1860 United States presidential election in Virginia

none June 2025 September 2023 1860 United States presidential election 1860 United States presidential election in Virginia Virginia Flag of Virginia (October 1859).png 1859 presidential no 1856 United States presidential election in Virginia 1856 1872 (Va.) →1864 (W. Va.) November 6, 1860 x160px John Bell (Restored).png John Bell Constitutional Union Party (United States) Tennessee Edward Everett 15 74,481 44.63% John C Breckinridge-04775-restored.jpg John C. Breckinridge Southern Democratic (United States) Kentucky Joseph Lane 0 74,325 44.54% Senator Stephen A. Douglas (edited).png Stephen A. Douglas Northern Democratic Party Illinois Herschel V. Johnson 0 16,198 9.71% 425px County results 425px Congressional district results Bell #FFF0C0 30–40% #FCE48E 40–50% #FED561 50–60% #FE9927 60–70% #E96F11 70–80% Breckinridge #E5F6E1 30–40% #C5E9BE 40–50% #a1d99b 50–60% #74c476 60–70% #40AB5D 70–80% #238b45 80–90% #005B32 90–100% Douglas #d3e7ff 30–40% #b9d7ff 40–50% Tie #D4C4DC 40–50% President James Buchanan Democratic Party (United States) Abraham Lincoln Republican Party (United States) The 1860 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 6, 1860, as part of the 1860 United States presidential election. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Campaign Archibald Campbell and John Curtiss Underwood attempted to have the Republican National Convention held in Wheeling, Virginia. Many national Republicans supported the idea, including chair Edwin D. Morgan. However, the hostile reaction to the Republican Party by the south after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry resulted in the committee choosing to host the convention in Chicago.Lowe 1973 273-274 1,500 people attended the Republican Party of Virginia's state convention in Wheeling on May 2, 1860. The party's delegation to the national convention was the sixth-largest there, despite a credentials challenge against the entire south by opponents of William H. Seward. The initially pro-Seward Virginia delegation gave a majority of its votes to Abraham Lincoln on the first ballot. The delegation supported Cassius Marcellus Clay for the vice presidential nomination.Lowe 1973 275-277 Four companies of Wide Awakes totaling 350 men were formed during the campaign.Lowe 1973 278 Almost all of Lincoln's support came from around WheelingAbbott 1986 17 and his largest number of votes came from Ohio County.Lowe 1973 278 Results 1860 United States presidential election in Virginia1860 Presidential General Election Results – Virginia http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1860&fips=51&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0 U.S. Election Atlas 12 April 2013PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Constitutional Union John Bell 74,481 44.63% 15 Southern Democratic John C. Breckinridge 74,325 44.54% 0 Northern Democratic Stephen A. Douglas 16,198 9.71% 0 Republican Abraham Lincoln 1,887 1.13% 0 Totals 166,891 100.0% 15 Results by county +1860 United States Presidential Election in Virginia (by county)1860 Election Returns https://www.virginiamemory.com/docs/1860_election_returns.pdf Virginia MemoryCountyJohn BellConstitutional UnionJohn C. BreckinridgeSouthern DemocraticStephen A. DouglasNorthern DemocraticAbraham LincolnRepublicanTotal votescast#%#%#%#%Accomack73647.39%73747.46%805.15%00.00%1,553Albemarle1,31753.32%1,05642.75%973.93%00.00%2,470Alexandria 