1817 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

Summary

The 1817 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on October 14, 1817. Incumbent Democratic-Republican governor Simon Snyder was not a candidate for re-election. Simon's preferred successor, State Treasurer William Findlay, was nominated as the Democratic Republican candidate by a caucus of legislative leaders. Conversely, U.S. Representative Joseph Hiester was chosen as a candidate by the Democratic Republicans' first popular nominating convention; he additionally gained the endorsement of the declining Federalists.

1817 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

← 1814 October 14, 1817 (1817-10-14) 1820 →
 
Nominee William Findlay Joseph Hiester
Party Democratic-Republican Federalist
Popular vote 66,331 59,272
Percentage 52.8% 47.2%

County Results
Findlay:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%
Hiester:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Governor before election

Simon Snyder
Democratic-Republican

Elected Governor

William Findlay
Democratic-Republican

The two men ran starkly different campaigns. Findlay sought to continue aggressive policies of infrastructural investment and economic intervention while maintaining the patronage system for governmental employment. Hiester, a former Revolutionary War captain, called for a reduction in spending, an expansion in liberal economic policies, and an investigation into corruption in state government. Findlay was ultimately victorious by an approximately six point margin, as his dominance in the state's rural counties counteracted support for Hiester in the cities.[1][2]

Results edit

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1817[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic-Republican William Findlay 66,331 52.81
Federalist Joseph Hiester 59,272 47.19
N/A Others 11 0.01
Total votes 125,614 100.00

References edit

  1. ^ "PA Governor General Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
 
Political cartoon about the election