The 1860 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 6, 1860, as part of the 1860 United States presidential election. Louisiana voters chose six representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The Republican Party and its candidate Abraham Lincoln did not have significant ballot distribution in the state.
Campaign
Ahead of the 1860 Democratic convention, Louisiana Democrats were divided between supporters of Senator John Slidell and supporters of Senator Stephen A. Douglas for president. The Slidell faction was “pro-southern rights, pro-[Buchanan] administration, and favored Congressional protection of slavery in the territories”, while the Douglas faction supported popular sovereignty. The Slidell faction were a majority statewide. The minority Douglas wing included former Senator Pierre Soulé and congressman Miles Taylor.
In the general election, Breckinridge was supported by Senators Slidell and Benjamin, as well as the state Democratic Party organization.
Analysis
Louisiana was won by Southern Democratic candidate, Vice President John C. Breckinridge and his running mate Senator Joseph Lane of Oregon. The ticket defeated the Constitutional Union ticket of Senator John Bell of Tennessee and his running mate Massachusetts Governor Edward Everett along with Northern Democrat Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and his running mate Georgia Governor Herschel V. Johnson. Breckinridge won the state by a narrow margin of 4.90%. Republican Party candidate Abraham Lincoln was not on the ballot in the state.
This was the first time Louisiana ever voted for a losing candidate since it began popular vote elections for president in 1828. Even when its vote was chosen by the state legislature, the only time it voted for a candidate who did not win was in 1824, when it voted for Andrew Jackson, but Jackson won the nationwide popular vote. Thus, this was the first time Louisiana ever voted by any means for a candidate who lost the electoral vote and popular vote.