The 1868 United States presidential election in California was held on November 3, 1868 as part of the 1868 United States presidential election . State voters chose five representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
California narrowly voted for the Republican nominee, Union general Ulysses S. Grant , over the Democratic nominee, DNC chair Horatio Seymour by a margin barely over 500 votes. Additionally, this was the last time until 1968 where a Republican won the white House without carrying Santa Clara County .
Results [ edit ] General Election Results[1] Party Pledged to Elector Votes Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant Alfred Reddington 54,592 Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant John B. Felton 54,588 Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant O. H. La Grange 54,576 Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant D. B. Hoffman 54,565[a] [2] Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant Charles Westmoreland 54,551 Democratic Party Horatio Seymour Thomas J. Henley 54,078 Democratic Party Horatio Seymour W. T. Wallace 54,069 Democratic Party Horatio Seymour E. J. C. Kewen 54,068 Democratic Party Horatio Seymour A. D. Dibble 54,068 Democratic Party Horatio Seymour George Pearce 54,061 Votes cast[b] 108,670
Results by county [ edit ] County Ulysses S. Grant Republican Horatio Seymour Democratic Margin Total votes cast[c] # % # % # % Alameda 1,860 59.58% 1,262 40.42% 598 19.15% 3,122 Alpine 154 69.68% 67 30.32% 87 39.37% 221 Amador 1,110 47.56% 1,224 52.44% -114 -4.88% 2,334 Butte 1,279 50.67% 1,245 49.33% 34 1.35% 2,524 Calaveras 1,143 52.12% 1,050 47.88% 93 4.24% 2,193 Colusa 359 33.93% 699 66.07% −340 −32.14% 1,058 Contra Costa 1,091 59.65% 738 40.35% 353 19.30% 1,829 Del Norte 162 48.36% 173 51.64% -11 -3.28% 335 El Dorado 1,676 49.90% 1,683 50.10% -7 -0.21% 3,359 Fresno 72 15.89% 381 84.11% −309 −68.21% 453 Humboldt 769 60.27% 507 39.73% 262 20.53% 1,276 Inyo 113 53.05% 100 46.95% 13 6.10% 213 Kern 208 33.02% 422 66.98% −214 −33.97% 630 Klamath 137 42.28% 187 57.72% −50 −15.43% 324 Lake 248 35.33% 454 64.67% −206 −29.34% 702 Lassen 210 63.25% 122 36.75% 88 26.51% 332 Los Angeles 748 37.70% 1,236 62.30% -488 -24.60% 1,984 Marin 528 54.94% 433 45.06% 95 9.89% 961 Mariposa 456 40.75% 663 59.25% -207 -18.50% 1,119 Mendocino 621 38.26% 1,002 61.74% −381 −23.48% 1,623 Merced 98 26.49% 272 73.51% −174 −47.03% 370 Mono 148 62.45% 89 37.55% 59 24.89% 237 Monterey 580 46.66% 663 53.34% -83 -6.68% 1,243 Napa 752 52.37% 684 47.63% 68 4.74% 1,436 Nevada 3,014 55.11% 2,455 44.89% 559 10.22% 5,469 Placer 1,987 61.71% 1,233 38.29% 754 23.42% 3,220 Plumas 712 56.24% 554 43.76% 158 12.48% 1,266 Sacramento 3,207 59.14% 2,216 40.86% 991 18.27% 5,423 San Bernardino 263 41.03% 378 58.97% -115 -17.94% 641 San Diego 129 35.44% 235 64.56% -106 -29.12% 364 San Francisco 12,183 47.29% 13,582 52.71% -1,399 -5.43% 25,765 San Joaquin 2,101 52.95% 1,867 47.05% 234 5.90% 3,968 San Luis Obispo 372 51.88% 345 48.12% 27 3.77% 717 San Mateo 628 60.10% 417 39.90% 211 20.19% 1,045 Santa Barbara 428 58.71% 301 41.29% 127 17.42% 729 Santa Clara 2,307 49.75% 2,330 50.25% -23 -0.50% 4,637 Santa Cruz 1,153 61.01% 737 38.99% 416 22.01% 1,890 Shasta 638 53.43% 556 46.57% 82 6.87% 1,194 Sierra 1,328 62.58% 794 37.42% 534 25.16% 2,122 Siskiyou 835 47.63% 918 52.37% -83 -4.73% 1,753 Solano 1,541 51.64% 1,443 48.36% 98 3.28% 2,984 Sonoma 1,799 42.82% 2,402 57.18% -603 -14.35% 4,201 Stanislaus 350 35.28% 642 64.72% −292 −29.44% 992 Sutter 581 50.88% 561 49.12% 20 1.75% 1,142 Tehama 351 46.86% 398 53.14% -47 -6.28% 749 Trinity 505 56.36% 391 43.64% 114 12.72% 896 Tulare 338 33.24% 679 66.76% −341 −33.53% 1,017 Tuolumne 994 47.13% 1,115 52.87% -121 -5.74% 2,109 Yolo 995 48.39% 1,061 51.61% -66 -3.21% 2,056 Yuba 1,331 54.48% 1,112 45.82% 219 8.96% 2,443 Total 54,592 50.24% 54,078 49.76% 514 0.47% 108,670
^ Combined total for "D.B. Hoffman" and "D.A. Hoffman". The split was 41,518 for D.B. Hoffman and 13,047 for D.A. Hoffman. The California Supreme Court ordered the Secretary of State to treat the votes for D.A. Hoffman as having been for D.B. Hoffman. Had these figures not been combined, Thomas J. Henley would have been elected instead. ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket ^ Based on highest elector on each ticket References [ edit ] ^ Abstract of votes polled at a General Election held throughout the State of California on Tuesday the third day of November AD 1868 ^ "Official Vote of the State" . California Digital Newspaper Collection . Daily Alta California. December 2, 1868. Retrieved June 19, 2024 .