1804 New York gubernatorial election

1804 New York gubernatorial election

April 1804

Nominee Morgan Lewis Aaron Burr Party Democratic-Republican Democratic-Republican Alliance Tammany Hall Popular vote 30,829 22,139 Percentage 58.20% 41.80%

County results Lewis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80-90% Burr:      50–60%

Governor before election George Clinton Democratic-Republican Elected Governor Morgan Lewis Democratic-Republican

The 1804 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1804 to elect the Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor George Clinton did not run for re-election, having been nominated for Vice President of the United States in February. In a campaign that blurred partisan divisions, Morgan Lewis defeated Aaron Burr by a landslide margin.

Burr, the incumbent Vice President, had been alienated from the Republican Party after he challenged Thomas Jefferson in the contested presidential election of 1800. Though the nascent Tammany Hall organization and some members of the Federalist Party supported Burr, he was opposed by the bulk of the Republicans, led by Governor Clinton and the Livingston family. Alexander Hamilton, the most eminent Federalist, also refused to support his personal rival and endorsed Lewis. Hamilton's longstanding and severe criticisms of Burr, which were made public during the campaign, leading Burr to challenge him to the duel which took Hamilton's life in June 1804.

Background

In the 1800 United States presidential election, Aaron Burr ran on the Republican ticket as the running mate of Thomas Jefferson against incumbent President John Adams of the Federalist Party. At the time, the Constitution gave each elector two votes for president, and the candidate who received the second most votes became Vice President. The Republican Party planned to have 72 of their 73 electors vote for both Jefferson and Burr, with the remaining elector voting only for Jefferson. However, the electors failed to execute this plan, so Burr and Jefferson tied with 73 votes each. The Constitution stipulated that if two candidates with an Electoral College majority were tied, a contingent election would be held in the House of Representatives, with each state casting one vote. At the time, the majority of House delegations were controlled by the Federalists, many of whom were loath to vote for their rival Jefferson over the more moderate Burr. Although Hamilton had a long-standing political rivalry with Jefferson stemming from their tenure as members of George Washington's cabinet, he regarded Burr as more dangerous and used all his influence to ensure Jefferson's election. On the 36th ballot, the House of Representatives gave Jefferson the presidency, with Burr becoming vice president.

Burr's conduct during the contingent election alienated him permanently from Jefferson and the majority of Republicans. As it became clear that Jefferson would drop Burr from his ticket in the 1804 election, Burr chose to run for Governor of New York instead. As Burr's future within the Republican faction faded, New York governor George Clinton rose to fill the power vacuum. In February 1804, acknowledging the need for a northern running mate, the Republican caucus in Congress nominated Clinton for vice president over John Breckenridge of Kentucky.

General election

Candidates

• Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States
• Morgan Lewis, former Attorney General of New York and justice of the New York Supreme Court

Declined

• George Clinton, incumbent Governor since 1801 (ran for Vice President of the United States)

Results

1804 New York gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	Morgan Lewis	30,829	58.20%
	Democratic-Republican	Aaron Burr	22,139	41.80%
Total votes			52,968	100.00%

Sources

Result: The Tribune Almanac 1841

See also

• New York gubernatorial elections
• New York state elections