New York state election, 1850

The 1850 New York state election was held on November 5, 1850, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly.

History

The Democratic state convention met on September 11 at Syracuse, New York and nominated Hunker Seymour and Barnburners Church, Mather, Angel and Benton.

The Liberty convention met on September 12, and nominated Chaplin and Plumb.

The Whig state convention met on September 27 at Syracuse, New York, Francis Granger presided. After the nominations of Hunt (the sitting State Comptroller), Cornell, Blakely, Baker and Smith had been made, the majority of the convention passed a resolution approving the political course of United States Senator William H. Seward, and the minority, led by Granger, withdrew from the convention and re-assembled elsewhere. This faction, the conservative Whigs which favored a compromise on the slavery question and supported President Millard Fillmore's course, became known as the "Silver Grays", after Granger's white hair.

The Silver Grays state convention met on October 17 at Utica, New York, Granger presided again. Nevertheless, the Syracuse nominations were endorsed.

The Anti-Rent state convention met at Albany, New York and nominated a cross-endorsed ticket with Whigs Hunt and Blakely, and Democrats Church, Angel and Benton.

Results

Hunt won this election with one of the smallest majorities in New York history, only 262 votes. Four out of five candidates on the cross-endorsed Anti-Rent ticket were elected, showing their still present but waning influence.^[1] The incumbent Benton was re-elected.

1850 state election results

Office	Whig ticket		Democratic ticket		Anti-Rent ticket	Liberty ticket
Governor	Washington Hunt	214,614	Horatio Seymour	214,352	Washington Hunt	William L. Chaplin	3,416
Lieutenant Governor	George J. Cornell	210,695	Sanford E. Church	218,009	Sanford E. Church	Joseph Plumb
Canal Commissioner	Ebenezer Blakely		John C. Mather		Ebenezer Blakely
Inspector of State Prisons	Abner Baker		William P. Angel		William P. Angel
Clerk of the Court of Appeals	Wessel S. Smith		Charles S. Benton		Charles S. Benton

Notes

1. ^ The number of votes is the total of Whig and Anti-Rent votes for Hunt and Blakely, and the total of Democratic and Anti-Rent votes for Church, Angel and Benton.

Sources

• Result for Gov. and Lt. Gov. in Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York (1852; page 367)
• Harper's Magazine
• A Political History of the State of New York by De Alva Stanwood Alexander (BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008, ISBN 0554536358 , ISBN 9780554536354 ; pages 155ff)

See also

• New York gubernatorial elections
• New York state elections