1834 Virginia gubernatorial election

A gubernatorial election was held in Virginia on January 7, 1834. The State Rights former U.S. senator from Virginia Littleton Waller Tazewell defeated the National Republican former member of the Virginia Senate from Campbell County Edward Watts, the Democratic member of the Council of State Peter V. Daniel, and the Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Rockbridge County James McDowell.^[1]

The Bank War split the Virginia Democratic Party along factional and ideological lines, prompting State Rights Democrats to seek a coalition with the National Republicans in hopes of deposing the governing Richmond Junto. Seeing the gubernatorial election as an opportunity to bring the disparate opposition forces into the Whig Party, the state's senior U.S. senator John Tyler and the outgoing governor of Virginia John Floyd persuaded Tazewell to stand as the State Rights gubernatorial candidate. The National Republicans nominated Watts, while the Democrats were divided between supporters of Daniel, one of the leaders of the Junto, and McDowell, who was nominated by Democrats from Western Virginia.^[2]

The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. No candidate had a majority on the first ballot, requiring a second round of voting. Tazewell was elected with a majority on the second ballot.^[3]

Reactions to the election were mixed, with some observers interpreting the result as a rebuke of the national Jackson Administration. Thomas Ritchie, the editor of the Democratic Richmond Enquirer, claimed that Tazewell's supporters included both pro-administration Democrats and State Rights members and attributed the result to the confused partisan situation in the legislature.^[4] The State Rights–National Republican coalition became the basis for the Virginia Whig Party, which held a majority in the General Assembly following the May 1834 legislative elections.^[5]