The 1860 Pennsylvania gubernatorial was held on October 9, almost one month before Presidential election. Andrew Curtin of the newly formed Republican Party won the governor's mansion over Democrat Henry Donnel Foster.

Candidates

Democratic

* Henry Donnel Foster, former

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(from Westmoreland County)

Republican

* Andrew Curtin, former Secretary of the Commonwealth (from Centre County)

Campaign

As in most of the country, the growing tension over the expansion of slavery was the dominant electoral issue. Although outgoing Governor

William F. Packer William Fisher Packer (April 2, 1807September 27, 1870) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as the 14th governor of Pennsylvania from 1858 to 1861. Early and personal life Packer was born in Howard Township, Pennsylvania t ...

had been lauded for expanding public education and for aiding the state's iron and glass industries through tough economic times, his reputation was tainted by a strong connection to President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

. Nonetheless, the state Democratic Party remained strong, and, despite the national split, leadership united behind Foster. By contrast, the Republicans, which had participated in only one prior gubernatorial election, was marked by division. Although

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

was emerging as the party's presidential candidate, state party bosses had hoped to nominate Simon Cameron; it took some time for the party establishment to unify around Curtin, a Lincoln supporter, and his campaign got off to somewhat of a slow start. Although both candidates discussed similar issues in their campaign, particularly public education and industrial development, local issues were totally overshadowed by the impending threat of war. While Democrats, who backed the

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

and the Northern plank of their national party almost unanimously, rallied hard behind Foster, the problems with the party's national machinery caught up with their candidate. Curtin, a powerful speaker, was able to convince voters that choosing the Republican line was the only way to keep the nation from division, a message that allowed him to achieve a narrow victory

Results

Notes

References

* Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, 1860

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 ...

October 1860 events {{Pennsylvania-election-stub