1877 Minnesota gubernatorial election

1877 Minnesota gubernatorial election

←  1875 November 6, 1877 1879  →

Nominee John S. Pillsbury William L. Banning Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 57,071 39,147 Percentage 57.05% 39.13%

County results Pillsbury:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     90–100% Banning:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Unknown/No Vote:

Governor before election John S. Pillsbury Republican Elected Governor John S. Pillsbury Republican

The 1877 Minnesota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1877, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent John S. Pillsbury was reelected to a second term.

Candidates

• Rev. Austin Willey, pastor (Prohibition)
• John S. Pillsbury, Incumbent (Republican)
• William L. Banning, Former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (Democrat)
• William Meigher, State Senator (Greenback)

Campaigns

The Democratic State Convention began on October 2, 1877. Edmund Rice was originally thought to be the nominee. ^[1] However, by the end of the convention it was considered "several hours of wrangling and confusion". One dividing issue in the party was hard money and soft money factions. The eventual nominee, William L. Banning, was in favor of a soft-money policy. Banning was elected in a landslide against Rice and William Meagher, who would then run for the Greenback Party. ^[2]

Also on September 29th, the Republican State Convention was held. Pillsbury was renominated without issue.

Results

Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1877 ^{[3] [4]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John S. Pillsbury (incumbent)	57,071	57.05
	Democratic	William L. Banning	39,147	39.13
	Greenback	William Meagher	2,396	2.40
	Prohibition	Austin Willey	1,421	1.42
Total votes			100,035	100
	Republican hold

References

1. "DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION". September 30, 1877.
2. "HARMONIOUS DEMOCRACY". October 3, 1877.
3. "Our Campaigns - MN Governor Race - Nov 06, 1877" . Retrieved May 6, 2016.
4. "Minnesota Legislative Manual (Blue Book) - Chapter 10 Minnesota Elections" (PDF). Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. April 1, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2016.