Election of 1860

For every election there has to be one republican candidate and one democratic. The democratic candidate for the election of 1860 was Stephen Douglas, the republican was Abraham Lincoln.  The republicans choose Lincoln as their candidate because they believed he could win the Electoral College by taking New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. They thought this because he had become something of an inspiration to the people. The election was very close. Lincoln won just barley, receiving 180 electoral votes.

The votes of the Electoral College were split among four candidates in the 1860 presidential election. The states that Lincoln won are shown in red, Breckenridge in green, Bell in orange and Douglas in brown.