Presidential Election Archives - Page 2 of 93

Lincoln lost New Jersey when he ran for re-election

February 16, 2026 12:09 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:19 pm

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...

How Abraham Lincoln won New Jersey

February 16, 2026 12:08 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:08 pm

Abraham Lincoln won four electoral votes in New Jersey in 1860, with three electors pledged to a fusion ticket that would back one of three Democrats who had the best shot at winning after Election Day. There was no public...

How John Kean cut a deal for a no-bid contract with Lincoln

February 16, 2026 12:07 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:06 pm

Col. John Kean, the great-great-grandfather of Rep. Thomas H. Kean, Jr., was among the founders of the New Jersey Republican Party in 1856. Kean was an insider’s insider. He was the grandson of John Kean, who served in the Continental...

New Jersey Democrats had no horse in 1860

February 16, 2026 12:06 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:04 pm

Democrats never really had a candidate to run against Abraham Lincoln in 1860, but they still managed to get three electoral votes with four going to the Republicans. Northern Democrats were backing Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, Southern Democrats supported...

How a Jersey guy beat Lincoln for vice president

February 16, 2026 12:04 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:03 pm

An obscure New Jerseyan named William Dayton nearly knocked Abraham Lincoln out of his place in history. Dayton was elected to the New Jersey Legislature as a member of the Whig Party in 1837 and then became an associate justice...

George Washington carried New Jersey

February 16, 2026 12:03 amFebruary 15, 2026 8:01 pm

New Jersey backed George Washington twice. Washington received all six of the state’s electoral votes in 1789. New Jersey gave six of their votes for vice president to John Jay and one to the winner, John Adams. There was no...

Meet New Jersey’s George Bush

February 16, 2026 12:02 amFebruary 15, 2026 7:59 pm

When George Bush endorsed Bob Dole for president in 1988, it made national headlines. One of the many oddities of 1980’s New Jersey politics was during the twelve years George H.W. Bush served as vice president and president of the...