.svg) | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Agubernatorial election was held inVirginia on November 25 and December 6, 1796.[2] The member of theCouncil of StateJames Wood defeated the member of theVirginia House of Delegates fromBotetourt CountyThomas Madison.[3]
The Democratic-Republican incumbentgovernorRobert Brooke retired in order to seek election asattorney general of Virginia.[4] The election was conducted by theVirginia General Assembly in joint session.[1] The former governorPatrick Henry defeated Wood on the first ballot, but declined to serve.[5] The General Assembly met again on December 6 and elected Wood with a majority on the second ballot.[3]
| Candidate | First ballot | Second ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percent | Count | Percent | |
| Patrick Henry | 94 | 55.62 | Declined | |
| James Wood | 75 | 44.38 | 115 | 66.09 |
| Thomas Madison | — | 56 | 32.18 | |
| Beverley Randolph | — | 2 | 1.15 | |
| William Clarke | — | 1 | 0.57 | |
Total | 169 | 100.00 | 174 | 100.00 |
.jpg)
.JPG)
