1849 California gubernatorial election

1849 California gubernatorial election

November 13, 1849 1851  →

Nominee Peter Hardeman Burnett Winfield S. Sherwood Party Independent Democrat Independent Democrat Popular vote 6,783 3,220 Percentage 47.72% 22.66%   Nominee John Sutter John W. Geary Party Independent Independent Democrat Popular vote 2,201 1,358 Percentage 15.49% 9.56%

Election district [a] results Burnett:     40–50%     60–70%     80–90% Sherwood:     60–70%     >90% Geary:     40–50%

Governor before election Bennet C. Riley as Military Governor Nonpartisan Elected Governor Peter Hardeman Burnett Independent Democrat

The 1849 California gubernatorial election was held on November 13, 1849, to elect the first governor of California. Peter Hardeman Burnett won in a five-way race. Burnett was subsequently sworn in as governor on December 20, 1849, with the military governor, Bennet C. Riley, ceding de facto executive authority to him. However, California did not officially become a state until September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850.

Campaign

Peter Hardeman Burnett had only arrived in California a year prior to the election of 1849, but was known for his work Oregon Territory as a judge in their territory's Supreme Court. ^[1] On January 6, 1849, in a meeting of prominent men in Sacramento, he was appointed President of a committee that formally requested a provisional government to be established in California. ^[2] This committee would work with Bennet C. Riley, the final military governor of California, to establish election procedures, and delegate counts. ^[3]

Results

California gubernatorial election, 1849 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Democrat	Peter Hardeman Burnett	6,783	47.72%
	Independent Democrat	Winfield S. Sherwood	3,220	22.66%
	Independent	John Sutter	2,201	15.49%
	Independent Democrat	John W. Geary	1,358	9.56%
	Ind. Whig	William Morris Stewart	619	4.36%
		Scattering	32	0.23%
Majority			3,563	25.07%
Total votes			14,213	100.00%

Results by district

District [b]	Peter H. Burnet		Winfield S. Sherwood		John Sutter		John W. Geary		William M. Stewart		Scattering		Margin		Total votes cast [4]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Los Angeles	224	65.12%	118	34.30%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	2	0.58%	106	30.81%	344
Monterey	181	47.51%	152	39.90%	39	10.24%	0	0.00%	4	1.05%	5	1.31%	29	7.61%	381
Sacramento	2,408	42.74%	1,923	34.13%	861	15.28%	0	0.00%	442	7.85%	0	0.00%	485	8.61%	5,634
San Diego	93	38.59%	148	61.41%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	-55	-22.82%	241
San Francisco	1,925	61.72%	69	2.21%	1,084	34.75%	0	0.00%	28	0.90%	13	0.42%	841 [c]	26.96%	3,119
San Joaquin	1,010	33.00%	418	13.66%	182	5.95%	1,356	44.30%	95	3.10%	0	0.00%	-346	-11.30%	3,061
San Jose	517	89.76%	36	6.25%	16	2.78%	2	0.35%	4	0.69%	1	0.17%	481	83.51%	576
San Luis Obispo	0	0.00%	45	100.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	-45	-100.00%	45
Santa Barbara	1	0.54%	183	98.92%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1	0.54%	-182	-98.38%	185
Sonoma	424	67.62%	128	20.41%	19	3.03%	0	0.00%	46	7.34%	10	1.59%	296	47.21%	627
Total	6,783	47.72%	3,220	22.66%	2,201	15.49%	1,358	9.55%	619	4.36%	32	0.23%	3,563	25.07%	14,213

Notes

1. Ten election districts were created for the 1849 election before California had any counties.
2. California was not divided into counties in 1849
3. Margin over Sutter

References

1. "Dear Mr. Editor". Vol. 2, no. 26. California Star & Californian. December 2, 1848. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
2. "Provisional Government". Vol. 1, no. 4. Weekly Alta California. January 25, 1849. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
3. "To the Public". Vol. 1, no. 25. Weekly Alta California. June 21, 1849. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
4. California State Archives, Aggregate of Votes for Governor, Lt. Governor and Members of Congress