The presidential election of 1796 was the first disputed election. The two contenders were Vice President Adams and Secretary of State Jefferson. Neither took direct part in the election. Their surrogates became involved in a very nasty fight. Jefferson was attacked for not being religious and for his closeness to the French Revolution. Adams was attacked for being fond of the monarchy and being aloof. Adams won the election with 71 votes to Jefferson's 68. One of the oddities of the election was that when the Electoral College met in February 1797 two of the electors who were pledged to the Federalists voted for Jefferson.
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