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.

Results

Results by county County Leland StanfordRepublican John R. McConnellSouthern Democratic John ConnessDemocratic Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Alameda1,93269.02%35612.72%51118.26%1,42150.77%2,799Amador1,29938.39%82724.44%1,25837.17%411.21%3,384Butte1,73242.53%1,10627.16%1,23430.30%49812.23%4,072Calaveras1,98038.39%1,57230.48%1,60631.14%3747.25%5,158Colusa34830.88%58151.55%19817.57%-233-20.67%1,127Contra Costa95960.50%33020.82%29618.68%62939.68%1,585Del Norte17238.31%21347.44%6414.25%-41-9.13%449El Dorado2,77543.72%1,37021.59%2,20234.69%5739.03%6,347Fresno5412.05%31670.54%7817.41%-238-53.13%448Humboldt40241.57%20521.20%36037.23%424.34%967Klamath19826.98%30141.01%23532.02%-66-8.99%734Lake9229.39%16753.35%5417.25%-75-23.96%313Los Angeles45524.62%1,19564.66%19810.71%-740-40.04%1,848Marin59153.48%30927.96%20518.55%28225.52%1,105Mariposa56630.38%71038.11%58731.51%-123-6.60%1,863Mendocino49337.21%55942.19%27320.60%-66-4.98%1,325Merced5912.97%30967.91%8719.12%-222-48.79%455Mono35025.07%52837.82%51837.11%-10-0.71%1,396Monterey49948.03%23522.62%30529.36%19418.67%1,039Napa76748.03%55334.63%27717.35%21413.40%1,597Nevada3,25049.62%1,77927.16%1,52123.22%1,47122.46%6,550Placer2,22248.54%89319.51%1,46331.96%75916.58%4,578Plumas65937.06%51729.08%60233.86%573.21%1,778Sacramento3,26445.16%1.12715.59%2,83639.24%4285.92%7,227San Bernardino29730.97%40141.81%26127.22%-104-10.84%959San Diego12246.21%9034.09%5219.70%3212.12%264San Francisco10,72870.82%1,2438.21%3,17820.98%7,55049.84%15,149San Joaquin1,83747.85%1,58841.36%41410.78%2496.49%3,839San Luis Obispo17636.82%20041.84%10221.34%-24-5.02%478San Mateo70259.24%1008.44%38332.32%31926.92%1,185Santa Barbara13122.17%244.06%43673.77%-305-51.61%591Santa Clara1,99557.88%1,08131.36%37110.76%91426.52%3,447Santa Cruz91662.48%36725.03%18312.48%54937.45%1,466Shasta62626.87%62826.95%1,07646.18%-448-19.23%2,330Sierra2,14745.01%1,42329.83%1,20025.16%72415.18%4,770Siskiyou1,16836.90%71722.65%1,28040.44%-112-3.54%3,165Solano1,44955.86%68926.56%45617.58%76029.30%2,594Sonoma1,60844.63%1,61644.85%37910.52%-8-0.22%3,603Stanislaus24727.66%41546.47%23125.87%-168-18.81%893Sutter55839.32%57040.17%29120.51%-12-0.85%1,419Tehama40531.64%50739.61%36828.75%-102-7.97%1,280Trinity88839.07%60826.75%77734.18%1114.88%2,273Tulare15313.19%67157.84%33628.97%-335-28.88%1,160Tuolumne2,02543.67%1,63635.28%97621.05%3898.39%4,637Yolo72640.63%69438.84%36720.54%321.79%1,787Yuba2,01446.86%1,42533.15%85919.99%58913.70%4,298Total 56,03646.80%32,75127.35%30,99425.84%23,28519.45%119,731

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Alameda Amador Butte Calaveras Contra Costa El Dorado Humboldt Marin Monterey Napa Nevada Placer Plumas Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Mateo Santa Clara Santa Cruz Sierra Solano Trinity Tuolumne Yolo Yuba

Notes

References

External links History