1842 Virginia gubernatorial election
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February 11–12, 1842 (first attempt)
December 15, 1842 (second attempt) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Virginia |
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Gubernatorial elections were held in Virginia on February 11–12 and December 15, 1842.[1] The Democratic former member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Rockbridge County James McDowell defeated the Democratic former U.S. representative from Virginia's 9th congressional district William P. Taylor and the Whig commonwealth attorney for Roanoke County Edward Watts.[2]
The previous governor of Virginia Thomas Walker Gilmer resigned on March 20, 1841. John M. Patton, John Rutherfoord, and John Munford Gregory succeeded to office in turn in their capacities as the senior member of the Executive Council and acted as governor until the election of a successor.[3]
The 1841 state elections resulted in split control of the legislature, with a Whig majority in the House of Delegates and a Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate. The powerful Richmond Junto was believed to favor the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Andrew Stevenson as Gilmer's successor. Allies of the U.S. senator from South Carolina John C. Calhoun suspected Stevenson of using the governorship as a stepping stone to secure the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1844 and determined to oppose his election. McDowell had the most support of the potential Democratic candidates, having narrowly lost the 1840 Virginia gubernatorial election to Gilmer after eight consecutive ballots.[4]
The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session.[5] During the voting on February 11–12, the Democratic Senate majority repeatedly prevented the election of a governor.[6] After eight consecutive ballots, the Senate adjourned, and the election was postponed indefinitely.[7]
Democrats controlled both chambers of the legislature following the 1842 state elections, which resulted in a landslide defeat for the Whigs. The elections did nothing to increase the influence of the Richmond Junto, which had steadily declined since 1837. Unable to prevent McDowell's nomination by the Democratic legislative caucus, Thomas Ritchie, the leader of the Junto and editor of the Richmond Enquirer, endorsed McDowell in hopes of averting an intra-party split. McDowell easily prevailed in the caucus, an outcome that represented the end of the Junto's leadership of the Virginia Democratic Party.[8]
The newly-elected General Assembly met in joint session on December 15, 1842. McDowell was elected with a majority on the first ballot.[9]
General election
[edit]February 11
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Ballot | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | |||||||||
| Whig | Edward Watts | 80 | 81 | |||||||
| Democratic | William P. Taylor | 79 | 81 | |||||||
| Democratic | Henley Chapman | 2 | N/a | |||||||
| Democratic | James McDowell | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Whig | John Howe Peyton | 1 | N/a | |||||||
| Democratic | Andrew Stevenson | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Total
|
164 | 164 | ||||||||
February 12
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Ballot | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | |||||
| Democratic | William P. Taylor | 78 | N/a | |||||||
| Whig | Edward Watts | 56 | 4 | 3 | 1 | N/a | 1 | |||
| Whig | Lewis Summers | 26 | 68 | 71 | 68 | N/a | ||||
| Whig | William B. Preston | 4 | 3 | 6 | 41 | 66 | ||||
| Democratic | James McDowell | 2 | 2 | 1 | N/a | 55 | ||||
| Democratic | Andrew Stevenson | 2 | 78 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 22 | |||
| Whig | Robert Eden Scott | N/a | 2 | N/a | 1 | |||||
| Whig | John F. May | N/a | 2 | 1 | N/a | |||||
| Whig | James M. Garnett | N/a | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Democratic | Isaac S. Pennybacker | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | Robert W. Carter | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | John M. Patton | N/a | 1 | 1 | N/a | |||||
