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 County results Hartranft: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Pershing: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1875 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1875. Incumbent governorJohn F. Hartranft, a Republican, was a candidate for re-election. Hartranft defeated Democratic candidateCyrus L. Pershing to win another term.
Hartranft had already become an important figure in the history of theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States prior to his election as governor during the1872 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election. A colonel in theUnion Army who was awarded the U.S.Medal of Honor for the valor he displayed on July 21, 1861, in theFirst Battle of Bull Run during theAmerican Civil War, he was repeatedly promoted up through the officer ranks to become amajor general, and ultimately became theUnited States Army officer who read the death warrant toMary Surratt,George Atzerodt,David Herold, andLewis Powell before they were executed on July 7, 1865, for conspiring to assassinate U.S. PresidentAbraham Lincoln.[1] Post-war, he was elected twice as Pennsylvania's auditor general before choosing to run for the governor's office.[2][3]
Inaugurated as Pennsylvania's 17th governor on January 21, 1873, after winning his first election in 1872,[4] Hartranft was then inaugurated a second time, on January 18, 1876, after winning the 1875 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John F. Hartranft (incumbent) | 304,175 | 49.90 | |
| Democratic | Cyrus L. Pershing | 292,145 | 47.93 | |
| Prohibition | R. Audley Brown | 13,244 | 2.17 | |
| Total votes | 609,564 | 100.00 | ||
