President Lincoln re-elected over General McClellan 150 years ago today (Nov 8 1864)


Video: 'Election of 1864'

(Tuesday, November 8, 1864, during the 1864 presidential campaign) — National Union (Republican) President Abraham Lincoln of Illinois was elected to a second term today, soundly defeating Democratic challenger Major General George B. McClellan of New Jersey.

Lincoln and his running mate, Andrew Johnson, the former Senator from and current Military Governor of Tennessee, received 55.0% of the national popular vote. McClellan and his running mate, Rep. George H. Pendleton of Ohio, received 45.0%.

The 1864 popular vote results translated into a decisive Electoral College victory of 212-21 for Lincoln-Johnson, who would be sworn in to a four-year term on March 4, 1865.

As the American Civil War was still raging, no electoral votes were counted from any of the eleven Southern states.