# Electoral history of James Buchanan

This is the electoral history of James Buchanan. He was the 15th president of the United States (1856-1860); 17th United States Secretary of State; United States Minister to the United Kingdom and Russia; U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's third (1821-1823) and fourth congressional district (1823-1831); and U.S. senator from Pennsylvania (1834-1845).

## United States House of Representatives elections
### 1820

1820 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania-3 (Plural district with 2 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Federalist | James Buchanan | 7,809 | 27.9 |
| Federalist | John Phillips | 7,709 | 27.5 |
| Democratic-Republican | Jacob Hibshman | 6,396 | 22.8 |
| Democratic-Republican | James M. Wallace | 6,100 | 21.8 |

### 1822

1822 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania-4 (Plural district with 3 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jacksonian | James Buchanan | 7,021 | 18.6 |
| Jacksonian | Isaac Wayne | 6,870 | 18.2 |
| Jacksonian | Samuel Edwards | 6,839 | 18.1 |
| Democratic-Republican | William Darlington | 5,723 | 15.2 |
| Democratic-Republican | William Anderson | 5,646 | 15.0 |
| Democratic-Republican | Jacob Hibshman | 5,639 | 14.9 |

### 1824

1824 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania-4 (Plural district with 3 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jacksonian | James Buchanan | 6,968 | 18.0 |
| Jacksonian | Samuel Edwards | 6,802 | 17.5 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | Charles Miner | 6,756 | 17.4 |
| Democratic-Republican | Isaac D. Barnard | 6,129 | 15.8 |
| Democratic-Republican | William Anderson | 6,098 | 15.7 |
| Democratic-Republican | Samuel Houston | 6,028 | 15.5 |

### 1826

1826 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania-4 (Plural district with 3 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jacksonian | James Buchanan | 5,950 | 18.5 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | Samuel Anderson | 5,732 | 17.8 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | Charles Miner | 5,670 | 17.6 |
| Jacksonian | Joshua Evans Jr. | 4,983 | 15.5 |
| Jacksonian | John McCamant | 4,933 | 15.3 |
| Jacksonian | George Gray Leiper | 4,902 | 15.2 |

### 1828

1828 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania-4 (Plural district with 3 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jacksonian | James Buchanan | 10,004 | 17.6 |
| Jacksonian | Joshua Evans Jr. | 9,932 | 17.5 |
| Jacksonian | George Gray Leiper | 9,538 | 17.4 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | Samuel Anderson | 9,023 | 15.9 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | Townsend Haines | 9,006 | 15.9 |
| Anti-Jacksonian | William Hiester | 8,957 | 15.8 |

## United States Senate election
### 1834

1834 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania State Legislature Results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | James Buchanan | 66 | 49.62 |
| | Anti-Masonic | Amos Ellmaker | 31 | 23.31 |
| | Democratic | James Clarke | 26 | 19.55 |
| | National Republican | Joseph Lawrence | 6 | 4.51 |
| | Democratic | Joel Sutherland | 1 | 0.75 |
| | N/A | Not voting | 3 | 2.26 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 133 | 100.00% |

### 1836

1836 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania State Legislature Results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | James Buchanan | 85 | 63.91 |
| | Whig | Thomas M. T. McKennan | 24 | 18.05 |
| | Whig | Charles B. Penrose | 21 | 15.79 |
| | Democratic | Thomas Cunningham | 1 | 0.75 |
| | Democratic | Isaac Leet | 1 | 0.75 |
| | N/A | Not voting | 1 | 0.75 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 133 | 100.00% |

### 1843

1843 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania State Legislature Results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | James Buchanan | 74 | 56.06 |
| | Whig | John Banks | 54 | 40.91 |
| | Democratic | Richard Brodhead | 1 | 0.76 |
| | Unknown | John Gibons | 1 | 0.76 |
| | N/A | Not voting | 2 | 1.52 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 132 | 100.00% |

## Democratic National Conventions
### 1844

1844 Democratic National Convention :
| Ballots | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Martin Van Buren | 146 | 127 | 121 | 111 | 103 | 101 | 99 | 104 | 2 | 0 |
| Lewis Cass | 83 | 94 | 92 | 105 | 107 | 116 | 123 | 114 | 29 | 0 |
| Richard M. Johnson | 24 | 33 | 38 | 32 | 29 | 23 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Buchanan | 4 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| John C. Calhoun | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Levi Woodbury | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Stewart | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Morton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| James K. Polk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 231 | 266 |
| Blank | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

#### Notes

* ↑ before shifts
* ↑ after shifts

### 1848

1848 Democratic National Convention :
| Ballots | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Lewis Cass | 125 | 133 | 156 | 179 |
| Levi Woodbury | 53 | 56 | 53 | 38 |
| James Buchanan | 55 | 54 | 40 | 33 |
| John C. Calhoun | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Jenkins Worth | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| George M. Dallas | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| William Orlando Butler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Abstaining | 39 | 39 | 36 | 36 |

