| Presidential Candidate | Electoral Vote | Popular Vote | Pct | Party | Running Mate (Electoral Votes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses Simpson Grant of Illinois (W) | 286 | 3,597,132 | Republican | Henry C. Wilson of Massachusetts (286) | |
| Horace Greeley of New York | 3 (see below) | 2,834,125 | Democrat-Liberal Republican | Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri | |
| Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri(18) Thomas Andrews Hendricks of Indiana (42) Charles J. Jenkins of Georgia (2) David Davis of Illinois (1) |
Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri (47) Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts (1) George W. Julian of Indiana (5) Alfred H. Colquitt of Georgia (5) John M. Palmer of Illinois (3) Thomas E. Bramlette of Kentucky (3) William S. Groesbeck of Ohio (1) Willis B. Machen of Kentucky (1) |
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| Other elections: 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884 | |||||
| Source: U.S. Office of the Federal Register | |||||
Notes:
Incumbent president Ulysses S. Grant was renominated by the Republican Party, but an influential group of dissident Republicans split from the party and formed the new Liberal Republican Party, which nominated New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley for President (over former ambassador to Britain Charles Francis Adams), and Governor B. Gratz Brown of Missouri for Vice President. The Democrats, seeing their only chance for victory in union with the Liberal Republicans, followed by nominating Greeley and Brown at their own convention. Due to widespread internal dissention in both the Democrats and Liberal Republicans, Grant easily defeated Greeley.
On November 29, 1872, after the popular vote but before the electoral college was convened, Greeley died. As a result, electors voted for a number of different candidates for both President and Vice President, mostly for Brown, the Democratic party's Vice Presidential nominee.
Despite the absence of life, Horace Greeley still received three electoral votes, but these votes were disallowed by Congress. Vice President Henry Wilson died November 22, 1875.
See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1872, History of the United States (1865-1918)