Grant defeats Greeley in the 1872 United States presidential election

Background. The Liberal Republican Party nominated Horace Greeley, a New York Tribune editor, for president in 1872. The Democratic Party also nominated Greeley, hoping to unite against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was unanimously re-nominated by Republicans. Greeley was an unsuccessful candidate who lost the election in a landslide.

Election Result. Presidential elections were held on November 5, 1872. Grant won the electoral college with 286 votes. Greeley won 66 electoral votes. However, Greeley died on November 29, 1872, before the Electoral College cast its votes. This was the only instance in U.S. history where a major candidate who won electoral votes died during the election process.

Post-Election Developments. Greeley died twenty-four days after the election. His pledged electors from Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Maryland could not cast their votes. During the joint session of Congress on February 12, 1873, objections were raised regarding the results in five states. The national Liberal Republican organization disappeared after 1872.