1859 Minnesota gubernatorial election

1859 Minnesota gubernatorial election

November 8, 1859

Nominee Alexander Ramsey George Loomis Becker Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 21,335 17,582 Percentage 54.82% 45.18%

County results Ramsey:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Becker:      50–60%      60–70%      80–90% Unknown/no vote:

Governor before election Henry Hastings Sibley Democratic Elected Governor Alexander Ramsey Republican

The 1859 Minnesota gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1859, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent Democratic governor Henry Hastings Sibley did not seek a second term.

Candidates

• George Loomis Becker, former mayor of St. Paul (Democrat)
• Alexander Ramsey, former territorial governor and candidate for governor in 1857 (Republican)

Campaigns

On July 18, 1859, Ramsey was summoned to the Republican State Convention. On July 20, he was nominated by the Convention to run for governor a second time.

Democratic nominee George L. Becker found himself unable to make the race very competitive, due to a lack of political experience and name recognition.

Results

Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1859

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alexander Ramsey	21,335	54.82
	Democratic	George Loomis Becker	17,582	45.18
Total votes			38,917	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

Becker performed better than expected, especially in his hometown of St. Paul, which resulted in some alarm from Ramsey while results were still being counted, until Ramsey ultimately won.

External links

• Minnesota Historical Election Archive