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1859 Lt. Gubernatorial General Election Results - California
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Data for this Contest was Contributed by on 2024-01-07

  Lt. Gubernatorial
Candidate		Political
Party		Popular Vote
John G. DowneyDemocratic (Lecompton) 59,051 58.32%
John ConnessDemocratic (Anti-Lecompton) 31,049 30.67%
James F. KennedyRepublican 11,148 11.01%
State Seal Map Key
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Turnout
Voter Turnout Graph		Vote Pie Chart
Maps
  1859 California County Map of General Election Results for Lt. Governor  
County Button
Per Vote Democratic (Lecompton) Button
Per Vote Democratic (Anti-Lecompton) Button
Per Vote Republican Button
 
Election Notes:
  • The legislature's canvass did not include the returns from Amador, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Klamath, Los Angeles, Merced, Monterey, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Tulare, and Yuba counties. The totals in the Assembly Journal are given as 41,400 for Downey, 23,916 for Conness, and 9,935 for Kennedy. The Journal also lists 38 votes for Jose Rubio in San Diego County, but these are not listed in the statement of vote.
  • In 1859, the Democratic Party in the state was divided over slavery, specifically the potential expansion of slavery into Kansas. Two factions emerged for the 1859 state general election: the Lecompton faction, which supported the proposed pro-slavery constitution in Kansas, and the abolitionist Anti-Lecompton faction.
  • John Downey became Governor on January 14, 1860, five days into his term, when Milton Latham resigned to be elected to the United States Senate. Downey was succeeded as Lieutenant Governor by Senate President pro tempore Isaac Quinn, who served only as Acting Lieutenant Governor and remained officially in the state legislature. Quinn's term in the Senate expired on January 7, 1861 and he was replaced as both Senate President pro tempore and Acting Lieutenant Governor Pablo de la Guerra, who remained in the latter role until the end of the state officers' term in January 1862.
Election Data and Statistics:
  • County Data (Table) (m)
  • County Data (Graphs) (m)
Election Tools
Data Sources:
  • Source for Popular Vote data: California State Archives, "For Lieutenant Governor," Statement of the votes polled at a general election held in the State of California on the seventh day of September A.D. 1859 (Sacramento, 1859)
Results for and Individual County:
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