1855 Maine gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1855 Maine gubernatorial election was held on September 10, 1855, in order to elect the governor of Maine. Democratic nominee and former member of the Maine House of Representatives Samuel Wells defeated incumbent Republican governor Anson Morrill and Whig nominee and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 4th district Isaac Reed. However, as no candidate received a majority of the total votes cast as was required by Maine law, the election was forwarded to the Maine legislature, who chose Wells as governor, despite the fact he only came in second in the popular vote.[1]
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
September 10, 1855
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Wells: 40â50% 50â60% Morrill: 30â40% 40â50% 50â60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
General election
On election day, September 10, 1855, Democratic nominee Samuel Wells won the election despite losing the popular vote by a margin of 3,100 votes against his foremost opponent incumbent Republican governor Anson Morrill, thereby gaining Democratic control over the office of governor. Wells was sworn in as the 25th governor of Maine on January 2, 1856.[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Samuel Wells | 48,341 | 43.76 | |
| Republican | Anson Morrill (incumbent) | 51,441 | 46.56 | |
| Whig | Isaac Reed | 10,610 | 9.60 | |
| Scattering | 81 | 0.08 | ||
| Total votes | 110,473 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||