1,01258.36%56532.58%1418.13%160.92%1,734Alleghany25039.62%34454.52%375.86%00.00%631Amelia28250.09%24944.23%325.68%00.00%563Amherst62242.72%80855.49%261.79%00.00%1,456Appomattox22127.83%56370.91%101.26%00.00%794Augusta2,55366.05%2185.64%1,09428.31%00.00%3,865Barbour42230.71%91066.23%392.84%30.22%1,374Bath22045.32%16340.25%225.43%00.00%405Bedford1,46856.55%1,03739.95%913.50%00.00%2,596Berkeley91349.38%83044.89%1065.73%00.00%1,849Boone12134.67%20458.45%246.88%00.00%349Botetourt59043.61%58943.53%17412.86%00.00%1,353Braxton27450.09%22741.50%468.41%00.00%547Brooke17319.84%45051.61%768.72%17319.84%872Brunswick30832.90%44446.28%18719.91%00.00%939Buchanan148.38%13480.24%1911.38%00.00%167Buckingham54550.00%52347.98%222.02%00.00%1,090Cabell31635.59%16118.13%40745.83%40.45%888Calhoun196.23%28593.44%10.32%00.00%305Campbell1,52152.90%1,20842.02%1465.08%00.00%2,875Caroline56141.52%77257.14%181.33%00.00%1,351Carroll31529.86%72969.10%111.04%00.00%1,055Charles City22465.12%11132.26%92.62%00.00%344Charlotte41846.04%46551.21%252.75%00.00%908Chesterfield78846.24%32819.25%58834.51%00.00%1,704Clarke28842.86%33549.85%497.29%00.00%672Clay11976.28%3723.72%00.00%00.00%156Craig11225.69%32273.85%20.46%00.00%436Culpeper 52649.16%52549.07%191.78%00.00%1,070Cumberland27847.04%27646.70%376.26%00.00%591Dinwiddie38947.09%25430.75%18322.16%00.00%826Doddridge14324.20%35660.24%9115.40%10.16%591Elizabeth City24856.88%16437.61%245.51%00.00%436Essex27947.21%30852.11%40.68%00.00%591Fairfax69147.10%68546.69%916.20%00.00%1,491Fauquier98948.13%1,02749.98%391.90%00.00%2,056Fayette38155.46%24135.08%659.46%00.00%687Floyd38446.83%40048.78%364.39%00.00%820Fluvanna48751.97%44347.28%70.72%00.00%937Franklin86341.65%1,07651.93%1336.42%00.00%2,072Frederick96341.08%1,31556.10%662.82%00.00%2,344Giles36654.46%24436.31%629.23%00.00%672Gilmer11728.40%26865.05%276.55%00.00%412Gloucester30139.55%46060.45%00.00%00.00%761Goochland24434.41%42860.37%375.22%00.00%709Grayson31540.49%44757.46%162.05%00.00%762Greenbrier99360.88%50530.96%1338.15%00.00%1,631Greene7412.23%52186.12%101.65%00.00%605Greensville13941.99%15145.62%4112.39%00.00%331Halifax56327.97%1,31265.18%1386.86%00.00%2,013Hampshire87843.37%1,05452.49%753.74%10.04%2,008Hancock335.29%26241.32%8513.42%25440.06%634Hanover57542.56%74955.44%272.00%00.00%1,351Hardy89467.57%35526.83%745.60%00.00%1,323Harrison93141.36%1,19152.91%1074.75%220.98%2,251Henrico1,40362.83%64128.71%1898.46%00.00%2,233Henry54351.91%44444.45%595.64%00.00%1,046Highland21533.59%17026.56%25539.84%00.00%640Isle of Wight14715.93%75782.02%192.05%00.00%923Jackson38839.88%50051.39%646.58%212.16%973James City14869.48%6028.17%52.35%00.00%213Jefferson95951.64%45824.66%44023.69%00.00%1,857Kanawha1,17667.55%51329.47%522.99%00.00%1,741King and Queen 25533.25%51066.49%20.26%00.00%767King George18441.44%22350.23%378.33%00.00%444King William14230.54%31567.74%81.72%00.00%465Lancaster20957.58%14239.12%123.31%00.00%363Lee46233.82%89465.45%100.73%00.00%1,366Lewis33228.06%60451.06%24720.88%00.00%1,183Logan10026.53%27171.88%61.59%00.00%377Loudoun2,03369.10%77826.44%1204.08%110.37%2,942Louisa49839.71%75460.13%20.16%00.00%1,254Lunenburg25130.99%52765.06%323.95%00.00%810McDowell3548.61%3751.39%00.00%00.00%72Madison747.97%83489.87%202.16%00.00%928Marion56927.84%1,33765.41%1376.70%10.01%2,044Marshall92845.49%80939.66%1085.29%1959.56%2,040Mason71647.39%43929.05%29719.66%593.90%1,511Mathews25145.06%30654.94%00.00%00.00%557Mecklenburg43030.85%90164.63%634.52%00.00%1,394Mercer44349.89%43248.65%131.46%00.00%888Middlesex15138.52%24161.48%00.00%00.00%392Monongalia62230.24%60129.22%75736.80%773.74%2,057Monroe69353.47%52040.12%836.40%00.00%1,296Montgomery71258.79%42535.09%746.11%00.00%1,211Morgan30852.92%25443.62%203.44%00.00%582Nansemond47752.59%42947.30%10.11%00.00%907Nelson73359.35%39031.58%1129.07%00.00%1,235New