1860 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

1860 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

←  1859 April 4, 1860 1861  →

Nominee William Sprague IV Seth Padelford Party Democratic Republican Alliance Conservative Popular vote 12,278 10,740 Percentage 53.02% 46.38%

County results Sprague:      50–60% Padelford:      50–60%

Governor before election Thomas G. Turner Republican Elected Governor William Sprague IV Democratic

The 1860 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on April 4, 1860. ^[1]

Incumbent Republican governor Thomas G. Turner lost renomination to former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Seth Padelford. Padelford lost the general election to Democratic and Conservative nominee William Sprague IV.

Nominations

Nominations were made by party conventions.

Republican nomination

The Republican convention was held on January 4 at Providence. ^[2]

Candidates

• Samuel G. Arnold, former lieutenant governor
• Seth Padelford, former member of the Providence Common Council, former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives ^[3]
• Thomas G. Turner, incumbent governor

Results

Republican convention, 4 January 1860 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Seth Padelford	55	52.9%
	Republican	Samuel G. Arnold	34	32.7%
	Republican	Thomas G. Turner (incumbent)	15	14.4%
Total votes			104

Democratic nomination

The Democratic convention was held on February 16 at Providence. ^[6]

Candidate

• William Sprague IV, manufacturer ^{[7] [8]}

Results

Democratic convention, 16 February 1860 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Sprague IV	unanimous

Conservative nomination

A convention of "conservative men of Rhode Island" was held on February 1 at Providence and nominated William Sprague. ^{[9] [10]} Sprague declined that convention's nomination. ^[11]

A further convention was held on February 16 at Providence. ^[6] The convention was variously described as being made up of "conservatives", ^{[12] [13]} "third party men", ^[14] and "Young Men". ^[15]

Candidate

• William Sprague IV, manufacturer

Results

Conservative convention, 16 February 1860 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Sprague IV	unanimous

General election

Candidates

• Seth Padelford, Republican
• William Sprague IV, Democratic, Conservative

Ballots were issued during the election describing the Democratic nominees variously as "Young Men's Convention Nominations", "Conservative Republican", "Democratic Convention Nominations", "Military Ticket", "Conservative Union Ticket", and "American Ticket". ^[16]

Results

1860 Rhode Island gubernatorial election ^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [10] [21] [22] [23] [lower-alpha 1]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Sprague IV	12,278	53.02%
	Republican	Seth Padelford	10,740	46.38%
	Scattering		139	0.60%
Majority			1,538	6.64%
Turnout			23,157
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Notes

1. Some sources give the result as Sprague 12,295, Padelford 10,835, Scattering 143. ^{[24] [25] [26] [27] [28]} The result given is taken from the Rhode Island Assembly Journal.

References

1. "The news". The New York herald. New York, N.Y. April 5, 1860. p. 6. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
2. "The news". The New York herald. New York, N.Y. January 5, 1860. p. 4. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
3. A Memorial of Seth Padelford. Born October 3, 1807, Died August 26, 1878. Providence: E. L. Freeman & Co., Printers. 1881. pp. 6–7.
4. "The Rhode Island Republican Convention". New York Times. New York, N.Y. January 5, 1860. p. 5. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
5. "The Republicans of Rhode Island". Bradford reporter. Towanda, Pa. January 12, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
6. "Alexandria: Wednesday morning, February 22, 1860". Alexandria gazette. Alexandria, Va. February 22, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
7. "Gov. William Sprague". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
8. "SPRAGUE, William: 1830 – 1915". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
9. "The Rhode Island Republican Division". Vermont phœnix. Brattleboro, Vt. February 4, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
10. Field, Edward, ed. (1902). State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History. Vol. I. Boston and Syracuse: Mason Publishing Company. pp. 372–373.
11. "Col. Sprague". Evening star. Washington, D.C. February 8, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
12. "State Convention in Rhode Island". Worcester daily spy. Worcester, Mass. February 17, 1860. p. 3. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
13. "The news". The New York herald. New York, N.Y. February 17, 1860. p. 4. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
14. "Miscellaneous". The press and tribune. Chicago, Ill. February 22, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
15. "Bravo, Rhode Island!". Daily Democrat and news. Davenport, Iowa. March 1, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
16. DeSimone, Russell J.; Schofield, Daniel C. (2015). "Rhode Island Election Tickets: A Survey" (PDF). Kingston, Rhode Island: The University of Rhode Island. pp. 238–240. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
17. "RI Governor, 1860". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
18. Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 238. ISBN   978-0-7864-1439-0.
19. Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Westport, CT: Meckler Books. pp. 272–273. ISBN   0-930466-17-9.
20. Manual with Rules and Orders for the Use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, 1879-80. Providence: E. L. Freeman & Co., Printers to the State. 1879. p. 160.
21. Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly, of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, passed at the May Session, 1860. Providence: Knowles, Anthony & Co., State Printers. 1860. p. 50.
22. Young, Robin (2006). For Love: Liberty: The Untold Civil War Story of Major Sullivan Ballou & his famous love letter. New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 155. ISBN   1-56025-724-5.
23. "Election at Newport". Fall River Daily Evening News. Fall River, Massachusetts. May 30, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
24. Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. p. 76. ISBN   1-56802-396-0.
25. Kallenbach, Joseph E.; Kallenbach, Jessamine S., eds. (1977). American State Governors, 1776-1976. Vol. I. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, Inc. p. 514. ISBN   0-379-00665-0.
26. The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1861. New York: The Tribune Association. p. 39.
27. The Evening Journal Almanac 1861. Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., Printers and Stereotypers. 1860. p. 74.
28. "Rhode Island Election". Rensselaer Gazette. Rensselaer, Indiana. April 11, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2023.