| Election Name: | 1861 California gubernatorial election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1859 California gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1859 |
| Next Election: | 1863 California gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1863 |
| Election Date: | September 4, 1861 |
| Nominee1: | Leland Stanford |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 56,036 |
| Percentage1: | 46.41% |
| Nominee2: | John R. McConnell |
| Party2: | Southern Democratic (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 33,751 |
| Percentage2: | 27.96% |
| Image3: | John Conness (3x4) a.jpg |
| Nominee3: | John Conness |
| Party3: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote3: | 30,944 |
| Percentage3: | 25.63% |
| Map Size: | 230px |
| Governor of California | |
| Before Election: | John G. Downey |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1861 California gubernatorial election took place on September 4, 1861. Incumbent Governor John G. Downey was not a candidate for renomination, as his Democratic Party had violently ruptured over the issue of slavery and secession. Downey was a Lecompton Democrat, those who favored slavery in the Kansas Territory and who were running as now as the Breckenridge or "Chivalry" Democrats. These Chivalry Democrats supported Attorney General John McConnell. Anti-slavery or anti-secession Democrats were the "Unionist" Democrats who favored John Conness.
With the dire split in the Democratic Party, even more bitter than in 1859, former Republican nominee Leland Stanford won a plurality of the popular vote and became the first Republican Governor of California. Both Stanford and Conness later served in the United States Senate.
| County | Leland Stanford Republican | John R. McConnell Southern Democratic | John Conness Democratic | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Alameda | 1,932 | 69.02% | 356 | 12.72% | 511 | 18.26% | 1,421 | 50.77% | 2,799 | ||||||||||
| Amador | 1,299 | 38.39% | 827 | 24.44% | 1,258 | 37.17% | 41 | 1.21% | 3,384 | ||||||||||
| Butte | 1,732 | 42.53% | 1,106 | 27.16% | 1,234 | 30.30% | 498 | 12.23% | 4,072 | ||||||||||
| Calaveras | 1,980 | 38.39% | 1,572 | 30.48% | 1,606 | 31.14% | 374 | 7.25% | 5,158 | ||||||||||
| Colusa | 348 | 30.88% | 581 | 51.55% | 198 | 17.57% | -233 | -20.67% | 1,127 | ||||||||||
| Contra Costa | 959 | 60.50% | 330 | 20.82% | 296 | 18.68% | 629 | 39.68% | 1,585 | ||||||||||
| Del Norte | 172 | 38.31% | 213 | 47.44% | 64 | 14.25% | -41 | -9.13% | 449 | ||||||||||
| El Dorado | 2,775 | 43.72% | 1,370 | 21.59% | 2,202 | 34.69% | 573 | 9.03% | 6,347 | ||||||||||
| Fresno | 54 | 12.05% | 316 | 70.54% | 78 | 17.41% | -238 | -53.13% | 448 | ||||||||||
| Humboldt | 402 | 41.57% | 205 | 21.20% | 360 | 37.23% | 42 | 4.34% | 967 | ||||||||||
| Klamath | 198 | 26.98% | 301 | 41.01% | 235 | 32.02% | -66 | -8.99% | 734 | ||||||||||
| Lake | 92 | 29.39% | 167 | 53.35% | 54 | 17.25% | -75 | -23.96% | 313 | ||||||||||
| Los Angeles | 455 | 24.62% | 1,195 | 64.66% | 198 | 10.71% | -740 | -40.04% | 1,848 | ||||||||||
| Marin | 591 | 53.48% | 309 | 27.96% | 205 | 18.55% | 282 | 25.52% | 1,105 | ||||||||||
