1848 Virginia gubernatorial election
December 12, 1848
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| Elections in Virginia |
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A gubernatorial election was held in Virginia on December 12, 1848. The Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Washington County John B. Floyd defeated the Democratic judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia George W. Thompson.[1]
The incumbent governor of Virginia William Smith was ineligible for re-election due to term limits established by the Constitution of Virginia. Floyd attracted support based on his stance favoring internal improvements for Western Virginia,[2] as well as from Whigs who considered him the most acceptable of the Democratic candidates.[3]
The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. No candidate had a majority on the first ballot, requiring two additional rounds of voting. Floyd was elected with a majority on the third ballot.[4]
General election
| Party | Candidate | Ballot | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||||
| Democratic | John B. Floyd | 47 | 72 | 96 | ||||||
| Democratic | George W. Thompson | 34 | 48 | 55 | ||||||
| Democratic | Green Berry Samuels | 25 | N/a | |||||||
| Democratic | William Daniel | 23 | 27 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | George W. Summers | 14 | 7 | 1 | ||||||
| Democratic | John Y. Mason | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| Whig | William Cabell Rives | 2 | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | Valentine W. Southall | 2 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | Allen T. Caperton | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | John Janney | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | James Lyons | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | John Pendleton | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| N/a | James F. Preston | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | William B. Preston | 1 | N/a | 1 | ||||||
| Whig | Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| N/a | John W. Syme | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | Samuel Watts | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
Total
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161 | 162 | 165 | |||||||
References
- ^ Virginia 1848a, p. 62.
- ^ Luebke 2020.
- ^ "The Election of Governor". Staunton Spectator and General Advertiser. December 20, 1848.
- ^ Virginia 1848a, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Virginia 1848a, pp. 60–62; Virginia 1848b, pp. 34–36.
Bibliography
- Luebke, Peter (2020). "John B. Floyd (1806–1863)". Encyclopedia Virginia.
- Virginia (1848a). Journal of the House of Delegates [...]. Richmond.
- Virginia (1848b). Journal of the Senate [...]. Richmond.
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