1863 Florida's 1st congressional district special election

A special election to the Confederate States House of Representatives for Florida's 1st congressional district was held February 2, 1863.[1]

1863 Florida's 2nd congressional district special election

February 2, 1863

Nominee John Marshall Martin James Gettis Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1,111 583 Percentage 38.78% 20.35%   Nominee W. M. Ives James E. Broome Party Independent Independent Popular vote 571 486 Percentage 19.93% 16.96%

Representative before election James Baird Dawkins Independent Elected Representative John Marshall Martin Independent

The winning candidate would serve the remainder of a two-year term in the Confederate States House of Representatives to represent Florida in the 1st Confederate Congress from February 3, 1863, to February 18, 1864.

Background

In the 1861 congressional election, James Baird Dawkins was elected to the Confederate States House of Representatives. However, Dawkins resigned on December 8, 1862 after Governor John Milton appointed him as a state judge.[2]

Candidates

• James E. Broome, state senator and former governor of Florida[3]
• James Gettis, former state representative[4]
• George E. Hawes, former state senator[5]
• W. M. Ives, editor of the Lake City Columbian[6]
• John Marshall Martin, planter[7]

Campaign

Unique to this election, none of the five candidates came from West Florida, which had been the state's political powerhouse, showing the waning influence of Pensacola. Martin and Ives were both from North Central Florida; Martin was a planter and Confederate States Army captain from Ocala, while Ives was an influential newspaper editor from Lake City. Broome, the former governor of Florida, was from Tallahassee. Gettis, a former state representative from Tampa, was famous in Florida for his actions during the Battle of Tampa. The only candidate out of the five without a major reputation in the state was Hawes, a former state senator from Orlando, which was still a small frontier town at this time.

General election

Results

1863 Florida's 1st congressional district special election[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Marshall Martin	1,111	38.78%	N/A
	Independent	James Gettis	583	20.35%	N/A
	Independent	W. M. Ives	571	19.93%	N/A
	Independent	James E. Broome	486	16.96%	N/A
	Independent	George E. Hawes	114	3.98%	N/A
Majority			528	18.43%	+8.26%
Turnout			4,053	100.00%

See also

• 1861 Confederate States House of Representatives elections
• 1863 Confederate States House of Representatives elections

References

1. "Our Campaigns - FL CSA 1 - Special Election". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
2. Schwartz, Kathryn Carlisle (2003). Baptist Faith in Action: The Private Writings of Maria Baker Taylor, 1813-1895. Columbia: University of South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-57003-497-8. Retrieved November 23, 2020.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
3. "James Emilius Broome". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
4. VanLandingham, Kyle S. (1997). "James Gettis: Tampa Pioneer Lawyer". Sunland Tribune. University of South Florida. 23 (6) – via Scholar Commons.
5. The People of Lawmaking in Florida 1822 - 2019 (PDF). Tallahassee: Florida House of Representatives. 2019. p. 83. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
6. Ives, W. M. (1895). "HISTORY of THE FOURTH FLORIDA REGIMENT". Confederate Veteran. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
7. Allardice, Bruce S. (2008). Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register. Columbia: University of Missouri. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-0-8262-6648-4. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
8. "FL CSA 1 - Special Election". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 23, 2020.