1861 New York City mayoral election

1861 New York City mayoral election

←  1859 December 3, 1861 1863 →

Nominee George Opdyke C. Godfrey Gunther Fernando Wood Party Republican Democratic Independent Democratic Alliance People's Union Tammany Hall Mozart Hall Popular vote 25,380 24,767 24,167 Percentage 34.2% 33.3% 32.5%

Mayor before election Fernando Wood Democratic Elected mayor George Opdyke Republican

An election for Mayor of New York City was held on December 3, 1861.

Incumbent mayor Fernando Wood ran for re-election to a second consecutive term in office. In a close three-way race, Wood finished third behind Republican George Opdyke and Democratic nominee C. Godfrey Gunther. Opdyke was the first Republican elected mayor of New York City.

Background

Following his defeat in the 1857 election by an alliance of Republicans, Know-Nothings, and former Tammany Hall supporters, Fernando Wood was declared politically dead. ^[1] However, he purchased the New York Daily News , ^{[2] [3]} and, after an unsuccessful attempt to gain control of Tammany Hall, founded his own political society, known as Mozart Hall. ^[2] In 1859, he defeated William Frederick Havemeyer and Republican nominee George Opdyke to return to office for a third non-consecutive term. ^[4]

General election

Candidates

• C. Godfrey Gunther, fur merchant (Tammany Hall)
• George Opdyke, banker, former Assemblyman, and candidate for mayor in 1859 (Republican)
• Fernando Wood, incumbent mayor since 1860 (Mozart Hall)

Results

1861 New York City mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George Opdyke	25,380	34.15%	6.79
	Democratic	C. Godfrey Gunther	24,767	33.33%	1.06
	Independent Democratic	Fernando Wood (incumbent)	24,167	32.52%	5.73
Total votes			74,314	100.00%

References

1. Mushkat 1990, p. 81.
2. Mushkat 1990, p. 84–88.
3. Mushkat 1990, p. 93.
4. Mushkat 1990, pp. 95–96.

Bibliography

• Allen, Oliver E. (1993). The Tiger: The Rise and Fall of Tammany Hall . Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. p.  52-53,63,67-76. ISBN   0-201-62463-X.
• Burrows, Edwin G.; Wallace, Mike (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-195-11634-8.
• Mushkat, Jerome (1990). Fernando Wood: A Political Biography . Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN   087338413X.