 Support for the Republican Party increased during the war years, with 72 percent voting for Lincoln for reelection in the Election of 1864.The dominant political figure in Massachusetts during the war was 25th Governor John Albion Andrew a staunch Republican who energetically supported the war effort.Massachusetts annually re-elected him by large margins for the duration of the war—his smallest margin of victory occurred in 1860 for his first election, with 61 percent of the popular vote and his largest later in 1863 with 71 percent.