1868 United States elections

Elections were held on November 3, 1868, electing the members of the 41st United States Congress. The election took place during the Reconstruction Era, and many Southerners were barred from voting. However, Congress's various Reconstruction Acts required southern states to allow Black men to vote, and their voting power was significant to the elections results.

1868 United States elections

← 1866          1867          1868          1869          1870 → Presidential election year
Election day	November 3
Incumbent president	Andrew Johnson (Democratic)[a]
Next Congress	41st
Presidential election
Partisan control	Republican gain
Popular vote margin	Republican +5.4%
Electoral vote
Ulysses S. Grant (R)	214
Horatio Seymour (D)	80
1868 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Grant, blue denotes states won by Seymour, and green denotes states that had not yet been restored to the Union. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.
Senate elections
Overall control	Republican hold
Seats contested	25 of 66 seats[1]
Net seat change	0[2]
1868–69 Senate election results. Red denotes states won by the Republican Party, blue denotes states won by the Democratic Party, light gray denotes states where no election was held, and green denotes states that had not yet been restored to the Union.
House elections
Overall control	Republican hold
Seats contested	All 243 voting members
Net seat change	Democratic +20[2]
1868–69 House of Representatives election results. Red denotes districts won by the Republican Party, blue denotes districts won by the Democratic Party, and orange denotes districts won by the Conservative Party.

In the presidential election, Republican General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Democratic former governor Horatio Seymour of New York.^[3] Incumbent President Andrew Johnson sought the 1868 Democratic nomination, but Seymour took the nomination after twenty two ballots.

Democrats gained several seats in the House elections, but Republicans continued to maintain a commanding majority.^[4] In the Senate elections, Republicans and Democrats both won seats, but Republicans maintained a huge majority in the chamber.^[5]

See also

• 1868 United States presidential election
• 1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1868–69 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. Johnson was elected as vice president on the National Union ticket in 1864 and assumed the presidency in 1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After becoming president, Johnson broke with Lincoln's Republican Party, attempted to form his own party, and was a candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.