| Election Name: | 1855 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Georgia (U.S. state) |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1853 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1853 |
| Next Election: | 1857 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1857 |
| Election Date: | 1 October 1855 |
| Nominee1: | Herschel V. Johnson |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 54,136 |
| Percentage1: | 52.14% |
| Nominee2: | Garnett Andrews |
| Party2: | Know Nothing |
| Popular Vote2: | 43,358 |
| Percentage2: | 41.76% |
| Nominee3: | B. H. Overby |
| Color3: | E6E6E6 |
| Popular Vote3: | 6,331 |
| Percentage3: | 6.10% |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Herschel V. Johnson |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Herschel V. Johnson |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1855 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on 1 October 1855 in order to elect the Governor of Georgia. Democratic nominee and incumbent Governor Herschel V. Johnson was re-elected against Know Nothing (Sam) nominee Garnett Andrews and Temperance nominee B. H. Overby.[1]
By this point, the Constitutional Unionist Party had effectively dissolved with the loss of Union Democrats, and with the collapse of the Whigs following the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, most Southern Whigs had joined the nativist American Party (Know Nothing). As one of these people, Garnett Andrews became involved with the Nothing Know party and in 1855, after resigning his seat on the Northern Circuit, became the Know-Nothing (Sam) candidate for the Georgia governorship. He campaigned against unrestricted immigration and against secession.[2] [3]
Around the same time, the Georgia State Temperance Convention met in Atlanta with the aim of getting involved in local politics. Basil Hallam Overby, a lawyer from Atlanta, beat out the son of William H. Crawford for the nomination.[4]
On election day, 1 October 1855, Democratic nominee Herschel V. Johnson won re-election by a margin of 10,778 votes against his foremost opponent Know Nothing (Sam) nominee Garnett Andrews, thereby continuing Democratic control over the office of Governor. Johnson was sworn in for his second term on 9 November 1855.[5]