The 1847 New York state election was held on November 2, 1847, to elect 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 ...

, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, the

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

, the state engineer, three Canal Commissioners and three Inspectors 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 Ass ...

and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

History

The

New York State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846 legislated the incumbent state officers and members of legislature out of office. It required a number of state officers, who had been elected by the state legislature, to be elected by general ballot. At the first judicial election under the Constitution of 1846, Lieutenant Governor

Addison Gardiner Addison Gardiner (March 19, 1797 – June 5, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1845 to 1847 and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1854 to 1855. Early life and caree ...

was elected to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, and took office on July 4, 1847, thus vacating the lieutenant governorship. To fill the vacancy, on September 27, an Act by the state legislature authorized a special election, to be held at the annual state election. The Democratic state convention met in September in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. The party split over the slavery question, and the

Barnburners The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. Whil ...

abandoned the convention.

Orville Hungerford Orville Hungerford (October 29, 1790 – April 6, 1851) was a two-term United States Representative for the 19th District in New York in the mid-19th century. He was also a prominent merchant, banker, industrialist, freemason, philanthropist, a ...

defeated Azariah C. Flagg for the nomination for Comptroller with 59 votes to 47. The Barnburners held a separate state convention on October 26 at

Herkimer, New York Herkimer is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica, New York, Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 9,566 at the 2020 census, down from 10,175 in ...

, but did not nominate a ticket. They told their followers "to vote as they must do when no regular nominations have been made," suggesting to support the Whig nominees rather than the Hunkers on the Democratic ticket.Charles W. McCurdy
''The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839-1865''
(UNC Press, 2001, , , page 378 The Anti-Rent state convention nominated Shepard for Lieutenant Governor with 11 votes for him, and 10 for Fish, on the second ballot.

Results

The whole Whig state ticket was elected.The number of votes is the total of Whig and Anti-Rent votes for Fillmore, Jordan, Stuart, Hinds and Beach, the total of Democratic and Anti-Rent votes for Sanford, Cuyler and Mather, and the total of Liberty and Anti-Rent votes for Shepard. None of the incumbents ran for re-election this time. The Canal Commissioners and Prison Inspectors, upon taking office, were classified by drawing lots, so that every following year one commissioner and one inspector would be elected to a three-year term. Cook and Gedney drew the one-year term, Hinds and Comstock the two-year term, and Beach and Spencer the three-year term. 24 Whigs and 8 Democrats were elected to a two-year term (1848–1849) in the

. 93 Whigs and 35 Democrats were elected to the

of the

71st New York State Legislature The 71st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 12, 1848, during the second year of John Young's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

Notes

Sources

*Result for Lt. Gov. i
''Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York''
1852, p. 367) *Results i
''The Whig Almanac and United States Register 1848''

History

Results

Notes

Sources

See also