1861 California gubernatorial election

1861 California gubernatorial election

← 1859 September 4, 1861 1863 →
 
Nominee Leland Stanford John R. McConnell John Conness
Party Republican Southern Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 56,036 33,751 30,944
Percentage 46.41% 27.96% 25.63%

County results
Stanford:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%
McConnell:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%
Conness:      40-50%      70-80%

Governor of California before election

John G. Downey
Democratic

Governor of California

Leland Stanford
Republican

The 1861 California gubernatorial election took place on September 4, 1861. Incumbent Governor John G. Downey was not a candidate for renomination, as his Democratic Party had violently ruptured over the issue of slavery and secession. Downey was a Lecompton Democrat, those who favored slavery in the Kansas Territory and who were running as now as the Breckenridge or "Chivalry" Democrats. These Chivalry Democrats supported Attorney General John McConnell. Anti-slavery or anti-secession Democrats were the "Unionist" Democrats who favored John Conness.

With the dire split in the Democratic Party, even more bitter than in 1859, former Republican nominee Leland Stanford won a plurality of the popular vote and became the first Republican Governor of California. Both Stanford and Conness later served in the United States Senate.

Results

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California gubernatorial election, 1861[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Leland Stanford 56,036 46.80% +37.06%
Southern Democratic John McConnell 32,751 27.35% −31.77%
Democratic John Conness 30,944 25.84% −5.28%
Majority 23,285 19.45%
Total votes 119,731 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing +68.83%

Results by county

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County Leland Stanford
Republican
John R. McConnell
Southern Democratic
John Conness
Democratic
Margin Total votes cast[1]
# % # % # % # %
Alameda 1,932 69.02% 356 12.72% 511 18.26% 1,421[a] 50.77% 2,799
Amador 1,299 38.39% 827 24.44% 1,258 37.17% 41[a] 1.21% 3,384
Butte 1,732 42.53% 1,106 27.16% 1,234 30.30% 498[a] 12.23% 4,072
Calaveras 1,980 38.39% 1,572 30.48% 1,606 31.14% 374[a] 7.25% 5,158
Colusa 348 30.88% 581 51.55% 198 17.57% -233 -20.67% 1,127
Contra Costa 959 60.50% 330 20.82% 296 18.68% 629 39.68% 1,585
Del Norte 172 38.31% 213 47.44% 64 14.25% -41 -9.13% 449
El Dorado 2,775 43.72% 1,370 21.59% 2,202 34.69% 573[a] 9.03% 6,347
Fresno 54 12.05% 316 70.54% 78 17.41% -238[a] -53.13% 448
Humboldt 402 41.57% 205 21.20% 360 37.23% 42[a] 4.34% 967
Klamath 198 26.98% 301 41.01% 235 32.02% -66[a] -8.99% 734
Lake 92 29.39% 167 53.35% 54 17.25% -75 -23.96% 313
Los Angeles 455 24.62% 1,195 64.66% 198 10.71% -740 -40.04% 1,848
Marin 591 53.48% 309 27.96% 205 18.55% 282 25.52% 1,105
Mariposa 566 30.38% 710 38.11% 587 31.51% -123[a] -6.60% 1,863
Mendocino 493 37.21% 559 42.19% 273 20.60% -66 -4.98% 1,325
Merced 59 12.97% 309 67.91% 87 19.12% -222[a] -48.79% 455
Mono 350 25.07% 528 37.82% 518 37.11% -10[a] -0.71% 1,396
Monterey 499 48.03% 235 22.62% 305 29.36% 194[a] 18.67% 1,039
Napa 767 48.03% 553 34.63% 277 17.35% 214 13.40% 1,597
Nevada 3,250 49.62% 1,779 27.16% 1,521 23.22% 1,471 22.46% 6,550
Placer 2,222 48.54% 893 19.51% 1,463 31.96% 759[a] 16.58% 4,578
Plumas 659 37.06% 517 29.08% 602 33.86% 57[a] 3.21% 1,778
Sacramento 3,264 45.16% 1.127 15.59% 2,836 39.24% 428[a] 5.92% 7,227
San Bernardino 297 30.97% 401 41.81% 261 27.22% -104 -10.84% 959
San Diego 122 46.21% 90 34.09% 52 19.70% 32 12.12% 264
San Francisco 10,728 70.82% 1,243 8.21% 3,178 20.98% 7,550[a] 49.84% 15,149
San Joaquin 1,837 47.85% 1,588 41.36% 414 10.78% 249 6.49% 3,839
San Luis Obispo 176 36.82% 200 41.84% 102 21.34% -24 -5.02% 478
San Mateo 702 59.24% 100 8.44% 383 32.32% 319[a] 26.92% 1,185
Santa Barbara 131 22.17% 24 4.06% 436 73.77% -305 -51.61% 591
Santa Clara 1,995 57.88% 1,081 31.36% 371 10.76% 914 26.52% 3,447
Santa Cruz 916 62.48% 367 25.03% 183 12.48% 549 37.45% 1,466
Shasta 626 26.87% 628 26.95% 1,076 46.18% -448[b] -19.23% 2,330
Sierra 2,147 45.01% 1,423 29.83% 1,200 25.16% 724 15.18% 4,770
Siskiyou 1,168 36.90% 717 22.65% 1,280 40.44% -112 -3.54% 3,165
Solano 1,449 55.86% 689 26.56% 456 17.58% 760 29.30% 2,594
Sonoma 1,608 44.63% 1,616 44.85% 379 10.52% -8 -0.22% 3,603
Stanislaus 247 27.66% 415 46.47% 231 25.87% -168 -18.81% 893
Sutter 558 39.32% 570 40.17% 291 20.51% -12 -0.85% 1,419
Tehama 405 31.64% 507 39.61% 368 28.75% -102 -7.97% 1,280
Trinity 888 39.07% 608 26.75% 777 34.18% 111[a] 4.88% 2,273
Tulare 153 13.19% 671 57.84% 336 28.97% -335[a] -28.88% 1,160
Tuolumne 2,025 43.67% 1,636 35.28% 976 21.05% 389 8.39% 4,637
Yolo 726 40.63% 694 38.84% 367 20.54% 32 1.79% 1,787
Yuba 2,014 46.86% 1,425 33.15% 859 19.99% 589 13.70% 4,298
Total 56,036 46.80% 32,751 27.35% 30,994 25.84% 23,285 19.45% 119,731

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Margin over Conness
  2. ^ Margin over McConnell

References

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  1. ^ a b California State Archives, Statement of the Votes Polled at a General Election Held in the State of California, on the Fourth Day of September, A.D. 1861
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