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The1856 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1856. Incumbent GovernorMyron Clark did not run for re-election to a second term in office. In the race to succeed him,John A. King defeatedAmasa J. Parker andErastus Brooks to become the first Republican elected Governor of New York.
In the 1840s, the New York Democratic Party split between its anti-slavery "Barnburner" wing and its conservative "Hunker" wing, culminating in the nomination ofMartin Van Buren for president on a Barnburner "Free Soil" ticket in 1848.
Following theCompromise of 1850, the two wings initially reconciled, though there was a further split in the Hunker camp between "Hard Shell" men who opposed reconciliation and "Soft Shell" men, who favored it. After theKansas-Nebraska Act passed, renewed attention on the issue of slavery broke this fragile truce, and all factions were once again at odds. The Hards, who believed that anti-slavery men no longer had any place in the Democratic Party, broke off to form their own "National Democratic" ticket, while many radical anti-slavery men also broke from the Democrats to join the Anti-Nebraska and Free Soil parties in 1854. Following their disastrous defeat in the 1854 election, the national Democratic Party, led by presidential nomineeJames Buchanan, urged the wings of the New York party to reconcile once more and unite behind a single candidate.
TheSoft Shell state convention met on July 30 at Market Hall inSyracuse. TheHard Shell Democratic state convention met at the same time at Corinthian Hall in the same city. The Soft delegates adopted a resolution to unite with the Hards and marched to Corinthian Hall where both factions assembled together.[1]
On the first ballot,Addison Gardiner led with 69 votes against 45 forDavid L. Seymour.Horatio Seymour received twenty-one votes, but announced that he was not a candidate for nomination and that no possible situation could induce him to accept the nomination.[1] Henry Rogers was also removed from consideration.[1]John Kelly, the boss ofTammany Hall, gave a speech urging the nomination ofFernando Wood, and a motion was passed to require a bare majority of votes to elect a nominee.[1]
Gardiner also led the second and third ballots. On the final ballot, the names of Schell, Gardiner and Wood were withdrawn; Gardiner delegates endorsed Parker for the nomination.[1] With the other leading candidates out of the race, Parker received a clear majority on the fourth ballot, and his nomination was made unanimous.[1]
| Results by ballot[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| Addison Gardiner | 69 | 78 | 80 | – |
| David L. Seymour | 46 | 67 | 60 | |
| Amasa J. Parker | 33 | 39 | 39 | |
| Fernando Wood | 25 | 26 | 22 | – |
| John Vanderbilt | 21 | 18 | 15 | |
| Horatio Seymour | 21 | – | – | – |
| Augustus Schell | 11 | 22 | 30 | – |
| Erastus Corning | 9 | 3 | – | – |
| John W. Brown | 8 | – | – | – |
| Henry W. Rogers | 7 | – | – | – |
| Daniel S. Dickinson | 1 | – | – | – |
| Orestes Brownson | 1 | – | – | – |
| Samuel Fowler | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Porter | 1 | – | – | – |
| Total | 254 | 254 | 261 | |
The American Party state convention met on September 23 and 24 atRochester, New York. Erastus Brooks, the editor of theNew York Express was nominated for Governor by acclamation.[2]
The North American Party, which had seceded from the American Party earlier in the year and which had considered joining the Republicans, met on the same day at the Court House in the same city. In the afternoon, after some debate, they marched to the American convention and re-united, endorsing their ticket and declaring support for the American presidential candidatesMillard Fillmore andAndrew Jackson Donelson for the1856 presidential election.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John A. King | 264,400 | 44.52% | N/A | |
| Democratic | Amasa J. Parker | 198,616 | 33.44% |  0.12 | |
| Know Nothing | Erastus Brooks | 130,870 | 22.04% |  3.99 | |
| Radical Abolitionist | Gerrit Smith | 155 | 0.03% | 0.03 | |
| Total votes | 594,041 | 100.00% | |||
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