| Mariposa | 566 | 30.38% | 710 | 38.11% | 587 | 31.51% | -123 | -6.60% | 1,863 | ||||||||||
| Mendocino | 493 | 37.21% | 559 | 42.19% | 273 | 20.60% | -66 | -4.98% | 1,325 | ||||||||||
| Merced | 59 | 12.97% | 309 | 67.91% | 87 | 19.12% | -222 | -48.79% | 455 | ||||||||||
| Mono | 350 | 25.07% | 528 | 37.82% | 518 | 37.11% | -10 | -0.71% | 1,396 | ||||||||||
| Monterey | 499 | 48.03% | 235 | 22.62% | 305 | 29.36% | 194 | 18.67% | 1,039 | ||||||||||
| Napa | 767 | 48.03% | 553 | 34.63% | 277 | 17.35% | 214 | 13.40% | 1,597 | ||||||||||
| Nevada | 3,250 | 49.62% | 1,779 | 27.16% | 1,521 | 23.22% | 1,471 | 22.46% | 6,550 | ||||||||||
| Placer | 2,222 | 48.54% | 893 | 19.51% | 1,463 | 31.96% | 759 | 16.58% | 4,578 | ||||||||||
| Plumas | 659 | 37.06% | 517 | 29.08% | 602 | 33.86% | 57 | 3.21% | 1,778 | ||||||||||
| Sacramento | 3,264 | 45.16% | 1.127 | 15.59% | 2,836 | 39.24% | 428 | 5.92% | 7,227 | ||||||||||
| San Bernardino | 297 | 30.97% | 401 | 41.81% | 261 | 27.22% | -104 | -10.84% | 959 | ||||||||||
| San Diego | 122 | 46.21% | 90 | 34.09% | 52 | 19.70% | 32 | 12.12% | 264 | ||||||||||
| San Francisco | 10,728 | 70.82% | 1,243 | 8.21% | 3,178 | 20.98% | 7,550 | 49.84% | 15,149 | ||||||||||
| San Joaquin | 1,837 | 47.85% | 1,588 | 41.36% | 414 | 10.78% | 249 | 6.49% | 3,839 | ||||||||||
| San Luis Obispo | 176 | 36.82% | 200 | 41.84% | 102 | 21.34% | -24 | -5.02% | 478 | ||||||||||
| San Mateo | 702 | 59.24% | 100 | 8.44% | 383 | 32.32% | 319 | 26.92% | 1,185 | ||||||||||
| Santa Barbara | 131 | 22.17% | 24 | 4.06% | 436 | 73.77% | -305 | -51.61% | 591 | ||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 1,995 | 57.88% | 1,081 | 31.36% | 371 | 10.76% | 914 | 26.52% | 3,447 | ||||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 916 | 62.48% | 367 | 25.03% | 183 | 12.48% | 549 | 37.45% | 1,466 | ||||||||||
| Shasta | 626 | 26.87% | 628 | 26.95% | 1,076 | 46.18% | -448 | -19.23% | 2,330 | ||||||||||
| Sierra | 2,147 | 45.01% | 1,423 | 29.83% | 1,200 | 25.16% | 724 | 15.18% | 4,770 | ||||||||||
| Siskiyou | 1,168 | 36.90% | 717 | 22.65% | 1,280 | 40.44% | -112 | -3.54% | 3,165 | ||||||||||
| Solano | 1,449 | 55.86% | 689 | 26.56% | 456 | 17.58% | 760 | 29.30% | 2,594 | ||||||||||
| Sonoma | 1,608 | 44.63% | 1,616 | 44.85% | 379 | 10.52% | -8 | -0.22% | 3,603 | ||||||||||
| Stanislaus | 247 | 27.66% | 415 | 46.47% | 231 | 25.87% | -168 | -18.81% | 893 | ||||||||||
| Sutter | 558 | 39.32% | 570 | 40.17% | 291 | 20.51% | -12 | -0.85% | 1,419 | ||||||||||
| Tehama | 405 | 31.64% | 507 | 39.61% | 368 | 28.75% | -102 | -7.97% | 1,280 | ||||||||||
| Trinity | 888 | 39.07% | 608 | 26.75% | 777 | 34.18% | 111 | 4.88% | 2,273 | ||||||||||
| Tulare | 153 | 13.19% | 671 | 57.84% | 336 | 28.97% | -335 | -28.88% | 1,160 | ||||||||||
| Tuolumne | 2,025 | 43.67% | 1,636 | 35.28% | 976 | 21.05% | 389 | 8.39% | 4,637 | ||||||||||
| Yolo | 726 | 40.63% | 694 | 38.84% | 367 | 20.54% | 32 | 1.79% | 1,787 | ||||||||||
| Yuba | 2,014 | 46.86% | 1,425 | 33.15% | 859 | 19.99% | 589 | 13.70% | 4,298 | ||||||||||
| Total | 56,036 | 46.80% | 32,751 | 27.35% | 30,994 | 25.84% | 23,285 | 19.45% | 119,731 | ||||||||||