1856 United States presidential election in Virginia

Main article: 1856 United States presidential election

1856 United States presidential election in Virginia

November 4, 1856

Nominee James Buchanan Millard Fillmore Party Democratic Know Nothing Home state Pennsylvania New York Running mate John C. Breckinridge Andrew J. Donelson Electoral vote 15 0 Popular vote 90,083 60,150 Percentage 59.96% 40.04%

County results Buchanan   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100% Fillmore   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%

President before election Franklin Pierce Democratic Elected President James Buchanan Democratic

The 1856 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 4, 1856, as part of the 1856 United States presidential election. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate, former United States Minister to the United Kingdom James Buchanan over the American candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. Former U.S. Senator John C. Frémont was also the Republican candidate in this election. Buchanan won the state with a margin of 19.92%.

Campaign

John Curtiss Underwood, George Rye, and H. Carpenter were the state's delegates to the 1856 Republican National Convention. They wanted to cast forty-five votes, three per congressional district and six at-large, but the convention only allotted them nine votes. They refused to vote in protest on both ballots. The delegation initially supported David Wilmot for the vice-presidential nomination, but later supported William L. Dayton. The Republican Party of Virginia held its first state convention was held on September 18, 1856, while Underwood was in another state due to threats of violence. William E. Stevenson, a future governor of West Virginia, was indicted for distributing an anti-slavery pamphlet.

John C. Frémont received 291 votes in the state. 280 votes came from the northwest, 5 from Shenandoah County, 5 from Scott County, and one from Alexandria, Virginia.

Democrats would not win Preston County and Upshur County again until 1964 (as part of West Virginia).

Results

1856 United States presidential election in Virginia
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	James Buchanan	90,083	59.96%	15
	American	Millard Fillmore	60,150	40.04%	0
Totals			150,233	100.0%	15

Works cited

• Lowe, Richard (1973). "The Republican Party in Antebellum Virginia, 1856-1860". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 81 (3). Virginia Historical Society: 259–79. doi:10.2307/4247810. JSTOR 4247810.