The 1862 New York state election was held on November 4, 1862, 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 ...

, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, 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 ...

History

The Constitutional Union state convention met on September 9 at Association Hall in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. B. Davis Noxon was temporary chairman and made a speech stating that the object of this political body was to stop the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Eli P. Morton was chosen president of the convention. Ballots were taken for governor and lieutenant governor. The vote stood as follows. For governor: Horatio Seymour 32,

John Adams Dix John Adams Dix (July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) was an American politician and military officer who was Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of New York and Union major general during the Civil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southern ...

20,

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

6, Frederick A. Tallmadge 1, James Brooks 1,

Lorenzo Burrows Lorenzo Burrows (March 15, 1805 – March 6, 1885) was an American merchant, banker and politician. Life He attended the academies at Plainfield, Connecticut and Westerly, Rhode Island. He moved to New York and settled in Albion, N.Y., in 1824. ...

1. For lieutenant governor:

William C. Hasbrouck William Cornelius Hasbrouck (August 23, 1800 – November 5, 1870 Newburgh, Orange County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. Life He was the first child born to Cornelius Benjamin Hasbrouck (1769–1851) and Jane Kelso Hasbrouck (1 ...

29, Burrows 13,

Washington Hunt Washington Hunt (August 5, 1811 – February 2, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician. Life and career Hunt was born in Windham, New York. He moved to Lockport, New York in 1828 to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1834, and opene ...

8, Brooks 3, William Duer 2, Tallmadge 1. No ticket was nominated, the Constitutional Unionists instead joined the Democratic convention on the following day. The Democratic state convention met on September 10 at Tweddle Hall in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

Henry C. Murphy Henry Cruse Murphy (July 5, 1810 – December 1, 1882) was an American lawyer, politician and historian. During his political career, he served as Mayor of Brooklyn, a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Minister to the N ...

was temporary chairman until the choice of

Alonzo C. Paige Alonzo Christopher Paige (July 31, 1797 — March 31, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York. Early life On July 31, 1797, Paige was born in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, New York. Paige's father was Rev. Winslow ...

as chairman. Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour (who was in office 1853–54, and had already twice lost the gubernatorial elections in 1850 and 1854) was nominated for governor by acclamation. Seymour then made a lengthy speech disagreeing with the political course of the Republican federal government. The Republican state convention met on September 24 at

Wieting Hall The Wieting Opera House was a performance hall in Syracuse, New York, that hosted operas, films, and other performances from 1852 to 1930. Initially built by John Wieting in 1852 as Wieting Hall, the building burnt down in 1856. He rebuilt it t ...

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 ...

. Ex-Chief Judge Alexander S. Johnson (a former Democrat) was temporary chairman until the choice of Henry J. Raymond as president. James S. Wadsworth was nominated for governor on the first ballot. Lyman Tremain (a former Democrat) was nominated for lieutenant governor.''NEW YORK STATE POLITICS - The Republican Convention at Syracuse''
in NYT on September 25, 1862

Result

The whole Democratic/Constitutional Union ticket was elected. The total votes cast were more than 70,000 less than in the previous election because the soldiers in the field were not allowed to vote, which is believed to have given a slight majority (about 10,000 votes of a total of more than 600,000) to those opposed to the

. The incumbent Skinner was re-elected. The incumbent Hughes was defeated. 64 Republicans and 64 Democrats were elected for the session of 1863 to the

Notes

Sources

*Result i
''The Tribune Almanac for the Years 1838 to 1868''
compiled by

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 ...

*The tickets

in NYT on November 2, 1862

History

Result

Notes

Sources

See also