| ←1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 → Presidential election year | |
| Incumbent president | Martin Van Buren (Democratic) |
|---|---|
| Next Congress | 27th |
| Presidential election | |
| Partisan control | Whig gain |
| Popular vote margin | Whig +6.1% |
| Electoral vote | |
| William Henry Harrison (W) | 234 |
| Martin Van Buren (D) | 60 |
 | |
| 1840 presidential election results.Blue denotes states won by Van Buren,buff denotes states won by Harrison. Numbers indicate theelectoral votes won by each candidate. | |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Whig gain |
| Seats contested | 18 of 52 seats[1] |
| Net seat change | Whig +6[2] |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Whig gain |
| Seats contested | All 242 voting members |
| Net seat change | Whig +26[2] |
Elections for the27th United States Congress, were held in 1840 and 1841, taking place during theSecond Party System. In the aftermath of thePanic of 1837, theWhigs become the fourth party in history to win control of the presidency and both houses of Congress; the Whigs would never again accomplish this feat. The election also marked the first time since the1834 elections that theDemocratic Party did not control the presidency and both chambers of Congress.
In the presidential election,Whig GeneralWilliam Henry Harrison defeatedDemocratic PresidentMartin Van Buren.[3] Harrison won by a margin of 5% in the popular vote, but dominated the electoral college. Harrison was nominated at the1839 Whig National Convention, the first convention in Whig history. Harrison's victory made him the first president unaffiliated with theDemocratic-Republican Party or theDemocratic Party to win election sinceJohn Adams in1796. Martin Van Buren's defeat made him the third president to fail to win re-election, followingJohn Adams andJohn Quincy Adams.
The 1840 presidential election was one of major controversy. Because the election took place during the rise of the Second Party System, rising levels of voting interest and party loyalty proved that this election was going to be controversial.[4] The incumbent Democratic candidate, President Martin Van Buren, was dubbed "Martin Van Ruin" because of his less-than-ideal previous term where he failed to address a financial crisis, ran for re-election over Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. The Whigs chose William Henry Harrison because of his similarities to former president Andrew Jackson in the sense that he was a war hero[5] and a man of the people.[6] This approach proved successful because William Henry Harrison won the election by dominating the electoral college, despite winning by only 5% of the popular vote.
In theHouse, Whigs won major gains, taking the majority.[7] In theSenate, Whigs picked up several seats, taking the majority.[8] This marked the second of three times in American history where one party flipped both chambers of Congress and the Presidency in a single election, along with 1800 and 1952.
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