The 1838 Illinois gubernatorial election was the sixth quadrennial election for this office. Democrat

Thomas Carlin Thomas Carlin (July 18, 1789 – February 14, 1852), a farmer, soldier and Jacksonian Democrat, was the seventh Governor of Illinois (from 1838 to 1842) and also served in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. He became the first Democrat ...

was elected by a bare majority of the voters in a close election. He defeated

Cyrus Edwards Cyrus Edwards (June 17, 1793 – August 31, 1877) was an American lawyer and politician. Edwards was born in Montgomery County, Maryland. He moved with his family to Kentucky. Edwards studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in Kaskask ...

, the brother of former governor

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of t ...

for the office.

Results

References

*Illinois Blue Book 1899 {{1838 United States elections

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

1838 Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration o ...

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 1838 events