The 1808 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on October 11, 1808. Incumbent governor Thomas McKean, a former Democratic Republican who had faced impeachment by members of his own party during the prior term, was not a candidate. Democratic-Republican candidate

Simon Snyder Simon Snyder (November 5, 1759November 9, 1819) was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving three terms from 1808 to 1817. He led the state through the War of 1812. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Snyder established a ...

, former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives defeated Federalist candidate and former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

James Ross to become Governor of Pennsylvania. Snyder, with the aid of a supportive press, campaigned as a "New School Democrat" and attempted to ally himself with James Madison. He painted the former McKean administration as elitist and advocated for popular democracy, governmental intervention in the economy, and infrastructural support for Western Pennsylvania countie

Results

*Note: Although Spayd ran as a Federalist, Ross was the only Federalist to carry any counties, as shown on the map.

References

{{1808 United States elections Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, 1808 Gubernatorial Pennsylvania November 1808 events