1876 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election
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The 1876 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1876, and featured Republican nominee Othman A. Abbott defeating Democratic nominee Miles Zentmeyer and Greenback Party nominee Allen Root.[1]
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November 7, 1876
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It was the first election held under the newly adopted Nebraska Constitution of 1875. Prior to this election, the State of Nebraska did not have an office of lieutenant governor. Under the Nebraska Constitution of 1866, if the governor died, resigned, or was removed from office (as happened to Governor David Butler in 1871), then the Nebraska Secretary of State was appointed as Acting Governor until the vacancy would be filled by the next election.[2] The Constitution of 1875 created the office of Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, leading to the first election of a lieutenant governor for Nebraska in this election.
General election
Candidates
- Othman A. Abbott, Republican candidate, lawyer and former member of the Nebraska Senate from 1872 to 1873 from Grand Island, Nebraska[3]
- Allen Root, Greenback candidate from Douglas County, Nebraska, allied with J. F. Gardner who was a candidate for governor[4]
- Miles Zentmeyer, Democratic candidate from Schuyler, Nebraska, lawyer, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Convention,[5] and former editor of the Schuyler Sun newspaper[6]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Othman A. Abbott | 31,088[a] | 60.44 | |
| Democratic | Miles Zentmeyer | 17,558[b] | 34.14 | |
| Greenback | Allen Root | 2,777 | 5.40 | |
| Scattering[c] | 13[d] | |||
| Total votes | 51,436 | 100.00 | ||
- According to the Nebraska Senate Journal of 1877, this scattering total included votes for Paren England (5), Silas Garber (3), "Miles Zentman" (3), a misspelling of "Miles Zentmeyer," S. P. Mobley (1), and A. B. Young (1).[1]
