United States Presidential Election of 1864

Lincoln re-elected 212 to 21 over McClellan as soldiers voted overwhelmingly for their commander.

Overview

Held during civil war with eleven Confederate states unrepresented, the election tested whether democracy could conduct a contested vote mid-rebellion. Lincoln, doubting defeat in August, rallied after Sherman took Atlanta, and beat his former general McClellan 212 to 21, with soldiers backing Lincoln roughly three to one and some states counting army ballots separately. The election legitimated emancipation, as Republicans paired Lincoln with Democrat Andrew Johnson on the National Union ticket. No other democracy had yet held a regular wartime election of this kind.