| Whig | John Howe Peyton | N/a | 1 | N/a | 4 | |||||
| Democratic | Richard H. Baptist | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | Oscar M. Crutchfield | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | Vincent Witcher | N/a | 39 | 5 | ||||||
| Whig | David McComas | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Democratic | George W. Munford | N/a | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Democratic | William F. Gordon | N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||
| Whig | William M. McCarty | N/a | 1 | |||||||
| Whig | Robert M. T. Hunter | N/a | 1 | |||||||
Total
|
164 | 162 | 164 | 164 | 163 | 159 | ||||
House of Delegates: 7th ballot
[edit]The House of Delegates proceeded to a seventh ballot immediately after the sixth, with the following result. The Senate, however, adjourned rather than continue voting, and the election was postponed indefinitely.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Seventh ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percent | |||
| Democratic | James McDowell | 55 | 44.72 | |
| Whig | William B. Preston | 53 | 43.09 | |
| Democratic | John Winston Jones | 3 | 2.44 | |
| Democratic | Andrew Stevenson | 3 | 2.44 | |
| Whig | John Howe Peyton | 2 | 1.63 | |
| Whig | Robert Eden Scott | 2 | 1.63 | |
| Whig | Charles P. Dorman | 1 | 0.81 | |
| Whig | William Kinney | 1 | 0.81 | |
| Democratic | Thomas Ritchie | 1 | 0.81 | |
| Democratic | Littleton Waller Tazewell | 1 | 0.81 | |
| Whig | Vincent Witcher | 1 | 0.81 | |
Total
|
123
|
100.00
| ||
December 15
[edit]| Party | Candidate | First ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percent | |||
| Democratic | James McDowell | 110 | 68.75 | |
| Democratic | William P. Taylor | 9 | 5.62 | |
| Whig | Edward Watts | 8 | 5.00 | |
| Democratic | John Winston Jones | 4 | 2.50 | |
| Whig | Benjamin Watkins Leigh | 4 | 2.50 | |
| Whig | Robert Eden Scott | 4 | 2.50 | |
| Democratic | Andrew Stevenson | 4 | 2.50 | |
| N/a | William Garnett | 3 | 1.88 | |
| Whig | William M. Peyton | 3 | 1.88 | |
| N/a | Samuel C. Anderson | 2 | 1.25 | |
| Democratic | John Y. Mason | 2 | 1.25 | |
| N/a | James W. Pegram | 2 | 1.25 | |
| Whig | Oscar M. Crutchfield | 1 | 0.62 | |
| Whig | James Lyons | 1 | 0.62 | |
| Whig | William B. Preston | 1 | 0.62 | |
| Whig | Samuel Watts | 1 | 0.62 | |
| Whig | Vincent Witcher | 1 | 0.62 | |
Total
|
160
|
100.00
| ||
References
[edit]- ^ Virginia 1841a, pp. 139–45; Virginia 1842a, p. 32.
- ^ Bodie 2023, p. 133; Prillaman 2007, p. 26.
- ^ Sobel & Raimo 1978, pp. 1, 639–40.
- ^ Dent 1974, pp. 297, 299–300.
- ^ Virginia 1841a, p. 139.
- ^ Dent 1974, p. 299.
- ^ a b Virginia 1841a, p. 145.
- ^ Dent 1974, pp. 300–1.
- ^ Virginia 1842a, p. 32.
- ^ Virginia 1841a, pp. 139–41; Virginia 1841b, pp. 108–9.
- ^ Virginia 1841a, pp. 142–45; Virginia 1841b, pp. 111–16.
- ^ Virginia 1841a, p. 145; Virginia 1841b, p. 116.
- ^ Virginia 1842a, p. 32; Virginia 1842b, p. 24.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bodie, Charles A. (2023). James McDowell of Virginia: The Perils of an Antebellum Southern Reformer. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 133.
- Dent, Lynwood Miller (1974). The Virginia Democratic Party, 1824-1847. (Volumes I and II) (PhD thesis). [Baton Rouge]: Louisiana State University.
- Prillaman, Hellen R. (2007). A Place Apart: A Brief History of the Early Williamson Road and North Roanoke Valley Residents and Places. Baltimore: Clearfield.
- Sobel, Robert; Raimo, John (1978). Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789–1978. Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books.
- Virginia (1841a). Journal of the House of Delegates [...]. Richmond.
- Virginia (1842a). Journal of the House of Delegates [...]. Richmond.
- Virginia (1841b). Journal of the Senate [...]. Richmond.
- Virginia (1842b). Journal of the Senate [...]. Richmond.
Further reading
[edit]- For a list of members of the Virginia General Assembly by party, see Simms, Henry H. (1929). The Rise of the Whigs in Virginia, 1824–1840. Richmond: William Byrd Press. pp. 167–192.