1846 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

1846 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

10 March 1846

Nominee Anthony Colby Jared W. Williams Nathaniel S. Berry Party Whig Democratic Free Soil Popular vote 17,737 26,740 10,403 Percentage 31.99% 48.23% 18.76%

County results Colby:      40–50% Williams:      40–50%      50–60%      70–80%

Governor before election John Hardy Steele Democratic Elected Governor Anthony Colby Whig

The 1846 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on 10 March 1846 in order to elect the Governor of New Hampshire. Whig nominee Anthony Colby defeated Democratic nominee and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's At-large district (Seat 3) Jared W. Williams and Free Soil Party nominee and former member of the New Hampshire Senate Nathaniel S. Berry. Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Colby was elected by the New Hampshire General Court per the state constitution, despite placing second in the popular vote.

General election

On election day, 10 March 1846, Democratic nominee Jared W. Williams won the popular vote by a margin of 9,003 votes against his foremost opponent Whig nominee Anthony Colby. But because no candidate received a majority of the popular vote, a separate election was held by the New Hampshire General Court, which chose Whig nominee Anthony Colby as the winner, despite Colby having only received 31.99% of the vote and having placed second. Colby thereby gained Whig control over the office of Governor, he was sworn in as the 20th Governor of New Hampshire on 4 June 1846.

Results

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 1846

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Anthony Colby	17,737	31.99
	Democratic	Jared W. Williams	26,740	48.23
	Free Soil	Nathaniel S. Berry	10,403	18.76
		Scattering	568	1.02
Total votes			55,448	100.00
	Whig gain from Democratic