### 1852

1852 Democratic National Convention Presidential Ballot :
| Ballot | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th |
| Franklin Pierce | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewis Cass | 116 | 118 | 119 | 115 | 114 | 114 | 113 | 113 | 112 | 111 | 101 | 98 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 96 | 89 | 81 | 60 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 34 |
| James Buchanan | 93 | 95 | 94 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 92 | 102 | 104 | 103 | 103 | 101 |
| William L. Marcy | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Stephen A. Douglas | 20 | 23 | 21 | 31 | 34 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 39 | 40 | 50 | 52 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 50 | 56 | 63 | 64 | 64 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 79 |
| William Butler | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 24 |
| Daniel S. Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Joseph Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Sam Houston | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| John B. Weller | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Dodge | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Linn Boyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William R. King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Ingersoll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blank | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Presidential Ballot :
| Ballot | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th | 38th | 39th | 40th | 41st | 42nd | 43rd | 44th | 45th | 46th | 47th | 48th | 49th |
| Franklin Pierce | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 44 | 49 | 55 | 283 |
| Lewis Cass | 33 | 32 | 28 | 27 | 33 | 65 | 98 | 123 | 130 | 131 | 122 | 120 | 107 | 106 | 107 | 107 | 101 | 101 | 101 | 96 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 2 |
| James Buchanan | 101 | 98 | 96 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 74 | 72 | 49 | 39 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 0 |
| William Marcy | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 33 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 97 | 98 | 95 | 89 | 0 |
| Stephen Douglas | 80 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 80 | 60 | 53 | 52 | 43 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 2 |
| William Butler | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Daniel S. Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Joseph Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Houston | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Linn Boyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| William R. King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Ingersoll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Blank | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |

### 1856

1856 Democratic National Convention :
| Presidential Ballot ||||||||||||||||||
| Ballot | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th |
| James Buchanan | 135.5 | 139 | 139.5 | 141.5 | 140 | 155 | 143.5 | 147.5 | 146 | 147.5 | 147.5 | 148 | 150 | 152.5 | 168.5 | 168 | 296 |
| Franklin Pierce | 122.5 | 119.5 | 119 | 119 | 119.5 | 107.5 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 80.5 | 80 | 79 | 77.5 | 75 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Douglas | 33 | 31.5 | 32 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 58 | 56 | 56 | 62.5 | 63 | 63.5 | 63 | 63 | 118.5 | 122 | 0 |
| Lewis Cass | 5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 7 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 6 | 0 |
* 1st Presidential Ballot
* 2nd Presidential Ballot
* 3rd Presidential Ballot
* 4th Presidential Ballot
* 5th Presidential Ballot
* 6th Presidential Ballot
* 7th Presidential Ballot
* 8th Presidential Ballot
* 9th Presidential Ballot
* 10th Presidential Ballot
* 11th Presidential Ballot
* 12th Presidential Ballot
* 13th Presidential Ballot
* 14th Presidential Ballot
* 15th Presidential Ballot
* 16th Presidential Ballot
* 17th and Final Presidential Ballot

## 1856 United States presidential election

Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote$^{(a)}$ | Popular vote$^{(a)}$ | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| James Buchanan Jr. | Democratic | Pennsylvania | 1,836,072 | 45.28% | 174 | John Cabell Breckinridge | Kentucky | 174 |
| John Charles Frémont | Republican | California | 1,342,345 | 33.11% | 114 | William Lewis Dayton | New Jersey | 114 |
| Millard Fillmore | American | New York | 873,053 | 21.53% | 8 | Andrew Jackson Donelson | Tennessee | 8 |
| Other | Other | Other | 3,177 | 0.08% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,054,647 | 100% | 296 | | | 296 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 149 | | | 149 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1856 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved July 27, 2005. Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 31, 2005.
$^{(a)}$ The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.

## Sources and references

* ↑ "U. S. Congressional Election (10 October 1820)" (PDF). Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Congressional Election (8 October 1822)" (PDF). Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Congressional Election (10 October 1824)" (PDF). Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Congressional Election (12 October 1826)" (PDF). Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Congressional Election (14 October 1826)" (PDF). Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Senate Election (1834)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Senate Election (1836)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ "U. S. Senate Election (1843)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
* ↑ Witcover, Jules (2003). Party of the people a history of the Democrats. Internet Archive. New York : Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50742-7.
* ↑ Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Forest, Louis Effingham De (1882). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
* ↑ Johnson, Charles W. (1852). Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention Held at Baltimore, June 1-5, 1852. Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong. hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t3806c46m. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-13 – via HathiTrust.
* ↑ Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention. National Document Publishers. 1856. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-13.