Kent26460.27%17239.27%20.46%00.00%438Nicholas34563.03%15227.89%488.81%00.00%545Norfolk City98259.38%43926.54%23314.09%00.00%1,654Norfolk County70458.52%44737.16%524.32%00.00%1,203Northampton23451.54%21447.14%61.32%00.00%454Northumberland27644.02%35055.82%10.16%00.00%627Nottoway23252.85%17940.77%286.39%00.00%439Ohio1,20233.43%91525.39%71619.87%77121.39%3,604Orange42746.72%47551.97%121.31%00.00%914Page14112.23%93781.27%756.50%00.00%1,153Patrick43346.31%43246.20%707.49%00.00%935Pendleton40053.33%21728.93%13317.73%00.00%750Petersburg97053.71%22312.35%61333.94%00.00%1,806Pittsylvania1,70257.98%1,05736.00%1776.01%00.00%2,936Pleasants14032.94%16639.06%11928.00%00.00%425Pocahontas16330.99%33363.31%305.70%00.00%526Portsmouth67846.60%55938.42%21414.72%40.27%1,455Powhatan22547.67%12726.91%12025.42%00.00%472Preston56230.33%94250.84%23912.90%1105.94%1,853Prince Edward37443.39%42349.07%657.54%00.00%862Prince George24343.39%19134.11%12622.50%00.00%560Princess Anne45153.31%37944.80%161.89%00.00%846Prince William24323.32%71868.91%262.50%555.28%1,042Pulaski33256.56%25042.59%50.85%00.00%587Putnam40052.29%32742.75%384.97%00.00%765Raleigh23073.48%6922.04%144.47%00.00%313Randolph25939.85%24838.15%14322.00%00.00%650Rappahannock49152.85%40944.03%293.12%00.00%929Richmond City2,40255.58%1,16727.08%75317.42%00.00%4,322Richmond County35364.89%18534.01%61.10%00.00%544Ritchie22426.26%54463.77%738.56%121.41%853Roane23745.84%26451.06%163.09%00.00%517Roanoke29340.81%37351.95%527.24%00.00%718Rockbridge1,23155.13%36116.17%64128.71%00.00%2,233Rockingham88330.31%67623.21%1,35446.48%00.00%2,913Russell 47347.35%52652.65%00.00%00.00%999Scott49141.75%59450.60%917.74%00.00%1,176Shenandoah42717.13%1,88375.53%1706.82%130.52%2,493Smyth 44645.01%49650.05%494.94%00.00%991Southampton54548.79%56350.40%90.81%00.00%1,117Spotsylvania59943.66%51637.61%25718.73%00.00%1,372Stafford40441.61%40241.41%16516.99%00.00%971Surry19753.68%11531.34%5514.99%00.00%367Sussex17731.22%29451.85%9616.93%00.00%567Taylor 64751.68%57545.93%262.08%40.32%1,252Tazewell30624.68%93475.32%00.00%00.00%1,240Tucker2215.28%9968.75%2315.97%00.00%144Tyler31533.69%42345.24%19721.07%00.00%935Upshur 33133.98%58960.47%545.54%00.00%974Warren27636.80%46261.60%121.60%00.00%750Warwick7269.23%3230.77%00.00%00.00%104Washington91642.60%1,17854.79%562.60%00.00%2,150Wayne32656.82%16628.42%8214.04%101.71%584Webster8645.03%9650.26%94.71%00.00%191Westmoreland43872.76%16026.58%40.66%00.00%602Wetzel9010.51%60770.91%15317.87%60.70%856Williamsburg4942.24%4337.07%2420.69%00.00%116Wirt15035.63%25560.57%163.80%00.00%421Wise10221.56%36376.74%81.69%00.00%473Wood83246.20%83246.20%563.11%814.50%1,801WyomingThe official return from Wyoming County was received in Richmond after the legal deadline for submission of returns and so was not counted in the totals.6061.22%2929.60%99.18%00.00%98Wythe61743.03%79555.44%221.53%00.00%1,434York 22770.93%9028.13%30.94%00.00%320Total74,70144.65%74,37944.46%16,2929.74%1,9291.15%167,301 Analysis section April 2026 Virginia was one of only three states to vote for the Constitutional