1856 presidential election map and results

James Buchanan won 174 electoral votes to John C. Frémont's 114 and Millard Fillmore's 8. A majority was 149 of 296 electoral votes.

Candidates

Candidate	Party	Electoral votes	Popular vote	%
James Buchanan ✓	Democratic	174	1,836,072	45.3%
John C. Frémont	Republican	114	1,342,345	33.1%
Millard Fillmore	American	8	873,053	21.5%

Popular-vote totals add up the states with recorded votes; some states chose electors through their legislatures in this era.

State	Won by	Electoral votes	Winner %	Margin (pts)
Alabama	James Buchanan	9	62.1%	24.2
Arkansas	James Buchanan	4	67.1%	34.2
California	James Buchanan	4	48.4%	15.6
Connecticut	John C. Frémont	6	53.2%	9.6
Delaware	James Buchanan	3	54.8%	11.8
Florida	James Buchanan	3	56.8%	13.6
Georgia	James Buchanan	10	57.1%	14.3
Illinois	James Buchanan	11	44.1%	3.9
Indiana	James Buchanan	13	50.4%	10.3
Iowa	John C. Frémont	4	48.8%	8.1
Kentucky	James Buchanan	12	52.5%	5.1
Louisiana	James Buchanan	6	51.7%	3.4
Maine	John C. Frémont	8	61.3%	25.7
Maryland	Millard Fillmore	8	54.6%	9.6
Massachusetts	John C. Frémont	13	63.6%	40.5
Michigan	John C. Frémont	6	57.2%	15.6
Mississippi	James Buchanan	7	59.4%	18.9
Missouri	James Buchanan	9	54.4%	8.9
New Hampshire	John C. Frémont	5	53.7%	8.0
New Jersey	James Buchanan	7	47.2%	18.7
New York	John C. Frémont	35	46.3%	13.4
North Carolina	James Buchanan	10	56.8%	13.6
Ohio	John C. Frémont	23	48.5%	4.3
Pennsylvania	James Buchanan	27	50.1%	18.0
Rhode Island	John C. Frémont	4	57.8%	24.1
South Carolina *	James Buchanan	8	—	—
Tennessee	James Buchanan	12	52.2%	4.4
Texas	James Buchanan	4	66.6%	33.3
Vermont	John C. Frémont	5	78.1%	57.2
Virginia	James Buchanan	15	60.0%	19.9
Wisconsin	John C. Frémont	5	55.7%	11.8

South Carolina: This state's electors were chosen by the state legislature.
District of Columbia: The District of Columbia did not receive presidential electors until the 23rd Amendment.