1832  1836 Presidential Election Returns  1840

President Andrew Jackson was retiring and the Democrats nominated Vice-President Martin Van Buren to serve as President. The newly formed Whig Party followed an interesting strategy. The Whig Party was formed in opposition to President Jackson and did not really run on issues. They nominated four regional candidates to run for President. The hope was to split the electoral votes enough that Van Buren would not be able to win the election in the Electoral College. Then a Congress sympathetic to their cause could elect a Whig Party candidate as President. Former Senator William Henry Harrison from Ohio ran as a Whig in the Upper Midwest and the Middle Atlantic region. Tennessee Senator Hugh White ran across the South.  Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster ran in Massachusetts. North Carolina Senator Willie Mangum was chosen by the South Carolina legislature. In the end, the Whig strategy to throw the election into the House of Representatives to force them to choose from three Whigs did not work. Martin Van Buren won the election, marking a rare occasion when the same political party won three consecutive terms in the White House. This election marked the only time the U.S. Senate selected the Vice-President, as Virginia's electors chose not to support Richard Johnson for Vice-President, leaving him one vote short of a majority in the Electoral College! The Senate chose Richard Johnson. UNITED STATES VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 763,291 51 170 Harrison/Granger 549,907 37 73 White/Tyler 146,107 10 26 Webster/Granger 41,201 3 14 Mangum/Tyler -- -- 11 ALABAMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 20,638 55 7 White/Tyler 16,658 45 0 ARKANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 2,380 64 3 White/Tyler 1,334 36 0 CONNECTICUT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 19,294 51 8 Harrison/Granger 18,799 49 0 DELAWARE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 4,154 47 0 Harrison/Granger 4,736 53 3 GEORGIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 22,778 48 0 White/Tyler 24,481 52 11 ILLINOIS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 18,369 55 5 White/Tyler 15,220 45 0 INDIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 32,478 44 0 Harrison/Granger 41,281 56 9 KENTUCKY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 33,229 47 0 Harrison/Granger 36,861 53 15 LOUISIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 3,842 52 5 White/Tyler 3,583 48 0 MAINE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 22,825 59 10 Harrison/Granger 14,803 38 0 MARYLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 22,267 46 0 Harrison/Granger 25,852 54 10 MASSACHUSETTS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 33,486 45 0 Webster/Granger 41,201 55 14 MICHIGAN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 7,122 56 3 Harrison/Granger 5,545 44 0 MISSISSIPPI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 10,297 51 4 White/Tyler 9,782 49 0 MISSOURI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 10,995 60 4 White/Tyler 7,337 40 0 NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 18,697 75 6 Harrison/Granger 6,228 25 0 NEW JERSEY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 25,592 49 0 Harrison/Granger 26,137 51 8 NEW YORK VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 166,795 55 42 Harrison/Granger 138,548 45 0 NORTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 26,631 53 15 White/Tyler 23,521 47 0 OHIO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 96,238 48 0 Harrison/Granger 104,958 52 21 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 91,457 51 30 Harrison/Granger 87,235 49 0 RHODE ISLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 2,964 52 4 Harrison/Granger 2,710 48 0 SOUTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Mangum/Tyler + No Popular Vote -- 11 TENNESSEE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 26,170 42 0 White/Tyler 36,027 58 15 VERMONT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 14,037 40 0 Harrison/Granger 20,994 60 6 VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Van Buren/Johnson + 30,556 57 23 White/Tyler 23,384 43 0 SYMBOLS KEY Whig Independent Other Democratic Winner * Incumbent + Incumbent Party