Colonel William A. Phillips

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The 1849 California gubernatorial election was held on November 13, 1849, to elect the first governor of California. Peter Hardeman Burnett won in a five-way race.

Campaign

Peter Hardeman Burnett had only arrived in California a year prior to the election of 1849, but was known for his work Oregon Territory as a judge in their territory's Supreme Court.[1] On January 6, 1849, in a meeting of prominent men in Sacramento, he was appointed President of a committee that formally requested a provisional government to be established in California.[2] This committee would work with Bennet C. Riley the final military governor of California, to establish election procedures, and delegate counts.[3]

Results

California gubernatorial election, 1849[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Democrat Peter Hardeman Burnett 6,783 47.72
Nonpartisan Winfield S. Sherwood 3,220 22.66
Nonpartisan John Sutter 2,201 15.49
Nonpartisan John W. Geary 1,358 9.56
Nonpartisan William Morris Stewart 619 4.36
Other Write-ins 32 0.23
Total votes 14,213 100

Notes

  1. ^ Ten election districts were created for the 1849 election before California had any counties.

References

  1. ^ "Dear Mr. Editor". Vol. 2, no. 26. California Star & Californian. December 2, 1848. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "Provisional Government". Vol. 1, no. 4. Weekly Alta California. January 25, 1849. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "To the Public". Vol. 1, no. 25. Weekly Alta California. June 21, 1849. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA Governor Race - Nov 13, 1849". Retrieved April 25, 2016.