1856 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
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The 1856 Massachusetts gubernatorial election on November 4. Incumbent Know-Nothing governor Henry J. Gardner was re-elected to a third term. He benefited greatly from a deal with the state's new Republican Party, which agreed not to field a candidate in exchange for Gardner's support of presidential nominee John C. Frémont. With no serious challenger in the field against him, Gardner easily defeated Democrat Erasmus Beach and George W. Gordon, an American Party member running in support of the national ticket.
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November 4, 1856
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 County results Gardner: 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% 70â80% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the last election in which the Know-Nothing won a Massachusetts gubernatorial election.
This was the last election in which the Whig Party participated.
Whig convention
Candidates
- Thomas Aspinwall, former U.S. consul at London (1816â54)
- Luther Vose Bell, Superintendent of McLean Asylum and candidate for U.S. representative in 1852 and 1854
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Luther Vose Bell | 215 | 56.58% | |
| Whig | Thomas Aspinwall | 104 | 27.37% | |
| Whig | Scattering | 61 | 16.05% | |
| Total votes | 380 | 100.00% | ||
Know-Nothing convention
The American Party convention was held at Faneuil Hall, Boston, on July 24, 1856.
Candidates
- Henry J. Gardner, incumbent governor
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing | Henry J. Gardner (incumbent) | unanimous | ||
General election
Candidates
- Erasmus Beach, nominee for governor in 1855 (Democratic)
- Luther Vose Bell, superintendent of McLean Asylum (Whig)
- Henry J. Gardner, incumbent governor (American)
- George W. Gordon ("Fillmore American")
- Josiah Quincy Jr., former mayor of Boston (Independent)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing | Henry J. Gardner (incumbent) | 92,467 | 58.92% | N/A | |
| Democratic | Erasmus D. Beach | 40,082 | 25.54% |  0.10 | |
| Know Nothing | George W. Gordon | 10,385 | 6.62% | N/A | |
| Whig | Luther Vose Bell | 7,075 | 4.51% |  5.23 | |
| Independent Republican | Josiah Quincy Jr. | 5,625 | 3.59% | N/A | |
| Scattering | All others | 1,291 | 0.82% | 0.63 | |
| Total votes | 136,488 | 100.00% | |||
| Know Nothing hold | Swing | ||||