Year: | 1808 |
Type: | Presidential election year |
Incumbent President: | Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) |
Next Congress: | 11th |
President Control: | Democratic-Republican hold |
President Candidate1: | James Madison (DR) |
Electoral Vote1: | 122 |
President Candidate2: | Charles C. Pinckney (F) |
Electoral Vote2: | 47 |
President Map Caption: | 1808 presidential election results. Green denotes states won by Madison, burnt orange denotes states won by Pinckney. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. |
Senate Control: | Democratic-Republican hold |
Senate Seats Contested: | 12 of 34 seats[1] |
Senate Net Change: | Federalist +1[2] |
House Control: | Democratic-Republican hold |
House Seats Contested: | All 142 voting members |
House Net Change: | Federalist +22 |
The 1808 United States elections elected the members of the 11th United States Congress. The election took place during the First Party System. In the aftermath of the Embargo of 1807, the Federalists picked up congressional seats for the first time since their defeat in the 1800 election. However, the Democratic-Republican Party maintained control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.
In the presidential election, Democratic-Republican Secretary of State James Madison easily defeated Federalist Governor Charles Pinckney of South Carolina.[3] Incumbent Vice President George Clinton was re-elected, making him the first vice president to serve under two different presidents.
In the House, Federalists won moderate gains, but Democratic-Republicans continued to dominate the chamber.[4]
In the Senate, Federalists picked up one seat, but Democratic-Republicans retained a dominant majority.[5]