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%

Ward results Opdyke:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60% Gunther:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60% Wood:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%

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%

Results by ward

Results by wards [5]
Ward	Opdyke Republican		Gunther Democratic		Wood Independent Democratic		Total
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
1	409	27.30%	505	33.71%	584	38.99%	1,498
2	211	50.36%	96	22.91%	112	26.73%	419
3	165	32.74%	138	27.38%	201	39.88%	504
4	261	12.02%	871	40.12%	1,039	47.86%	2,171
5	799	38.54%	675	32.56%	599	28.90%	2,073
6	255	9.00%	1,717	60.63%	860	30.37%	2,832
7	1,018	27.39%	1,060	28.52%	1,639	44.09%	3,717
8	1,082	32.59%	1,227	36.96%	1,011	30.45%	3,320
9	2,407	49.49%	1,386	28.49%	1,071	22.02%	4,864
10	867	32.97%	1,107	42.09%	656	24.94%	2,630
11	1,349	24.89%	2,152	39.71%	1,918	35.40%	5,419
12	822	29.10%	1,456	51.54%	547	19.36%	2,825
13	984	32.01%	1,038	33.77%	1,052	34.22%	3,074
14	378	14.77%	832	32.50%	1,350	52.73%	2,560
15	1,525	56.02%	562	20.65%	635	23.33%	2,722
16	2,145	50.14%	851	19.89%	1,282	29.97%	4,278
17	2,035	30.95%	2,521	38.34%	2,019	30.71%	6,575
18	1,940	39.17%	1,253	25.30%	1,760	35.53%	4,953
19	1,161	29.56%	1,235	31.45%	1,531	38.99%	3,927
20	2,085	38.75%	1,689	31.39%	1,607	29.86%	5,381
21	2,031	46.22%	1,080	24.58%	1,283	29.20%	4,394
22	1,451	34.73%	1,316	31.50%	1,411	33.77%	4,178
Totals	25,380	34.15%	24,767	33.33%	24,167	32.52%	74,314

References

1. Mushkat 1990, p. 81.
2. Mushkat 1990, p. 84–88.
3. Mushkat 1990, p. 93.
4. Mushkat 1990, pp. 95–96.
5. "The Tribune almanac and political register 1860 - 1864 - Page 58". HathiTrust.

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.