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1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

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1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1846 November 8, 1847 (1847-11-08) 1848 →
 
Nominee George N. Briggs Caleb Cushing Samuel E. Sewall
Party Whig Democratic Liberty
Popular vote 53,742 39,398 9,193
Percentage 50.97% 37.36% 8.72%

County Results
Briggs:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

Governor before election

George N. Briggs
Whig

Elected Governor

George N. Briggs
Whig

The 1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8.

Incumbent Whig Governor George N. Briggs was re-elected to a fifth term in office over Democrat Caleb Cushing. This was the last election in which the Whig Party received a majority of the vote; after the emergence of the Free Soil Party in 1848, Whigs only won pluralities before fading away entirely by the 1857 election.

Democratic nomination

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Candidates

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Convention

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1847 Massachusetts Democratic Convention[1]
Ballot 1 2
Cushing 153 264
Davis 117 87
Henshaw 65 0
Bishop 14 0
Others 19 10
Total 368 361

General election

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Candidates

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  • Francis Baylies, former U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Buenos Aires and U.S. Representative from Taunton
  • Caleb Cushing, former U.S. Minister to China and U.S. Representative from Newburyport (Democratic)
  • George N. Briggs, incumbent Governor since 1844 (Whig)
  • Samuel Edmund Sewall, Liberty nominee for Governor since 1842 (Liberty)

Results

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1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig George N. Briggs (incumbent) 53,742 50.97% Decrease2.81
Democratic Caleb Cushing 39,398 37.36% Increase4.78
Liberty Samuel Edmund Sewall 9,193 8.72% Decrease1.09
Know Nothing Francis Baylies 2,876 2.73% Decrease0.63
Write-in 234 0.22% Decrease0.26
Total votes 105,443 100.00%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - MA Governor - D Convention Race - Sep 22, 1847".
  2. ^ "MA Governor, 1847". OurCampaigns. Retrieved May 7, 2021.