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| Elections in Tennessee |
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The 1855 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 2, 1855, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Andrew Johnson was re-elected against Whig nominee and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th district Meredith Poindexter Gentry. [1] [2]
On election day, 2 August 1855, incumbent Democratic governor Andrew Johnson won re-election by a margin of 2,157 votes against his Whig opponent Meredith Poindexter Gentry, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of governor. Johnson was sworn in for his second term on 17 October 1855. [3] [4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew Johnson (incumbent) | 67,499 | 50.81 | |
| Whig | Meredith Poindexter Gentry | 65,343 | 49.19 | |
| Total votes | 132,842 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Edward Hazzard East was an American attorney, judge, and politician. He served as Secretary of State for the state of Tennessee from 1862 to 1865, having been appointed by Andrew Johnson, the state's military governor under the Union Army occupation during the Civil War. East briefly served as the state's acting governor during the interim between Johnson's inauguration as U.S. Vice President on March 4, 1865, and the inauguration of the state's "elected" governor, William G. Brownlow, on April 5, 1865.
Isham Green Harris was an American and Confederate politician who served as the 16th governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862, and as a U.S. senator from 1877 until his death. He was the state's first governor from West Tennessee. A pivotal figure in the state's history, Harris was considered by his contemporaries the person most responsible for leading Tennessee out of the Union and aligning it with the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Robert Love Taylor was an American politician, writer, and lecturer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three terms as the 24th governor of Tennessee, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1897 to 1899, and subsequently served as a United States senator from 1907 until his death. He also represented Tennessee's 1st district in the United States House of Representatives from 1879 to 1881, the last Democrat to hold the district's seat.
Meredith Poindexter Gentry was an American politician who represented Tennessee's eighth and seventh districts in the United States House of Representatives.
William Hawkins Polk was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 6th congressional district from 1851 to 1853. He was the younger brother of President James K. Polk. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1841–1845), served as U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1845–1847), and fought as a major in the Mexican–American War.
Henry Emerson Etheridge was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 9th congressional district from 1853 to 1857, and again from 1859 to 1861. He also served one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1845–1847) and one term in the Tennessee Senate (1869–1871). After Tennessee seceded in 1861, he was elected Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, serving until 1863.
Nathaniel Green Taylor was an American lawyer, farmer, and politician from Tennessee. He was U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1854 to 1855, and again from 1866 to 1867, and Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1867 to 1869.
The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Tennessee. The party was founded in 1826 initially as the Jacksonian Party. The Tennessee Democratic Party was born out of President Andrew Jackson's populist philosophy of Jacksonian democracy in the mid to late-1820s. After Jackson left office, the Democratic Party struggled in the state as the Whig Party would go on to be the dominant party in Tennessee until its collapse after the 1852 Election. Prior to the Civil War, as a result of the collapse of the former Whig Party, the Democratic Party became the dominant party in the state. After the war ended, the Republican Party would be the dominant political party during Reconstruction, but once Reconstruction ended, the Democratic Party would dominate Tennessee Politics up until 2011 when the Republican Party would gain firm control of Tennessee State Government.
The 1852–53 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with the 1852 presidential election. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1852 and 1853, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.
The 1854–55 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1854 and 1855, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.
William H. Wisener was an American politician, active primarily at the state level in Tennessee during the mid-19th century. He served four terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, including one term as Speaker (1853–1855). A Southern Unionist, he led the opposition to secession in the House on the eve of the Civil War. After the war, he served in the Tennessee Senate, where he introduced the 13th Amendment for ratification in April 1865.
John Miller Fleming was an American newspaper editor, attorney and politician, active primarily in Tennessee during the latter half of the 19th century. He rose to prominence as editor of the Knoxville Register in the late 1850s, and worked as the editor of various newspapers, including the Knoxville Press and Herald, the Knoxville Tribune, and the Knoxville Sentinel, in the decades following the Civil War. He also served two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was appointed Tennessee's first Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1873.
The 1841 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 5, 1841, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Governor and future American President James K. Polk lost re-election against Whig nominee James C. Jones, thus becoming the first native-born Tennessean to be elected governor of the state.
The 1843 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 3, 1843, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Whig governor James C. Jones won re-election against Democratic nominee and former governor James K. Polk in a rematch of the previous election.
The 1853 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 4, 1853, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Democratic nominee and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st district Andrew Johnson defeated Whig nominee Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr.
The 1849 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 2, 1849, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Democratic nominee and Colonel in the US Army William Trousdale defeated Whig nominee and incumbent Governor Neill S. Brown by a slim margin.
The 1851 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 7, 1851, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Whig nominee and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 6th district William B. Campbell defeated Democratic nominee and incumbent Governor William Trousdale.
The 1859 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 4, 1859, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Isham G. Harris narrowly won re-election, defeating Opposition Party John Netherland with 52.79% of the vote.
The 1857 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 6, 1857, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Andrew Johnson, was seriously injured in a train accident and was unable to run for re-election. Democrat Robert H. Hatton was nominated as his replacement. In the general election, Hatton ran for a full term and defeated Know Nothing candidate Robert H. Hatton with 54.34% of the vote.
The 1878 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor James D. Porter did not seek re-election. Democratic candidate Albert S. Marks was elected with 60.03% of the vote.
