1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
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The 1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8.
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November 8, 1847
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 County results Briggs: 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Whig Governor George N. Briggs was re-elected to a fifth term in office over Democrat Caleb Cushing. This was the last election in which the Whig Party received a majority of the vote; after the emergence of the Free Soil Party in 1848, Whigs only won pluralities before fading away entirely by the 1857 election.
Democratic nomination
Candidates
- Henry W. Bishop
- Caleb Cushing, former U.S. Minister to China and U.S. representative from Newburyport
- Isaac Davis, state senator from Worcester and nominee for governor in 1845 and 1846
- David Henshaw, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Convention
General election
Candidates
- Francis Baylies, former U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Buenos Aires and U.S. representative from Taunton
- Caleb Cushing, former U.S. Minister to China and U.S. representative from Newburyport (Democratic)
- George N. Briggs, incumbent governor since 1844 (Whig)
- Samuel Edmund Sewall, Liberty nominee for governor since 1842 (Liberty)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | George N. Briggs (incumbent) | 53,742 | 50.97% |  2.81 | |
| Democratic | Caleb Cushing | 39,398 | 37.36% |  4.78 | |
| Liberty | Samuel Edmund Sewall | 9,193 | 8.72% | 1.09 | |
| Know Nothing | Francis Baylies | 2,876 | 2.73% | 0.63 | |
| Write-in | 234 | 0.22% | 0.26 | ||
| Total votes | 105,443 | 100.00% | |||
