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 County results Stanford: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% McConnell: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Conness: 40-50% 70-80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1861 California gubernatorial election took place on September 4, 1861. Incumbent GovernorJohn G. Downey was not a candidate for renomination, as his Democratic Party had violently ruptured over the issue of slavery and secession. Downey was aLecomptonDemocrat, those who favored slavery in the Kansas Territory and who were running as now as the Breckenridge or "Chivalry" Democrats. These Chivalry Democrats supportedAttorney GeneralJohn McConnell. Anti-slavery or anti-secession Democrats were the "Unionist" Democrats who favoredJohn 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 theUnited States Senate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Leland Stanford | 56,036 | 46.80% | +37.06% | |
| Southern Democratic | John McConnell | 32,751 | 27.35% | −31.77% | |
| Union Democratic | John Conness | 30,944 | 25.84% | −5.28% | |
| Majority | 23,285 | 19.45% | |||
| Total votes | 119,731 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | +68.83% | |||
| County | Leland Stanford Republican | John R. McConnell Southern Democratic | John Conness Democratic | Margin | Total votes cast[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 1,932 | 69.02% | 356 | 12.72% | 511 | 18.26% | 1,421[a] | 50.77% | 2,799 |
| Amador | 1,299 | 38.39% | 827 | 24.44% | 1,258 | 37.17% | 41[a] | 1.21% | 3,384 |
| Butte | 1,732 | 42.53% | 1,106 | 27.16% | 1,234 | 30.30% | 498[a] | 12.23% | 4,072 |
| Calaveras | 1,980 | 38.39% | 1,572 | 30.48% | 1,606 | 31.14% | 374[a] | 7.25% | 5,158 |
| Colusa | 348 | 30.88% | 581 | 51.55% | 198 | 17.57% | -233 | -20.67% | 1,127 |
| Contra Costa | 959 | 60.50% | 330 | 20.82% | 296 | 18.68% | 629 | 39.68% | 1,585 |
| Del Norte | 172 | 38.31% | 213 | 47.44% | 64 | 14.25% | -41 | -9.13% | 449 |
| El Dorado | 2,775 | 43.72% | 1,370 | 21.59% | 2,202 | 34.69% | 573[a] | 9.03% | 6,347 |
| Fresno | 54 | 12.05% | 316 | 70.54% | 78 | 17.41% | -238[a] | -53.13% | 448 |
| Humboldt | 402 | 41.57% | 205 | 21.20% | 360 | 37.23% | 42[a] | 4.34% | 967 |
| Klamath | 198 | 26.98% | 301 | 41.01% | 235 | 32.02% | -66[a] | -8.99% | 734 |
| Lake | 92 | 29.39% | 167 | 53.35% | 54 | 17.25% | -75 | -23.96% | 313 |
| Los Angeles | 455 | 24.62% | 1,195 | 64.66% | 198 | 10.71% | -740 | -40.04% | 1,848 |
| Marin | 591 | 53.48% | 309 | 27.96% | 205 | 18.55% | 282 | 25.52% | 1,105 |
| Mariposa | 566 | 30.38% | 710 | 38.11% | 587 | 31.51% | -123[a] | -6.60% | 1,863 |
| Mendocino | 493 | 37.21% | 559 | 42.19% | 273 | 20.60% | -66 | -4.98% | 1,325 |
| Merced | 59 | 12.97% | 309 | 67.91% | 87 | 19.12% | -222[a] | -48.79% | 455 |
| Mono | 350 | 25.07% | 528 | 37.82% | 518 | 37.11% | -10[a] | -0.71% | 1,396 |
| Monterey | 499 | 48.03% | 235 | 22.62% | 305 | 29.36% | 194[a] | 18.67% | 1,039 |
| Napa | 767 | 48.03% | 553 | 34.63% | 277 | 17.35% | 214 | 13.40% | 1,597 |
| Nevada | 3,250 | 49.62% | 1,779 | 27.16% | 1,521 | 23.22% | 1,471 | 22.46% | 6,550 |
| Placer | 2,222 | 48.54% | 893 | 19.51% | 1,463 | 31.96% | 759[a] | 16.58% | 4,578 |
| Plumas | 659 | 37.06% | 517 | 29.08% | 602 | 33.86% | 57[a] | 3.21% | 1,778 |
| Sacramento | 3,264 | 45.16% | 1.127 | 15.59% | 2,836 | 39.24% | 428[a] | 5.92% | 7,227 |
| San Bernardino | 297 | 30.97% | 401 | 41.81% | 261 | 27.22% | -104 | -10.84% | 959 |
| San Diego | 122 | 46.21% | 90 | 34.09% | 52 | 19.70% | 32 | 12.12% | 264 |
| San Francisco | 10,728 | 70.82% | 1,243 | 8.21% | 3,178 | 20.98% | 7,550[a] | 49.84% | 15,149 |
| San Joaquin | 1,837 | 47.85% | 1,588 | 41.36% | 414 | 10.78% | 249 | 6.49% | 3,839 |
| San Luis Obispo | 176 | 36.82% | 200 | 41.84% | 102 | 21.34% | -24 | -5.02% | 478 |
| San Mateo | 702 | 59.24% | 100 | 8.44% | 383 | 32.32% | 319[a] | 26.92% | 1,185 |
| Santa Barbara | 131 | 22.17% | 24 | 4.06% | 436 | 73.77% | -305 | -51.61% | 591 |
| Santa Clara | 1,995 | 57.88% | 1,081 | 31.36% | 371 | 10.76% | 914 | 26.52% | 3,447 |
| Santa Cruz | 916 | 62.48% | 367 | 25.03% | 183 | 12.48% | 549 | 37.45% | 1,466 |
| Shasta | 626 | 26.87% | 628 | 26.95% | 1,076 | 46.18% | -448[b] | -19.23% | 2,330 |
| Sierra | 2,147 | 45.01% | 1,423 | 29.83% | 1,200 | 25.16% | 724 | 15.18% | 4,770 |
| Siskiyou | 1,168 | 36.90% | 717 | 22.65% | 1,280 | 40.44% | -112 | -3.54% | 3,165 |
| Solano | 1,449 | 55.86% | 689 | 26.56% | 456 | 17.58% | 760 | 29.30% | 2,594 |
| Sonoma | 1,608 | 44.63% | 1,616 | 44.85% | 379 | 10.52% | -8 | -0.22% | 3,603 |
| Stanislaus | 247 | 27.66% | 415 | 46.47% | 231 | 25.87% | -168 | -18.81% | 893 |
| Sutter | 558 | 39.32% | 570 | 40.17% | 291 | 20.51% | -12 | -0.85% | 1,419 |
| Tehama | 405 | 31.64% | 507 | 39.61% | 368 | 28.75% | -102 | -7.97% | 1,280 |
| Trinity | 888 | 39.07% | 608 | 26.75% | 777 | 34.18% | 111[a] | 4.88% | 2,273 |
| Tulare | 153 | 13.19% | 671 | 57.84% | 336 | 28.97% | -335[a] | -28.88% | 1,160 |
| Tuolumne | 2,025 | 43.67% | 1,636 | 35.28% | 976 | 21.05% | 389 | 8.39% | 4,637 |
| Yolo | 726 | 40.63% | 694 | 38.84% | 367 | 20.54% | 32 | 1.79% | 1,787 |
| Yuba | 2,014 | 46.86% | 1,425 | 33.15% | 859 | 19.99% | 589 | 13.70% | 4,298 |
| Total | 56,036 | 46.80% | 32,751 | 27.35% | 30,994 | 25.84% | 23,285 | 19.45% | 119,731 |
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