1841 Vermont gubernatorial election

1841 Vermont gubernatorial election

←  1840 September 7, 1841 1842  →

Nominee Charles Paine Nathan Smilie Titus Hutchinson Party Whig Democratic Liberty Electoral vote 146 95 9 Popular vote 23,353 21,302 3,039 Percentage 48.71% 44.43% 6.34%

County results Paine:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Smilie:     40–50%     50–60%

Governor before election Silas H. Jennison Whig Elected Governor Charles Paine Whig

The 1841 Vermont gubernatorial election was held on September 7, 1841. ^[1]

Incumbent Whig Governor Silas H. Jennison did not run for re-election.

Whig nominee Charles Paine defeated Democratic nominee Nathan Smilie and Liberty nominee Titus Hutchinson.

Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Paine was elected by the Vermont General Assembly per the state constitution.

General election

Candidates

• Titus Hutchinson, Liberty, former Chief Judge of the Vermont Supreme Court. ^[2] Hutchinson was nominated in place of Charles K. Williams, who declined the nomination. ^[3]
• Charles Paine, Whig, former member of the Vermont House of Representatives, Whig candidate for Governor in 1835
• Nathan Smilie, Democratic, businessman, ^[4] former member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate, and Democratic candidate for Governor in 1839 ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}

Results

1841 Vermont gubernatorial election ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [a]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Paine	23,353	48.71%
	Democratic	Nathan Smilie	21,302	44.43%
	Liberty	Titus Hutchinson	3,039	6.34%
	Scattering		248	0.52%
Majority			2,051	4.28%
Turnout			47,942

Legislative election

As no candidate received a majority of the vote, the Vermont General Assembly was required to decide the election, both Houses meeting jointly choosing among the top three vote-getters, Paine, Smilie and Hutchinson. The legislative election was held on October 15, 1841. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21] [22]}

Of the four scattering votes, one was cast for William A. Griswold (Whig) and one for Asa G. Hewes, while two were blanks. These votes were not counted.

Legislative election ^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Charles Paine	146	57.48%
	Democratic	Nathan Smilie	95	37.40%
	Liberty	Titus Hutchinson	9	3.54%
	Scattering and blanks		4	1.58%
Turnout			254
	Whig hold

Notes

1. Some sources give the result as Paine 23,582, Smilie 21,693, Hutchinson 3,091, scattering 248. ^{[16] [17]} The result given here is that given in the Vermont House Journal.

References

1. "Approaching Elections". Virginia free press. Charlestown, Va. September 9, 1841. p. 2. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
2. "The Abolitionists of Vermont". New-York tribune. New-York, N.Y. August 30, 1841. p. 1. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
3. "Third Party – State Convention". The Middlebury people's press. Middlebury, Vt. June 8, 1841. p. 3. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
4. Little, Mrs C. M. (1893). History of the Clan Marfarlane. Tottenville, N. Y.: Mrs. C. M. Little. p. 119.
5. Crockett, Walter Hill (1921). Vermont, The Green Mountain State. Vol. 3. New York: The Century History Company, Inc. p. 276.
6. Child, Hamilton (1883). Gazetteer and Business Directory of Lamoille and Orleans counties, Vt. for 1883-84. Syracuse, N. Y.: Journal Office. p. 73.
7. Deming, Leonard (1851). Catalogue of the Principal Officers of Vermont, as connected with its political history, from 1778 to 1851. Middlebury: Published by the author. p. 14.
8. Waltons' Vermont Register and Farmers' Almanac, 1839. Montpelier: E. P. Walton & Son. 1839. p. 94.
9. "VT Governor, 1841". Our Campaigns. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
10. Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Westport, CT: Meckler Books. pp. 316–317. ISBN   0-930466-17-9.
11. Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 276–277. ISBN   978-0-7864-1439-0.
12. Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Vermont, October Session, 1841. Montpelier: E. P. Walton & Sons, Printers. 1841. p. 1.
13. "Governor: 1789-2016". Election Results Archive. Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. p. 9. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
14. Thompson, Zadock (1842). History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical, in Three Parts. Burlington: Chauncey Goodrich. p. 119.
15. Coolidge, A. J.; Mansfield, J. B. (1860). History and Description of New England. Vermont. Boston: Austin J. Coolidge. p. 966.
16. Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. p. 83. ISBN   1-56802-396-0.
17. Kallenbach, Joseph E.; Kallenbach, Jessamine S., eds. (1977). American State Governors, 1776-1976. Vol. I. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, Inc. p. 595. ISBN   0-379-00665-0.
18. Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Vermont, October Session, 1841. Montpelier: E. P. Walton & Sons, Printers. 1841. p. 2.
19. "Friday, Oct. 15". Rutland herald. Rutland, Vt. October 19, 1841. p. 3. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
20. "Vermont". New-York tribune. New-York, N.Y. October 20, 1841. p. 2. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
21. "Election of Governor". Vermont telegraph. Brandon, Vt. October 20, 1841. p. 19. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
22. "Vermont". The Madisonian. Washington City. October 23, 1841. p. 1. Retrieved January 28, 2022.