Lincoln lost New Jersey when he ran for re-election

Abraham Lincoln lost New Jersey when he ran for re-election to a second term in 1864.

New Jersey’s seven electoral votes went to George McClellan, a Civil War general and a resident of Orange, New Jersey.

Electors for McClellan defeated Lincoln’s Electoral College slate by more than 7,296 votes, a margin of 53%-47%.

Lincoln won the national election with 212 electoral votes, carrying every state but Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey.

Thirteen years later, McClellan was elected governor of New Jersey.  He defeated William Newell, who had served as governor before the Civil War.