1869 Virginia gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:1869 Virginia gubernatorial election
Type:presidential
Country:Virginia
Flag Year:1861
Previous Election:1863 Virginia gubernatorial election
Previous Year:1863
Next Election:1873 Virginia gubernatorial election
Next Year:1873
Ongoing:no
Election Date:July 6, 1869
Nominee1:Gilbert Carlton Walker
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Alliance1:Conservative Party (Virginia, 1867)
Popular Vote1:119,535
Percentage1:54.15%
Nominee2:Henry H. Wells
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Alliance2:Radical Republicans
Color2:CF1021
Popular Vote2:101,204
Percentage2:45.85%
Governor
Before Election:Henry H. Wells
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Gilbert C. Walker
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

Virginia's elections of 1869 occurred during the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Era and included African-American candidates and so-called "carpetbaggers", politicians from the North, often former Union Army officers, who ran in elections in southern states then under the authority of the Federal government and U.S. Army. The election included the 1869 Virginia gubernatorial election held on July 6, 1869, to elect the governor of Virginia. Gilbert Carlton Walker was elected as a "True Republican" defeating H. H. Wells, who was running as a "Radical Republican." Walker switched his party affiliation to Democratic in 1870.

Elections results brought 21 African Americans to office in the Virginia House of Delegates and six to the Virginia State Senate.[1] Thomas Bayne was a party leader among the African-American group, although he lost the election when a White Republican ran against him in the same election, splitting the vote and allowing a Democrat to win.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Federal Writers' Project. The WPA Guide to Virginia: The Old Dominion State. 31 October 2013. Trinity University Press. 978-1-59534-244-7. 79–.