Abraham LincolnPresidency |
Whom did Lincoln defeat for reelection in 1864? |
Lincoln’s opponent in the 1864 election was Democrat George B. McClellan, Lincoln’s former head general in the Civil War. Lincoln had fired McClellan as the head general of the Union army and replaced him with General Ambrose Burnside. Lincoln’s 1864 campaign slogan was “don’t swap horses in the middle of the stream.” He trounced McClellan, winning 212 electoral votes to McClellan’s 21.

President Lincoln meets with General George B. McClellan at the Antietam battlefield during the Civil War. McClellan later ran against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election.