The 1863 West Virginia gubernatorial election, held on May 28, resulted in the victory of

Arthur I. Boreman Arthur Ingram Boreman (July 24, 1823April 19, 1896) was an American lawyer, politician and judge who helped found the U.S. state of West Virginia. Raised in Tyler County, West Virginia, he served as the state's first Governor, and a United Sta ...

. He received the nomination of the

Unconditional Union Party The Unconditional Union Party was a loosely organized political entity during the American Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction. First established in 1861 in Missouri, where secession talk was strong, the party fully supported the preserv ...

and won with no opposition in the general election.

Background

On April 17, 1861, the

Virginia Secession Convention The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, to govern the state during a state of emergency, and to write a new Constitution for Virginia, which was subsequent ...

voted in favor of succession from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and joining the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. On May 13, the First

Wheeling Convention The 1861 Wheeling Convention was an assembly of Virginia Southern Unionist delegates from the northwestern counties of Virginia, aimed at repealing the Ordinance of Secession, which had been approved by referendum, subject to a vote. The first ...

was held with the purpose of reorganizing the Virginian government and remaining in the United States. On May 23, 125,950 Virginians voted in favor of the Secession Ordinance against 20,373 people. On June 11, the Second Wheeling Convention was held and

was selected to serve as its chairman. On June 20, the convention called for returning to the United States and selected

Francis Harrison Pierpont Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...

to serve as governor until an election was held. On October 24, a referendum on statehood approval received 18,408 votes in favor and 781 against. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia was admitted as a state.

Unconditional Union primary

From May 6 to 7, 1863, the

's state convention was held to nominate candidates for multiple political offices. For the party's gubernatorial nomination Samuel Crane was nominated by James G. West, Boreman was nominated by E. M. Norton, and

Peter G. Van Winkle Peter Godwin Van Winkle (September 7, 1808April 15, 1872) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. For many years a leading officer of the Northwestern Virginia Railroad, he became one of the founders of West Virginia and a United ...

was nominated by Ben Smith. On the first ballot Van Winkle received a plurality of the vote, but did not receive the nomination due to a majority being required. West withdrew Crane's nomination before the second ballot in which Boreman defeated Van Winkle.

Candidates

*Samuel Crane *James W. Paxton *

Results

General election

On May 28, 1863, Boreman won the gubernatorial election without opposition.

Results

Results by county

References

{{Reconstruction Era

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaims t ...

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 ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

May 1863 events Single-candidate elections