1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election

April 7, 1851


Nominee	Thomas H. Seymour	Lafayette S. Foster
Party	Democratic	Whig
Electoral vote	122	121
Popular vote	30.077	28,856
Percentage	48.94%	46.95%

County Results
Seymour: 40–50% 50–60%
Foster: 40–50%

Governor before election

Thomas H. Seymour
Democratic

Elected Governor

Thomas H. Seymour
Democratic

Federal government

U.S President
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U.S. Senate
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U.S. House
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State government

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Governor
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Attorney General
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State Treasurer
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2018 2022
State Senate
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State House
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The 1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election was held on April 7, 1851.^[1] It was a rematch of the 1850 Connecticut gubernatorial election. Incumbent governor and Democratic Party nominee Thomas H. Seymour defeated former state legislator and Whig nominee Lafayette S. Foster with 48.94% of the vote.

Seymour won a plurality of the vote, but he did not receive a majority. As a result, the Connecticut General Assembly elected the governor, per the state constitution. The Whig Party had a majority in the Connecticut State house, but they were divided over their choice. Seymour won the vote over Foster by a mere one-vote margin, 122 to 121, in the General Assembly, and became the governor.^[2]

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

Thomas H. Seymour, Democratic
Lafayette S. Foster, Whig

Minor party candidates

John Boyd, Free Soil

Results

1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas H. Seymour (incumbent)	30,077	48.94%
	Whig	Lafayette S. Foster	28,856	46.95%
	Free Soil	John Boyd	2,530	4.12%
Plurality			1,221
Turnout

1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election, contingent General Assembly election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas H. Seymour (incumbent)	122	50.21%
	Whig	Lafayette S. Foster	121	49.79%
Majority			1
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ "Correspondence of The Republic". The republic. Washington, D.C. April 5, 1851. p. 3. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
^ "Memorial Sketch of Lafayette S. Foster", Franklin Press (1881),
^ Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. p. 24. ISBN 9780786414390.

v t e Elections in Connecticut
General	1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022
State Senate	2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State House	2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1776 … 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 Apr 1876 Nov 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	1788 1790 1791 1793 1796 1797 1801 1803 1807 1809 1812 1813 1814 1818 1819 1821 1824 1826 1831 1832 1837 1842 1852 (sp) 1854 1856 1860 1863 1866 1872 1879 1881 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022
U.S. House	1788 1790 1792 1794 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1840 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1928 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1982 1984 1990 1994 1998 2000 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
See also: Political party strength in Connecticut