The 1866 New York state election was held on November 6, 1866, 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 ...

and an Inspector of State Prisons, 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 ...

. Besides, the voters were asked if a Constitutional Convention should be held in 1867, which was answered in the affirmative with 352,854 votes for, and 256,364 against the convention.

History

The delegates to the "Conservative Union" state convention arrived on September 10 at

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 ...

. This convention was the result of the still ongoing party re-alignment after 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 ...

. It was called by the Democratic Party with the intention to give the War Democrats, who had joined the Republicans in the National Union, and other conservative Republicans, an opportunity to return to the Democratic Party.

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H. Seward and was ins ...

was a delegate.

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 ...

was talked of to be nominated for governor. The convention met on September 11 and 12 at Tweddle Hall.

Sanford E. Church Sanford Elias Church (April 18, 1815 – May 14, 1880) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York and chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Early life Born in Milford, Ot ...

was temporary chairman and president.

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

John T. Hoffman (a Democrat of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

) was nominated for governor by acclamation. Robert H. Pruyn (a Republican) was nominated for lieutenant governor on the first ballot (vote: Pruyn 169, Harlow L. Comstock 85). William W. Wright (who had been Canal Commissioner from 1862 to 1863) for Canal Commissioner, and Francis B. Gallagher for prison inspector, were also nominated by acclamation.''NEW YORK STATE CONVENTION''
in NYT on September 13, 1866

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a tight race, with a majority of about 14,000 votes out of more than 700,000. The incumbent Governor Fenton was re-elected. 82 Republicans and 46 Democrats were elected for the session of 1865 to the

Notes

Sources

*Result i
''The Tribune Almanac''
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 ...

of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' *Result i
''NEW-YORK.; Official Declaration of the Vote at the November Election''
in NYT on December 6, 1866

History

Result

Notes

Sources

See also