Union candidate, former U.S. Senator John Bell, over the Southern Democratic candidate, Vice President John C. Breckinridge, and the Northern Democratic candidate, U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln was also the Republican candidate in this election, but he received the lowest support for any Republican presidential candidate (as well as the lowest support of any candidate who won the presidency) in the history of Virginia. This was the first presidential election since the formation of political parties in which Virginia did not vote for the Democratic or Democratic-Republican candidate. It was also the closest presidential election result in Virginia history: Bell won by 156 votes, or a margin of 0.093474% – the thirteenth-closest statewide presidential result in United States history and the closest between 1836 and 1876. Virginia eventually seceded from the United States on April 17, 1861, and did not participate in the following elections in 1864 and 1868. However, unionist counties in the Ohio basin, plus a number of adjacent counties in the northwest, seceded to form the state of West Virginia and did participate in those two elections. 2025 1 As of the 2024 presidential election,Leip David Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS January 18, 2025 uselectionatlas.org this is the last election in which Morgan County, one of the counties that broke off to form West Virginia, did not vote for the Republican candidate. Virginia was the only one of the eleven states that would later declare their secession from the Union and be controlled by Confederate armies where any ballots for Lincoln were distributed, and the vast majority of the votes Lincoln received were cast in border counties of what would soon become West Virginia – the future state accounted for 1,832 of Lincoln's 1,929 votes.Results by county in Virginia Lincoln received no votes at all in 121 of the state's then-145 counties (including 31 of the 50 that would form West Virginia), received a single vote in three counties and received ten or fewer votes in nine of the 24 counties where he polled votes. Lincoln's best results, by far, were in the four counties that comprised the state's northern panhandle, a region which had long felt alienated from Richmond and which was economically and culturally linked to its neighbors Ohio and Pennsylvania and which would become the key driver in the successful effort to form a separate state. Hancock County (Virginia's northernmost at the time) returned Lincoln's best result – he polled over 40% of the vote there and finished in second place (Lincoln polled only eight votes fewer than Breckinridge). Of the 97 votes cast for Lincoln in the state's post-1863 boundaries, 93 were polled in four counties along the Potomac River and four were cast in the coastal city of Portsmouth. See also United States presidential elections in Virginia Notes References Works cited Abbott Richard The Republican Party and the South, 1855–1877: The First Southern Strategy University of North Carolina Press 1986 https://archive.org/details/republicanparty00abbo 0807816809 Lowe Richard The Republican Party in Antebellum Virginia, 1856-1860 The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Virginia Historical Society 1973 81 3 259–79 10.2307/4247810 4247810 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4247810 Virginia 1860 Category:1860 Virginia elections