The 1850 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on August 5, 1850. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Ansel Briggs Ansel Briggs (February 3, 1806May 5, 1881) was an American pioneer who rose from a stagecoach driver to a member of the Iowa Territorial House of Representatives (1842–1846) and the first Governor of Iowa (1846–1850). Early life Ansel B ...

declined to stand for re-election. Democratic nominee

Stephen P. Hempstead Stephen P. Hempstead (October 1, 1812February 16, 1883) was the second Governor of Iowa. A Democrat, he served from 1850 to 1854. Biography Hempstead moved to the Iowa territory, and was active in politics in the years leading up to Iowa's g ...

defeated Whig nominee James L. Thompson and

Free Soil The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

nominee William Penn Clark with 52.94% of the vote.

General election

Candidates

*William Penn Clark, Free Soil, lawyer, former newspaper editor *Stephen P. Hempstead, Democratic, former President of the Iowa Territory Legislative Council *James L. Thompson, Whig, Methodist preacher

Results

Notes

References

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a cit ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

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 ...

August 1850 events 1850 in Iowa United States gubernatorial elections in the 1850s 1850s in Iowa Government of Iowa 1850 elections 1850 elections in North America 1850 elections in the United States {{Iowa-election-stub