1779 Virginia gubernatorial election

1779 Virginia gubernatorial election

June 1, 1779

Nominee Thomas Jefferson John Page Thomas Nelson Jr. Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan 1st ballot 55 38 32 2nd ballot 67 61 Eliminated

Governor before election Patrick Henry Nonpartisan Elected Governor Thomas Jefferson Nonpartisan

A gubernatorial election was held in Virginia on June 1, 1779. The delegate from Albemarle County Thomas Jefferson defeated the president of the Council of State John Page.

The incumbent governor Patrick Henry was ineligible for re-election due to term limits established by the Constitution of Virginia. The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. No candidate had a majority after the first count, requiring a second ballot between the two top-finishers.

General election

1779 Virginia gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	First ballot		Second ballot
			Count	Percent	Count	Percent
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Jefferson	55	44.00	67	52.34
	Nonpartisan	John Page	38	30.40	61	47.66
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Nelson Jr.	32	25.60	Eliminated
Total			125	100.00	128	100.00

Bibliography

• State of Virginia (1827). Journal of the House of Delegates [...]. Richmond.