1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

← 1846 November 8, 1847 (1847-11-08) 1848 →

Nominee George N. Briggs Caleb Cushing Samuel E. Sewall Party Whig Democratic Liberty Popular vote 53,742 39,398 9,193 Percentage 50.97% 37.36% 8.72%

Governor before election George N. Briggs Whig Elected Governor George N. Briggs Whig

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v t e

The 1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8.

Incumbent Whig Governor George N. Briggs was re-elected to a fifth term in office over Democrat Caleb Cushing. This was the last election in which the Whig Party received a majority of the vote; after the emergence of the Free Soil Party in 1848, Whigs only won pluralities before fading away entirely by the 1857 election.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• Henry W. Bishop
• Caleb Cushing, former U.S. Minister to China and U.S. Representative from Newburyport
• Isaac Davis, State Senator from Worcester and nominee for Governor in 1845 and 1846
• David Henshaw, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy

Convention

General election

Candidates

• Francis Baylies, former U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Buenos Aires and U.S. Representative from Taunton
• Caleb Cushing, former U.S. Minister to China and U.S. Representative from Newburyport (Democratic)
• George N. Briggs, incumbent Governor since 1844 (Whig)
• Samuel Edmund Sewall, Liberty nominee for Governor since 1842 (Liberty)

Results

1847 Massachusetts gubernatorial election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George N. Briggs (incumbent)	53,742	50.97%	2.81
	Democratic	Caleb Cushing	39,398	37.36%	4.78
	Liberty	Samuel Edmund Sewall	9,193	8.72%	1.09
	Know Nothing	Francis Baylies	2,876	2.73%	0.63
	Write-in		234	0.22%	0.26
Total votes			105,443	100.00%