The 1864 election took place in the midst of the Civil War. Incumbent President Abraham Lincoln ran for re-election under the banner of the National Union Party, a coalition of Republicans and War Democrats. His running mate was Andrew Johnson, a Southern Democrat who had remained loyal to the Union.
Lincoln’s opponent was George B. McClellan, a former Union general who represented the Democratic Party. The Democrats were divided between those who supported McClellan’s platform of ending the war through negotiation and those who wanted to continue fighting.
The turning point in the election came with Union military successes, particularly General Sherman’s capture of Atlanta. This helped boost Northern morale and solidify Lincoln’s re-election chances. Lincoln won in a landslide, securing 212 of 233 electoral votes, ensuring that the war would continue until the Union was preserved.