1860: Abraham Lincoln vs. Horatio Seymour vs. John Bell

[Rooney]

In the year 1860 the Democrats were, as we all know, divided between the Northern Democrats of Senator Stephen A. Douglas and the Southern Democrats under Vice-President John C. Breckenridge. This split helped elect former Congressman Abraham Lincoln to the presidency under the Republican banner.

The scenario: In September 1860, while traveling to New York State on his nearly unprecedented campaign tour, the train carrying Senator Douglas derails. The senator is killed, leaving the Northern Democrats without a candidate. Leading Democrats, led by former President Franklin Pierce and former Navy Secretary George Bancroft, begin to send letters to leading Democrats asking for a new convention to name a new national ticket before the October balloting in Maine.

The Democrats meet for a rump convention in Baltimore in mid-September 1860 and nominate former New York Governor Horatio Seymour for president as a compromise choice. While not given a running-mate, Governor Seymour accepts former Senator Joseph Lane, Breckenridge's running-mate, as his own running-mate. Vice-President Breckenridge begins contacting his southern supporters announcing his withdrawal from the race. By October 1860, Governor Seymour is the de facto Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States.

Lincoln and former House Speaker John Bell of the quixotic Constitutional Union ticket remain in the race. The question: what effect does a more united Democratic Party have on the outcome of the 1860 election?

[Kingpoleon]

123: Abraham Lincoln/Cassius Clay - 40.2%
99: Horatio Seymour/Joseph Lane - 34.0%
81: John Bell/Sam Houston - 25.2%
Others - 0.6%

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Seymour elected by the House if Lincoln fails to achieve an electoral majority.

[Mr. Smith]

Lincoln/Hamlin: 43%PV
Seymour/Lane: 37% PV
Bell/Everett: 19% PV

[Kingpoleon]

Seymour elected by the House if Lincoln fails to achieve an electoral majority.

I'm only wondering if Bell places above Douglas, because Sam Houston would be broadly popular amongst Congressmen of all stripes.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Horatio Seymour (D-NY) / Joseph Lane (D-OR)      44%   71
Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) / Hannibal Hamlin (R-ME)  40% 169
John Bell (CU-TN) / Edward Everett (CU-MA)         16%   63

Seymour record as governor isn't good enough to keep the Republican message from winning the day in New York. Thanks to Lincoln taking a majority in almost every Northern state, the Republicans take the Electoral College in spite of losing the popular vote to the Democrats, who contest with the Bell in the South and Lincoln in the North.