1856 United States presidential election in New York

The 1856 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 4, 1856, as part of the 1856 United States presidential election. Voters chose 35 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1856 United States presidential election in New York

November 4, 1856
Turnout	89.9%[1] 5.2 pp
Nominee John C. Frémont James Buchanan Millard Fillmore Party Republican Democratic Know Nothing Home state California Pennsylvania New York Running mate William L. Dayton John C. Breckinridge Andrew Jackson Donelson Electoral vote 35 0 0 Popular vote 276,004 195,878 124,604 Percentage 46.27% 32.84% 20.89%
President before election Franklin Pierce Democratic Elected President James Buchanan Democratic

New York was won by California Senator John C. Frémont (R–California), running with former Senator William L. Dayton (New Jersey), with 46.27% of the popular vote, against Senator James Buchanan (D–Pennsylvania), running with Representative and future presidential candidate in the 1860 presidential election John C. Breckinridge, with 32.84% of the popular vote and the 13th president of the United States Millard Fillmore (A–New York), running with the 2nd U.S. Ambassador to Germany Andrew Jackson Donelson, with 20.89% of the popular vote.[2]

James Buchanan went on to win the presidential election but this election would end the Democratic Party's support from New York which they won five out of seven times since 1828 and for the next 12 years a Democrat would not win New York until Horatio Seymour's narrow victory in 1868.

Frémont's victory in the state made him the first Republican presidential candidate to win New York as well as the first one to win the state without winning the election. The other 2 Republican presidential candidates to win New York without winning the election were Charles Evans Hughes in 1916 and Thomas E. Dewey in 1948. It was also the first time since voting for DeWitt Clinton in 1812 that New York backed a losing presidential candidate. This remains the only presidential election in history where New York voted Republican while neighboring Pennsylvania voted Democratic.

Results

1856 United States presidential election in New York[3]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Popular vote		Electoral vote
				Count	%	Count	%
	Republican	John C. Frémont of California	William L. Dayton of New Jersey	276,004	46.27%	35	100.00%
	Democratic	James Buchanan of Pennsylvania	John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky	195,878	32.84%	0	0.00%
	Know Nothing	Millard Fillmore of New York	Andrew Jackson Donelson of Tennessee	124,604	20.89%	0	0.00%
Total				596,486	100.00%	35	100.00%

See also

• United States presidential elections in New York

References

1. Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072.
2. "1856 Presidential Election Results New York".
3. "1856 Presidential General Election Results - New York".