1862 New York gubernatorial election
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 County results
Seymour: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Wadsworth: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% No Data: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1860 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1860. Incumbent Governor Edwin D. Morgan did not run for a third consecutive term in office. Democratic former Governor Horatio Seymour was elected over Union candidate James S. Wadsworth.
Constitutional Union nomination
[edit]The Constitution Union state convention met on September 9 at Association Hall in Troy. Horatio Seymour led informal balloting for governor, but the convention adjourned without a nomination. The next day, its delegates joined the Democratic convention in Albany.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Union | Horatio Seymour | 32 | 52.46% | |
| Constitutional Union | John Adams Dix | 20 | 32.79% | |
| Constitutional Union | Millard Fillmore | 6 | 9.84% | |
| Constitutional Union | Frederick A. Tallmadge | 1 | 1.64% | |
| Constitutional Union | James Brooks | 1 | 1.64% | |
| Constitutional Union | Lorenzo Burrows | 1 | 1.64% | |
| Total votes | 61 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic nomination
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Horatio Seymour, former Governor of New York (1853–54)
Declined
[edit]- Fernando Wood, mayor of New York City
Convention
[edit]The Democratic state convention met at Tweddle Hall in Albany on September 10, one day after the Constitutional Union convention.[2] For the first time in many years, the party was united in New York City, with mayor Fernando Wood and Tammany Hall sharing portions of the delegation.[2] A committee of ten, including August Belmont, was appointed to confer with the Constitutional Union delegates, who were invited to join the convention to a storm of applause.[2]
Horatio Seymour was nominated for governor by acclamation following an enthusiastic demonstration.[2] Once order was restored, Seymour delivered an acceptance speech criticizing both the United States Congress and the Abraham Lincoln administration for their conduct during the Civil War, citing Republican journalists and Proverbs 20:3 ("It is an honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.").[2] Though he credited the Republican Congress with honesty, he accused radicals in Congress of insubordination to the Lincoln administration by pursuing the abolition of slavery, which united the South and divided the North.[2] By contrast, he pledged that the Democratic Party would be loyal and obedient to the laws and Constitution, supporting the cause of the Union.[2]
Seymour's acceptance speech was followed by a brief address from Fernando Wood, who endorsed Seymour, pledging a strong majority of the vote from New York, and accused the Lincoln administration of arresting dissenters.[2]
Union nomination
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- John Adams Dix, United States Army major general and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator
- Lyman Tremain, former Democratic Attorney General of New York
- James S. Wadsworth, United States Army brevet major general and commander of the Military District of Washington, D.C.
Convention
[edit]The Union state convention met at Wieting Hall in Syracuse on September 24.[3] The Union Party included Republicans as well as War Democrats like Lyman Tremain, who was nominated for Lieutenant Governor.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Union | James S. Wadsworth | 234 | 61.74% | |
| National Union | John Adams Dix | 110 | 29.02% | |
| National Union | Lyman Tremain | 33 | 8.71% | |
| National Union | Daniel S. Dickinson | 2 | 0.53% | |
| Total votes | 379 | 100.00% | ||
The Albany delegation voted for Tremain, except Tremain himself, who voted for Dickinson. After the result was announced, Tremain applauded both Wadsworth and Dix, withdrew his name from consideration and called for Wadsworth to be nominated unanimously.[3] Tremain was nominated unanimously for Lieutenant Governor with the support of William Curtis Noyes, whom he had defeated for Attorney General in 1857.[3]
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Horatio Seymour, former Governor of New York (1853–54) (Democratic, Constitutional Union)
- James S. Wadsworth, United States Army brevet major general and commander of the Military District of Washington, D.C. (Union)
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Horatio Seymour | 306,649 | 50.89% |  7.08
| |
| National Union | James S. Wadsworth | 295,897 | 49.11% |  4.13
| |
| Total votes | 602,546 | 100.00% | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "STATE POLITICS - Meeting of the Constitutional Union State Convention at Albany" (PDF). The New York Times. July 13, 1862. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h STATE POLITICS - Meeting of the Democratic State Convention at Albany in NYT on September 11, 1862
- ^ a b c d NEW YORK STATE POLITICS - The Republican Convention at Syracuse in NYT on September 25, 1862
- ^ Smith, Adam I. P. (2006). No Party Now: Politics in the Civil War North. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 59.