The 1858 New York state election was held on November 2, 1858, to elect the

governor 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 ...

, the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, a

Canal Commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

, and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

and two members of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

. Besides, the question was asked if a Constitutional Convention should be held, and answered in the negative: The vote was 135,266 for and 144,526 against.

History

The "Mass State Convention to nominate Gerrit Smith for Governor" met on August 4 at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, Isaac Parks, of

Canastota Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the Town of Lenox. Canastota High School is loc ...

, presided. The Republican and the American state conventions met on September 8 at

. At the Republican convention,

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H. Seward and was ins ...

was a delegate to a state convention for the first time after twenty years. There was some debate about the nomination of a joint ticket with the Americans. Ezra Graves was temporary chairman until the choice of Daniel T. Jones as president. A motion to nominate candidates for governor was voted down by 166 to 67, and the convention adjourned. At the American convention,

Daniel Ullmann Daniel Ullman, also spelled Ullmann (April 28, 1810 – September 20, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He also served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War; raising and leading colored troops. Political c ...

was chosen President, and after much debate they adjourned too. The Republican convention re-assembled on September 9, and Edwin D. Morgan was nominated for governor on the second ballot (first ballot: Morgan 116, Timothy Jenkins 51, James M. Cook 35, George W. Patterson 23, A. S. Diven 21,

John Alsop King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. Life John Alsop King was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on January 3, 1788, to U.S. Senator Rufus King ...

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

3; second ballot: Morgan 165, Jenkins 52, Patterson 20, Diven 18). Between the two ballots an American delegation arrived. Robert Campbell was nominated for lieutenant governor by acclamation. Now the American delegation marched back to the American convention with a Republican delegation which announced the Republican nominations and offered the Americans to complete the joint ticket with the nominees for Canal Commissioner and Prison Inspector. The Americans decided against it and nominated Lorenzo Burrows for governor, and Nathaniel S. Benton for lieutenant governor by acclamation. James R. Thompson was nominated for Canal Commissioner on the first ballot (vote: Thompson 84, Jesse C. Dann 64, Benoni Thompson 15, Justus Deming 4, scattering 4). The incumbent William A. Russell was re-nominated for Prison Inspector on the first ballot.''The American and Republican State Conventions''
in NYT on September 10, 1858

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected. The incumbent Russell was defeated. One Republican and one American were elected for the session of 1859 to the

, which had then 16 Republicans, 12 Democrats, 3 Americans and one Independent Republican. 99 Republicans and Americans, and 29 Democrats were elected for the session of 1859 to the

Notes

Sources

*Result i
''The Tribune Almanac 1859''

History

Result

Notes

Sources

See also