1872 United States presidential election — 22nd quadrennial U.S. presidential election
Grant's 1872 re-election was the only U.S. presidential race in which a major candidate who won electoral votes died before the Electoral College voted.
Key Facts
- States carried by Grant
- 31 of 37 states
- Grant's popular vote margin
- 11.8%
- Greeley's death date
- November 29, 1872
- Candidates receiving Greeley's electors
- 4 presidential, 8 vice-presidential
- Republican popular vote win streak set
- 4 consecutive elections
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Dissatisfied Republicans formed the Liberal Republican Party and nominated newspaper publisher Horace Greeley, who also secured the Democratic nomination. Their platform called for civil service reform and an end to Reconstruction, aiming to consolidate opposition to incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant.
On November 5, 1872, Grant was decisively re-elected, carrying 31 of 37 states and winning the popular vote by 11.8%. Greeley proved an ineffective campaigner against the widely popular incumbent. Greeley died on November 29, 1872, before the Electoral College convened, leaving his pledged electors to scatter votes among multiple candidates.
Grant's victory made him the only president to serve two full consecutive terms between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson, and the first Republican to do so until Eisenhower. The scattered electoral votes following Greeley's death created a unique constitutional precedent, and the election extended the Republican popular vote win streak to four consecutive elections.
Political Outcome
Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) re-elected president, defeating Liberal Republican/Democratic nominee Horace Greeley by 11.8% in the popular vote and carrying 31 of 37 states.
Grant's first term as president
Grant wins second consecutive term; Liberal Republican Party collapses; Greeley dies before Electoral College vote