| ←1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 → Presidential election year | |
| Election day | November 2 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | Millard Fillmore (Whig) |
| Next Congress | 33rd |
| Presidential election | |
| Partisan control | Democratic gain |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +6.9% |
| Electoral vote | |
| Franklin Pierce (D) | 254 |
| Winfield Scott (W) | 42 |
 | |
| 1852 presidential election results.Blue denotes states won by Pierce,buff denotes states won by Scott. Numbers indicate theelectoral votes won by each candidate. | |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | 20 of 62 seats[1] |
| Net seat change | Democratic -1[2] |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | All 237 voting members |
| Net seat change | Democratic +30[2] |
Elections for the33rd United States Congress, were held in 1852 and 1853. The election marked the end of theSecond Party System, as theWhig Party ceased to function as a national party following this election. Democrats won the presidency and retained control of both houses of Congress.
In the presidential election,Democratic former senatorFranklin Pierce ofNew Hampshire defeatedWhig GeneralWinfield Scott.[3] Pierce won the popular vote by a margin of seven percent, and dominated the electoral college.John P. Hale of theFree Soil Party also took about five percent of the popular vote. Pierce won on the 49th ballot of the1852 Democratic National Convention, defeating 1848 nomineeLewis Cass, former Secretary of StateJames Buchanan, former Secretary of WarWilliam L. Marcy, and SenatorStephen A. Douglas from Illinois. Incumbent Whig presidentMillard Fillmore ran for a full term, but the1852 Whig National Convention chose Scott, another popular general similar to former Whig presidentsWilliam Henry Harrison andZachary Taylor. Fillmore became the first incumbent president to lose his party's presidential nomination. Scott was the last Whig presidential candidate, as the party collapsed during the 1850s. However, this election was also the last time a Democratic candidate would win a majority of the popular and electoral vote untilFranklin D. Roosevelt did so in 1932.
In theHouse, Democrats won several seats, boosting their majority.[4] In theSenate, Democrats won minor gains, maintaining their commanding majority.[5]
  | ThisAmerican elections-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |