1816 Virginia gubernatorial election

1816 Virginia gubernatorial election

←  1815 December 10, 1816 1817  →

Nominee James Patton Preston William J. Lewis 1st ballot 104 83

Governor before election Wilson Cary Nicholas Democratic-Republican Elected Governor James Patton Preston Democratic-Republican [a]

A gubernatorial election was held in Virginia on December 10, 1816. ^[4] The member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Montgomery County James Patton Preston defeated the member from Campbell County William J. Lewis and the former member from Greenbrier County ^[5] Linah Mimms. ^[1]

The incumbent governor of Virginia Wilson Cary Nicholas was not a candidate for re-election. The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. ^[3] Preston was elected with a majority on the first ballot. ^[1]

General election

1816 Virginia gubernatorial special election ^[1]

Candidate	First ballot
	Count	Percent
James Patton Preston	104	52.79
William J. Lewis	83	42.13
Linah Mimms	9	4.57
Others	1	0.51
Total	197	100.00

Notes

1. Lampi lists no parties for this election. ^[1] Both Kallenbach and Kallenbach ^[2] and Sobel and Raimo ^[3] list Preston as a Democratic-Republican during his tenure.

1. Lampi 2012.
2. Kallenbach & Kallenbach 1977, p. 613.
3. Sobel & Raimo 1978, p. 1632.
4. Virginia 1816, p. 78.
5. Virginia 1916, p. 282.

Bibliography

• Kallenbach, Joseph E.; Kallenbach, Jessamine S. (1977). American State Governors, 1776–1976. Vol. 1. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications.
• Lampi, Philip J. (2012). "Virginia 1816 Governor". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
• Sobel, Robert; Raimo, John (1978). Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789–1978. Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books.
• Virginia (1816). Journal of the House of Delegates [...]. Richmond.
• Virginia (1916). Twelfth Annual Report of the Library Board of the Virginia State Library [...]. Richmond.