1796 Virginia gubernatorial election

1796 Virginia gubernatorial election

←  1795 November 25, 1796 1797  →

Nominee James Wood Thomas Madison Patrick Henry 1st ballot 75 — 94 [a] 2nd ballot 115 56 —

Governor before election Robert Brooke Democratic-Republican Elected Governor James Wood Democratic-Republican [b]

A gubernatorial election was held in Virginia on November 25 and December 6, 1796. ^[2] The member of the Council of State James Wood defeated the member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Botetourt County Thomas Madison. ^[3]

The Democratic-Republican incumbent governor Robert Brooke retired in order to seek election as attorney general of Virginia. ^[4] The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. ^[1] The former governor Patrick Henry defeated Wood on the first ballot, but declined to serve. ^[5] The General Assembly met again on December 6 and elected Wood with a majority on the second ballot. ^[3]

General election

1796 Virginia gubernatorial election ^[6]

Candidate	First ballot		Second ballot
	Count	Percent	Count	Percent
Patrick Henry	94	55.62	Declined
James Wood	75	44.38	115	66.09
Thomas Madison	—		56	32.18
Beverley Randolph	—		2	1.15
William Clarke	—		1	0.57
Total	169	100.00	174	100.00

Notes

1. Declined
2. Lampi does not include information about parties for this election, but lists Wood as a Federalist in 1794. Sobel and Raimo state that Wood was elected and served as a Democratic-Republican. ^[1]

1. Sobel & Raimo 1978, p. 1625.
2. "On Friday last [...]". Gazette of the United States. December 9, 1796.
3. Lampi 2012b.
4. "On Wednesday last [...]". Gazette of the United States. November 26, 1796.
5. Lampi 2012a.
6. Lampi 2012a; Lampi 2012b.

Bibliography

• Lampi, Philip J. (2012a). "Virginia 1796 Governor". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
• Lampi, Philip J. (2012b). "Virginia 1796 Governor, Ballot 2". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
• Sobel, Robert; Raimo, John (1978). Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789–1978. Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books.