1848 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
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Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 1848 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on May 8, 1848. This was the election for the first Governor of Wisconsin, which became a U.S. state that year, as it was held concurrent with a public referendum to ratify the Constitution of Wisconsin.
Democrat Nelson Dewey, of Grant County, won the election with nearly 56% of the vote. Dewey defeated Whig Party candidate John Hubbard Tweedy, of Milwaukee.[1]
Democratic Party[]
Nelson Dewey was a prominent lawyer and real-estate investor in Grant County, Wisconsin. He did extensive business with the lead-mining industry, which was a major component of the economy of the Wisconsin Territory. He had been a member of nearly every session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, first as a member of the Territorial Assembly, from 1838 to 1842, then as a member of the Territorial Council from 1842 to 1846. He served as Speaker of the Territorial Assembly in 1840, and President of the Territorial Council in 1846.[2]
Dewey was chosen as a compromise candidate at the Democratic Party Convention after delegates became deadlocked between the lead-mining region's preferred candidate, Hiram Barber, and the eastern region's preferred candidate, Morgan Lewis Martin.[3]
Other candidates[]
- Hiram Barber, of Dodge County, was a businessman and investor. He had been a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention in 1846.[2] Prior to moving to Wisconsin, he had been a Judge in Warren County, New York, for 14 years.
- Morgan Lewis Martin, of Brown County, had most recently served as President of Wisconsin's second constitutional convention.[2] Prior to this, he had served as the Wisconsin Territory's non-voting representative to the United States House of Representatives for the 29th Congress. He served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature from 1838 to 1844,[2] and had served in the Michigan Territorial Legislature from 1831 to 1835, when the land which is now Wisconsin was a part of the Michigan Territory.
Whig Party[]
John Hubbard Tweedy was, at the time of the 1848 election, the non-voting representative of the Wisconsin Territory to the United States House of Representatives for the 30th Congress. He had been a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention, and had served in the Wisconsin Territorial Assembly during the second session of the third legislature (Winter of 1841-1842).[2]
Independent candidate[]
Charles Durkee was a merchant, and one of the founders of Southport (now Kenosha, Wisconsin). He was a member of the Wisconsin Territorial Assembly for the first legislature (1836 to 1838).[2]
Results[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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General Election, May 8, 1848 | |||||
Democratic | Nelson Dewey | 19,875 | 55.69% | ||
Whig | John Hubbard Tweedy | 14,621 | 40.97% | ||
Independent | Charles Durkee[note 1] | 1,134 | 3.18% | ||
Scattering | 56 | 0.16% | |||
Total votes | 35,686 | 100.0% | |||
Democratic win (new seat) |
References[]
- ^ a b Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015–2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN 978-0-9752820-7-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Heg, J.E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin, 1882 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 161–171, 175–176. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Wisconsin's former governors, 1848-1959". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 73. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. (1966). "Statistical information on Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1966 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 607. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
Notes[]
- 1848 Wisconsin elections
- Wisconsin gubernatorial elections
- 1848 United States gubernatorial elections
- 1848 in Wisconsin
- May 1848 events
- Midwestern United States election stubs
- Wisconsin stubs