,62	7 EV	72,290⁶¹ 75.8%	22,903⁶¹ 24.0%	None	49,387 51.8 pts	Grant Rep
Tennessee^63,64	12 EV	83,655⁶³ 47.0%	94,391⁶³ 53.0%	None	10,736 6.0 pts	Greeley Dem
Texas^65,66	8 EV	47,406⁶⁵ 40.7%	66,500⁶⁵ 57.1%	Charles O'Conor 2,580 · 2.2%⁶⁵	19,094 16.4 pts	Greeley Dem
Vermont^67,68	5 EV	41,487⁶⁷ 78.2%	10,947⁶⁷ 20.6%	Charles O'Conor 593 · 1.1%⁶⁷	30,540 57.6 pts	Grant Rep
Virginia^69,70	11 EV	93,415⁶⁹ 50.5%	91,440⁶⁹ 49.5%	None	1,975 1.1 pts	Grant Rep
West Virginia^71,72	5 EV	32,283⁷¹ 51.7%	29,537⁷¹ 47.3%	None	2,746 4.4 pts	Grant Rep
Wisconsin^73,74	10 EV	104,992⁷³ 54.6%	86,477⁷³ 45.0%	None	18,515 9.6 pts	Grant Rep

Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.

Notes on the figures

Alabama Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Alabama The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Arkansas Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Arkansas Arkansas's 1872 return was disputed, and Congress counted none of Arkansas's electoral votes. The World Almanac 1873, p. 75, prints the return of Arkansas's Secretary of State: Greeley 37,927, Grant 41,073. It is not published here, as with Louisiana; the record keeps the county-file sums.
California Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
California The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Connecticut Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Connecticut The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Delaware Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Delaware The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Florida Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Florida The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Georgia Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Georgia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Illinois Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Illinois The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Indiana Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Indiana The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Iowa Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Iowa The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Kansas Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Kansas The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Kentucky Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Kentucky The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Louisiana Louisiana's 1872 return was disputed: two rival returning boards reported different results, and Congress counted none of Louisiana's electoral votes. The World Almanac 1873, p. 75, prints one board's return ('The vote returned by the regular (Warmoth) Board of Canvassers is given for Louisiana'): Greeley 66,467, Grant 59,975. That figure is not published here, and the county-file sums differ too much from published returns to use.
Louisiana Not yet sourced: the county file's figures for this state-year differ from published returns by more than 2% (Democratic -14.2%, Republican +19.49%).
Maine Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Maine The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Maryland Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Maryland The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Massachusetts Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Massachusetts The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Michigan Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Michigan The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Minnesota Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Minnesota The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Mississippi Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Mississippi The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Missouri Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Missouri The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Nebraska Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Nebraska The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Nevada Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Nevada The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
New Hampshire Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
New Hampshire The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
New Jersey Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
New Jersey The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
New York Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
New York The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
North Carolina Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
North Carolina The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Ohio Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Ohio The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Oregon Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Oregon The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Pennsylvania Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Pennsylvania The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Rhode Island Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Rhode Island The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
South Carolina Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
South Carolina The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Tennessee Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Tennessee The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Texas Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Texas The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Vermont Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Vermont The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Virginia Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Virginia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
West Virginia Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
West Virginia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
Wisconsin Horace Greeley was the Liberal Republican nominee and was also endorsed by the Democratic Party; he is listed under the Democratic column, where the county file records his votes.
Wisconsin The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.

SourcesThe World Almanac for 1873 (Public domain in the United States: published before 1931, retrieved 2026-10-03); Algara & Amlani, U.S. county presidential returns 1868-2020 (CC0 1.0, retrieved 2026-10-03). How these figures were compiled

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