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 County results Crafts: 40–50% 50–60% Palmer: 50–60% 70–80% Meech: 30–40% 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1830 Vermont gubernatorial election took place in September and October, and resulted in the election ofSamuel C. Crafts to a one-year termas governor.[1]
In the mid-1820s, theDemocratic-Republicans, the only major party following the demise of theFederalists after theWar of 1812, began to splinter into supporters and opponents of PresidentAndrew Jackson.[2] The opponents of Jackson were calledNational Republicans, and adopted the nameWhig after the1832 presidential election.[2] The pro-Jackson party was still referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party, but adopted the nameDemocratic Party prior to the 1832 elections.[2] TheAnti-Masonic Party, which formed in the late 1820s, continued to gather supporters, and had more influence in Vermont than in most other states.[3]
TheVermont General Assembly met inMontpelier on October 14.[1] TheVermont House of Representatives appointed a committee to review the votes of thefreemen of Vermont for governor,lieutenant governor,treasurer, and members of the governor's council.[1] The committee determined that no candidate had won a majority for governor or lieutenant governor.[1] In accordance with the Vermont Constitution, the General Assembly was required to choose.[1]
The popular vote for governor was reported as: Total votes, 30,721; Samuel C. Crafts (National Republican), 13,476 (43.9%);William A. Palmer (Anti-Masonic),[4] 10,923 (35.6%);Ezra Meech (Democratic-Republican), 6,285 (20.4%); scattering, 37 (0.01%).[1]
In the election for lieutenant governor, the popular vote totals were: Total votes, 29,847;Mark Richards (National Republican), 12,779 (42.8%);Lebbeus Egerton (Anti-Masonic),[4] 10,594 (35.5%); John Roberts (Democratic-Republican), 6,405 (21.4%); scattering, 69 (0.02%).[1] After numerous ballots over several days failed to produce winners, on Tuesday, October 19 the General Assembly chose Crafts for governor and Richards for lieutenant governor.[1]
With 224 legislators and councilors casting votes for governor on the 32nd ballot, 113 were required for a majority.[5] Crafts received 115, Palmer received 72, and Democratic-RepublicanWilliam Czar Bradley received 37.[5] For lieutenant governor, 211 members of the General Assembly voted on the third ballot, so 106 were necessary for victory.[5] Richards received 117, Egerton received 57, and Roberts 37.[5]
Benjamin Swan won election to a one-year term as treasurer, his thirty-first.[1] Though he had nominally been aFederalist, Swan was usually endorsed by the Democratic-Republicans and even after the demise of the Federalist Party he was frequently unopposed.[6] In 1830, he was endorsed by the National Republicans[7] and Democratic-Republicans,[8] and opposed by Anti-Masonic candidateAugustine Clarke.[4] In the treasurer's race, the popular vote was reported as: Total votes cast, 28,917; Swan, 18,544 (64.1%); Clarke, 10,325 (35.7%); scattering, 48 (0.02%).[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Republican | Samuel C. Crafts (incumbent) | 13,476 | 43.9% | ||
| Anti-Masonic | William A. Palmer | 10,923 | 35.6% | ||
| Democratic-Republican | Ezra Meech | 6,285 | 20.4% | ||
| Scattering | 37 | 0.1% | |||
| Total votes | 30,721 | 100% | |||
