See main article: 1872 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1872 United States presidential election in Georgia |
| Country: | Georgia (U.S. state) |
| Flag Year: | Pre-1879 |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the State of Georgia (non-official).svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1868 United States presidential election in Georgia |
| Previous Year: | 1868 |
| Next Election: | 1876 United States presidential election in Georgia |
| Next Year: | 1876 |
| Election Date: | November 5, 1872 |
| Image1: | Horace Greeley restored (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Horace Greeley |
| Party1: | Liberal Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | New York |
| Running Mate1: | Benjamin G. Brown |
| Electoral Vote1: | 0 (+3 rejected) |
| Popular Vote1: | 76,356 |
| Percentage1: | 54.97% |
| Nominee2: | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | Illinois |
| Running Mate2: | Henry Wilson |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 62,550 |
| Percentage2: | 45.03% |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Ulysses S. Grant |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Map Size: | 290px |
The 1872 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1872, as part of the 1872 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Georgia voted for the Liberal Republican candidate, Horace Greeley, over Republican candidate, Ulysses S. Grant. Greeley won Georgia by a margin of 9.94%. However, Greeley died prior to the Electoral College meeting, allowing Georgia's 11 electors to vote for the candidate of their choice: 6 voted for Greeley's running mate, B. Gratz Brown, and 2 for Charles Jenkins.[1] 3 electors attempted to vote for the deceased Greeley, but their votes were rejected after a House of Representatives resolution.[2]
Georgia was one of only two former Confederate states (along with Texas) that didn't vote Republican during the reconstruction elections of 1868, 1872, and 1876. During these elections, Southern Republicans were briefly empowered by newly registered black voters who would soon become disenfranchised again by anti-black laws known as black codes or Jim Crow laws in the late 1870s and 1880s.[3] Despite failing to carry the state, Grant's 45.03% of the vote stood as the best performance by a Republican in Georgia until Barry Goldwater finally carried the state in 1964, 92 years later.
This was the last time the Republican candidate carried Fulton County, home to Atlanta, and Clayton County until 1928; the last time they carried Bryan, Charlton, Lowndes, Harris, Houston, Putnam, Pike, and Fayette counties until 1964, and the last time they won Coweta, Meriwether, Butts, Newton, and Clarke counties until 1972, when Richard Nixon swept every county in the state.[4]