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 County results Tompkins: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80-90% Lewis: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New York State |
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The 1807 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1807 to elect the Governor. Incumbent Governor Morgan Lewis ran for a second consecutive term in office but was defeated by Daniel D. Tompkins, who had the support of the influential Clinton family.
Following the 1804 New York gubernatorial election and the Burr-Hamilton duel, which resulted in the death of Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton and the disgrace of Vice President and Tammany Hall leader Aaron Burr, New York was politically dominated by two Republican factions led by two powerful families. The Clinton family was led by Vice President of the United States and former Governor George Clinton and his nephew, New York City mayor De Witt Clinton. The Livingston family was led by Robert R. Livingston, Edward Livingston, and their brother-in-law, Governor Morgan Lewis.
During the 1805 legislative session, conflict between the factions arose over Lewis's approval of a charter for the Merchants' National Bank of New York, a challenger to the Clinton- and Republican-owned Manhattan Company. Lewis's son-in-law Maturin Livingston was a major backer of the Merchants' Bank, and bribery and coercion were used to pass the charter. The Livingston family also dominated state appointments under Lewis, and dissatisfaction with their administration manifested near te end of the legislative session. [1] Shortly after the spring 1805 legislative elections, the conflict between the Clintons and Livingstons became public. Leading Republican newspapers (the American Citizen and Albany Register) came out against Governor Lewis; other newspapers, including those owned by Aaron Burr (the New York Morning Chronicle), Thomas Tillotson (the Poughkeepsie Journal) and Jesse Buel (the Ulster County Plebeian), supported Lewis. [2]
Expecting that Lewis would benefit from Federalist support, De Witt Clinton and his supporters held a series of meetings with leading supporters of Aaron Burr and Tammany Hall in winter 1806. A counter-meeting of Lewis supporters from all factions was held at Martling's Long Room in New York on February 24, denouncing Clinton's efforts to unseat the Governor. The meeting led Clinton opponents to be known as "Martling Men". [3]
During the 1806 legislative session, Lewis came under political fire for granting reprieve in the case of Stephen Arnold, a death row convict scheduled to be executed for killing a child, and his role in approving the Merchants' Bank charter. De Witt Clinton, who had engineered his own election to the Council of Appointment, led inquests into the role of bribery in the Merchants' Bank case. The Council of Appointment also wielded its authority to replace Livingston men, including Maturin Livingston and Thomas Tillotson, from state offices. [4] Federalists in the Legislature, led by William W. Van Ness, supported Lewis. Despite the barrage of attacks from the Clintonians, the April 1806 elections were a victory for the Lewis-Federalist legislators. [4] Having regained control of the Legislature and Council, they began to remove Clinton supporters from office, including removing De Witt Clinton himself as mayor of New York City. [5]
As it had become evident Lewis could not rely on the support of the Republican legislators, a mass meeting to support him was held in New York City on January 1, 1807. The attendees addressed a circular letter to the Republican legislators calling for their support prior to the start of the legislative session. [6]
However, a majority of Republican legislators met in caucus on February 16 to nominate an opposition candidate. De Witt Clinton was rejected for his association with the political animosities of the prior two years and his ambition, as was his brother-in-law, Ambrose Spencer. Instead, they settled on the relatively unknown Daniel D. Tompkins, a Supreme Court judge and active participant in the 1801 constitutional convention. [7] The nomination was supported by sixty-five Republican legislators. [8]
A few days after Tompkins was formally nominated, a second Republican caucus was held to support Lewis; forty-five members endorsed his nomination. [8] The Federalists made no nomination, but most supported Lewis. [9]
During the campaign, John Lansing Jr., who had declined the nomination in 1804 which had ultimately gone to Lewis, accused George Clinton of offering him the nomination in exchange for appointing De Witt Clinton to succeed Lansing as Chancellor. [9] Both Clintons denied the accusation. [9]
In a reversal of the result of the 1804 results, Lewis carried five of the six counties he had lost to Aaron Burr. [lower-alpha 1]
Despite losing New York City's 1,673 votes to 1,807, [10] Daniel D. Tompkins defeated incumbent Morgan Lewis.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Republican | Daniel D. Tompkins | 35,074 | 53.09% | |
| Livingston Republican | Morgan Lewis (incumbent) | 30,989 | 46.91% | |
| Total votes | 66,063 | 100% | ||
DeWitt Clinton was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh and ninth governor of New York. In the last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in the election of 1812, challenging incumbent James Madison.
George Clinton was an American soldier, statesman, and a prominent Democratic-Republican in the formative years of the United States of America. Clinton served as the fourth vice president of the United States from 1805 until his death in 1812. He also served as the first governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and again from 1801 to 1804. Along with John C. Calhoun, he is one of two vice presidents to hold office under two consecutive presidents. He was also the first vice-president to die in office.
Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician, and military commander. The second son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Lewis fought in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He served in the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate (1811–1814) and was New York State Attorney General (1791–1801) and the third governor of New York (1804–1807).
There have been 91 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777, with the most recent being held on November 8, 2022. The next election is scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026.
The 1789 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1789 to elect the Governor of New York for a term beginning in July 1789. Incumbent Governor George Clinton was narrowly re-elected to a fifth consecutive term in office over Robert Yates.
The 1792 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1792 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent governor George Clinton was narrowly re-elected to a sixth term in office over John Jay, after the votes of Clinton, Ostego, and Tioga counties were disqualified on technicalities.
The 1795 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1795 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor George Clinton, who had served continuously since independence in 1777, did not seek a seventh consecutive term in office. Chief Justice of the United States John Jay, who had narrowly lost to Clinton in the contested election of 1792, was elected over Chief Justice of New York Robert Yates.
The 1798 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1798 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor John Jay was elected to a second term in office over Robert Livingston.
The 1801 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1801 to elect the Governor of New York. Former Governor George Clinton returned to office, defeating Federalist Stephen Van Rensselaer.
The 1804 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1804 to elect the Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor George Clinton did not run for re-election, having been nominated for Vice President of the United States in February. In a campaign that blurred partisan divisions, Morgan Lewis defeated Aaron Burr by a landslide margin.
The 1791 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 19, 1791, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate. The election was conducted by a system of approval voting.
The 1802 United States Senate special election in New York was held on February 9, 1802, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1807 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 3, 1807, by the New York State Legislature to elect a United States Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 27th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 31 to April 11, 1804, during the third year of George Clinton's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.
The 28th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 6, 1804, to April 10, 1805, during the first year of Morgan Lewis's governorship, in Albany.
The 29th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 28 to April 7, 1806, during the second year of Morgan Lewis's governorship, in Albany.
The 31st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 26 to April 11, 1808, during the first year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany.
The 32nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 1, 1808, to March 30, 1809, during the second year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany.
The 40th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 5, 1816, to April 15, 1817, during the tenth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, and while John Tayler was Acting Governor, in Albany.
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