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 County results Metcalf: 40–50% 50–60% Wells: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1856 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on March 11, 1856, in order to elect thegovernor of New Hampshire.IncumbentKnow Nothing governorRalph Metcalf won re-election againstDemocratic nominee and formerUnited States senator fromNew HampshireJohn S. Wells andWhig nominee and former member of theNew Hampshire House of RepresentativesIchabod Goodwin.Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Metcalf was elected by the New Hampshire General Court per the state constitution.[1]
On election day, March 11, 1856, incumbentKnow Nothing governorRalph Metcalf won re-election by a margin of 88 votes against his foremost opponentDemocratic nomineeJohn S. Wells, but because no candidate received a majority of the popular vote, a separate election was held by theNew Hampshire General Court, which chose Governor Metcalf as the winner. He thereby retainedKnow Nothing control over the office of governor. Metcalf was sworn in for his second term on June 7, 1856.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing | Ralph Metcalf (incumbent) | 32,119 | 48.15 | |
| Democratic | John S. Wells | 32,031 | 48.02 | |
| Whig | Ichabod Goodwin | 2,360 | 3.54 | |
| Scattering | 193 | 0.29 | ||
| Total votes | 66,703 | 100.00 | ||
| Know Nothinghold | ||||
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