1817 New York gubernatorial election

New York gubernatorial election, 1817
	April/May, 1817
	April/May, 1817
Governor before election; John Tayler (Acting); Democratic-Republican	Elected Governor ; DeWitt Clinton; Democratic-Republican

The 1817 New York gubernatorial election was held in April/May 1817 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York.

History

Governor Daniel D. Tompkins was elected Vice President of the United States in November 1816; he resigned in February 1817. Article XVII of the New York State Constitution of 1777 said that "...as often as the seat of government shall become vacant, a wise and descreet freeholder of this State shall be, by ballot, elected governor,...,which elections shall be always held at the times and places of choosing representatives in assembly..." This meant that, whenever a vacancy occurred, the Lieutenant Governor did not succeed to the governor's office but administrated the state only until the end of the yearly term of the New York State Assembly on June 30, the successor being elected in April.

Candidates

The Democratic-Republican Party nominated former Lieutenant Governor DeWitt Clinton. They nominated acting Governor John Tayler for Lieutenant Governor.

Though he did not run, the Tammany organization, which opposed Clinton, distributed ballots in New York City with the name of former Secretary of State of New York Peter Buell Porter, and a few were cast.[1]

Results

The Democratic-Republican ticket of Clinton and Tayler was elected.

New York gubernatorial election, 1817
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	DeWitt Clinton	43,310	96.83%
	Tammany Hall	Peter Buell Porter	1,417	3.17%
Total votes			44,727	100%

Notes

History of Political Parties in the State of New-York by John Stilwell Jenkins (Alden & Markham, Auburn NY, 1846; page 195)

Sources

Result: The Tribune Almanac 1841