The 1855 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on October 9, 1855. Incumbent Democratic

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Medill William Medill (February 1802September 2, 1865) was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 22nd governor of Ohio from 1853 to 1856. Biography Born in White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, William was the son of Irish ...

became governor after the resignation of

Reuben Wood Reuben Wood (1792/1793October 1, 1864) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. He served as the 21st governor of Ohio. Biography Wood was born near Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont in either 1792 or 1793. While living wi ...

to accept a consulship, and Lt. Governor Medill became elected in his own right in 1853. The 1855 election was one of the first major tests of the fledgling Republican Party, then still a coalition of various anti-slavery forces, including former rival Democrats and Whig members. This election led them to quickly dominate Ohio politics for the next half-century. The election is also unique in that it was a contest of three Governors, past, present, and future. With Allen Trimble having served in the 1820s, William Medill serving at the time of the election, and Salmon Chase succeeding Medill. Trimble proved to be somewhat of a

spoiler candidate Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. Vote spl ...

, leaving Chase to win with only a plurality of the votes.

Republican convention

Candidates

Salmon Chase Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, U.S. Senator and former Cincinnati City Councilman * Joseph R. Swan, Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court *Hiram Griswold, defense attorney for

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

Results

General election

Results

References

{{1855 United States elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

October 1855 events