Virginia voted for the Republican candidate, incumbent PresidentUlysses S. Grant over the Democratic and Liberal Republican candidate, former U.S. RepresentativeHorace Greeley. This was the first presidential election that Virginia participated in after the events of the U.S. Civil War, and also the first election where West Virginia wasn't a part of the state. It was also the first presidential election in which the state voted for a Republican candidate and would not occur again until 1928. The election was still very close in this state and Grant won Virginia by a margin of 0.98%.