# 1804 United States presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the United States from November 2 to December 5, 1804. Incumbent Democratic-Republican president Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. It was the first presidential election conducted following the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reformed procedures for electing presidents and vice presidents.
Jefferson was renominated by his party's congressional nominating caucus without opposition, and the party nominated Governor George Clinton of New York to replace Aaron Burr as Jefferson's running mate. With former president John Adams in retirement, the Federalists turned to Pinckney, a former ambassador and Revolutionary War hero who had been Adams's running mate in the 1800 election.
Though Jefferson had only narrowly defeated Adams in 1800, he was widely popular due to the Louisiana Purchase and a strong economy. He carried almost every state, including most states in the Federalist stronghold of New England.

## Background

Although the 1800 presidential election was a close one, Jefferson steadily gained popularity during his term. American trade boomed due to the temporary suspension of hostilities during the French Revolutionary Wars in Europe, and the Louisiana Purchase was heralded as a great achievement.

## Nominations
### Democratic-Republican Party nomination

Democratic-Republican PartyDemocratic-Republican Party Ticket, 1804 :
| Thomas Jefferson | George Clinton |
| for President | for Vice President |
| 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) | 1st Governor of New York (1777–1795, 1801–1804) |
The congressional nominating caucus of the Democratic-Republican Party was held in February 1804, with 108 members of the United States Congress in attendance and Senator Stephen R. Bradley as its chair. Jefferson was renominated by acclamation while Vice President Aaron Burr was not considered for renomination. The caucus selected to give the vice-presidential nomination to Governor George Clinton whose main opponent was Senator John Breckinridge. A thirteen-member committee was selected to manage Jefferson's presidential campaign.

#### Vice-presidential candidates

* John Breckinridge (Kentucky), U.S. Senator
* George Clinton (New York), Governor
* Gideon Granger (Connecticut), Postmaster General
* John Langdon (New Hampshire), former U.S. Senator
* Levi Lincoln (Massachusetts), U.S. Attorney General
* William Maclay (Pennsylvania), former U.S. Senator
* Senator John Breckinridge from Kentucky
* Governor George Clinton of New York
* Postmaster General Gideon Granger from Connecticut
* Former Senator John Langdon from New Hampshire
* Attorney General Levi Lincoln from Massachusetts
* Former Senator William Maclay from Pennsylvania

#### Balloting

| Presidential ballot | Total | Vice-presidential ballot | Total |
| Thomas Jefferson | 108 | George Clinton | 67 |
| | | John Breckinridge | 20 |
| | | Levi Lincoln | 9 |
| | | John Langdon | 7 |
| | | Gideon Granger | 4 |
| | | William Maclay | 1 |

### Federalist Party nomination

Federalist PartyFederalist Party Ticket, 1804 :
| Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | Rufus King |
| for President | for Vice President |
| 6th U.S. Minister to France (1796–1797) | 3rd U.S. Minister to Great Britain (1796–1803) |
The Federalists did not hold a nominating caucus, but Federalist congressional leaders informally agreed to nominate a ticket consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina and former Senator Rufus King of New York. Pinckney's public service during and after the American Revolutionary War had won him national stature, and Federalists hoped that Pinckney would win some Southern votes away from Jefferson, who had dominated the Southern vote in the previous election.

## General election

Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's death in July 1804 following the Burr–Hamilton duel destroyed whatever hope the Federalists had of defeating the popular Jefferson. Leaderless and disorganized, the Federalists failed to attract much support outside of New England. The Federalists attacked the Louisiana Purchase as unconstitutional, criticized Jefferson's gunboat navy, and alleged that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave, Sally Hemings, but the party failed to galvanize opposition to Jefferson. Jefferson's policies of expansionism and reduced government spending were widely popular. Jefferson was aided by an effective Democratic-Republican party organization, which had continued to develop since 1800, especially in the Federalist stronghold of New England.
Jefferson's victory was overwhelming, and he even won four of the five New England states. Pinckney won only two states, Connecticut and Delaware. This was the first election where the Democratic-Republicans won in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
As of 2024, Jefferson was the first of eight presidential nominees to win a significant number of electoral votes in at least three elections, the others being Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump. Of these, Jackson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt also won the popular vote in at least three elections. Jefferson, Cleveland, Roosevelt, and Trump were also their respective party's nominees for three consecutive elections.

### Results

Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote$^{(a),(b)}$ | Popular vote$^{(a),(b)}$ | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Thomas Jefferson (incumbent) | Democratic-Republican | Virginia | 105,524 | 73.2% | 162 | George Clinton | New York | 162 |
| Charles C. Pinckney | Federalist | South Carolina | 38,519 | 26.7% | 14 | Rufus King | New York | 14 |
| Unpledged electors | None | N/A | 95 | 0.1% | 0 | N/A | N/A | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 144,138 | 100% | 176 | | | 176 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 89 | | | 89 |
Source (Popular Vote): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825 Source (electoral vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 30, 2005.
$^{(a)}$ Only 11 of the 17 states chose electors by popular vote. $^{(b)}$ Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.

### Popular vote by state

The popular vote totals used are the elector from each party with the highest total of votes. The vote totals of North Carolina and Tennessee appear to be incomplete.
| State | Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican | Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican | Charles C. Pinckney Federalist | Charles C. Pinckney Federalist | Other | Other | Margin | Margin |
| Kentucky | 5,080 | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | 5,080 | 100.00% |
| Maryland | 7,304 | 75.92% | 2,306 | 23.97% | 11 | 0.11% | 4,987 | 51.84% |
| Massachusetts | 29,599 | 53.58% | 25,644 | 46.42% | 2 | <0.01% | 3,953 | 7.16% |
| New Hampshire | 9,088 | 52.01% | 8,386 | 47.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 702 | 4.02% |
| New Jersey | 13,119 | 99.79% | 19 | 0.14% | 8 | 0.06% | 13,092 | 99.59% |
| North Carolina | 1,644 | | 486 | | No ballots | No ballots | | |
| Ohio | 2,593 | 87.69% | 364 | 12.31% | No ballots | No ballots | 2,229 | 75.38% |
| Pennsylvania | 22,081 | 94.69% | 1,239 | 5.31% | No ballots | No ballots | 20,842 | 89.38% |
| Rhode Island | 1,312 | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | 1,312 | 100.00% |
| Tennessee | 778 | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | No ballots | | |
| Virginia | 12,926 | 98.86% | 75 | 0.57% | 74 | 0.57% | 12777 | 97.72% |
Popular vote
Jefferson
73.2%
Pinckney
26.7%
Unpledged electors
0.1% :
Electoral vote
Jefferson
92.0%
Pinckney
8.0% :

### States that flipped from Federalist to Democratic-Republican

* Massachusetts
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* Rhode Island
* Vermont

### Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
* New Hampshire, 4.02% (702 votes)
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
* Massachusetts, 7.16% (3,953 votes)

### Maps

* Electoral College map
* Map of presidential election results by county, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate (includes rejected votes)
* Map of presidential election results by electoral district, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate. Electoral boundaries for Maryland could not be found (includes rejected votes)

## Electoral College selection

| Method of choosing electors | State(s) |
| Each elector appointed by state legislature | Connecticut Delaware Georgia New York South Carolina Vermont |
| Each elector chosen by voters statewide | New Hampshire New Jersey Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia |
| State is divided into electoral districts, with one elector chosen per district by the voters of that district | North Carolina Maryland Tennessee |
| State is divided into two electoral districts and half the electors are chosen from each district. | Kentucky |
| Two electors chosen by voters statewide One elector chosen per congressional district in a statewide vote | Massachusetts |