1872 United States presidential election in Kentucky

Main article: 1872 United States presidential election

The 1872 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 5, 1872, as part of the 1872 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1872 United States presidential election in Kentucky

← 1868 November 5, 1872 1876 →
Nominee Horace Greeley Ulysses S. Grant Party Liberal Republican Republican Home state New York Illinois Running mate Benjamin G. Brown Henry Wilson Popular vote 100,000 88,761 Percentage 52.33% 46.43%
County Results Greeley   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Grant   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%
President before election Ulysses S. Grant Republican Elected President Ulysses S. Grant Republican
Electoral College vote
December 17, 1872
12 members of the Electoral College from Kentucky
Candidate Thomas A. Hendricks B. Gratz Brown Party Democratic Liberal Republican Home state Indiana Missouri Running mate B. Gratz Brown Thomas E. Bramlette Electoral vote 8 4

Kentucky voted for the Liberal Republican candidate, Horace Greeley, over Republican candidate, Ulysses S. Grant. Greeley won Kentucky by a margin of 5.88%. However, Greeley died prior to the Electoral College meeting, meaning for Kentucky's 12 electors could vote for the candidate of their choice: eight voted for Indiana Senator Thomas Hendricks, while four voted for Greeley's running mate, Benjamin Gratz Brown.^[1]

This is the last time a Republican won two terms without ever carrying the state.

Results

1872 United States presidential election in Kentucky[2][3][4]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Popular vote		Electoral vote
				Count	%	Count	%
	Democratic	Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana	N/A of N/A	–	–	8	66.67%
	Liberal Republican	Benjamin G. Brown of Missouri	N/A of N/A	–	–	4	33.33%
	Liberal Republican	Horace Greeley of New York	Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri	100,000	52.32%	0[a]	0.00%
	Republican	Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois	Henry Wilson of Massachusetts	88,776	46.44%	0	0.00%
	Straight-Out Democratic	Charles O'Conor	John Quincy Adams II	2,374	1.24%	0	0.00%
Total				191,135	100.00%	12	100.00%

Notes

1. 12 electors were pledged to Greeley, who had died after the election but before the meeting of the Electoral College; these electors split their votes between Hendricks and Brown.