Ohio Governor Election Results 1788-1848

Gubernatorial results on this page are taken from Michael Miering's "Ohio Gang" project.  

Territorial Governors (1788-1803)

1788-1802

Major General Arthur St. Clair (removed by President Jefferson prior to statehood)

1798

William Henry Harrison (appointed by President Adams as Governor St. Clair's secretary and ex-officio Lt. Gov.  Became acting Gov. on St. Clair's numerous trips out-of-state.

1802-1803 

Charles W. Byrd [acting] (because of St. Clair's open hostility towards statehood Jefferson removed him)

Constitutional Governors

The First State Constitutional Convention was held in 1802 with Edward Tiffin as President.  (The Constitution provided for a weak executive Branch limited to a 2-year term and no Lt. Gov.)

1802

*Edward Tiffin (DR) [4,564]

Others [1,254]

1805

*Edward Tiffin (DR) [4,783]

Others [410}

1807

Thomas Kirker (DR) acting 3/07-12/07 (Tiffin resigned to become Senator 3/07)

1807 general election

*Return Jonathan Meigs (DR)(F)(Q) [3,299]

General Nathaniel Massie (DR) [2,317]

Total vote [11,433] (official)

Note: Meigs beat Massie narrowly.  State legislature invalidated the election because Meigs' military service and Judicial service kept him out-of-state and he did not fulfill residency requirements.  Some history claim the office was not awarded to Massie.  However a very early history of Ohio, by Col. John MacDonald, called "McDonald's Sketches" states he was in fact named Governor and a week or so later resigned.  The General Assembly at one point counted 5.927 votes for Meigs and 4,438 for Massie and then threw out nearly half the votes.

1807-1808

Thomas Kirker(DR) acting (due to legislative action over disputed election of 1807 Kirker remained acting governor)

1808 (Election year changed due to Election of 1807)

*Samuel Huntington (DR)(F)(Q) [7,293]

Thomas Kirker (DR) [3,397]

Thomas Worthington (DR) [5,601]

Others [398]

1810 General Election

*Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (DR)(Q) [9,924]

Thomas Worthington (DR) [7,731]

Others [15] 

1812 General Election

*Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (F)(Q) [11,859]

(resigned 3/25/14 to become Postmaster General)

thomas Scott (DR) [7,903]

Others [328

1814 Acting Governor

Othniel Looker (3/25/14-12/8/14) 

1814 General Election

*Thomas Worthington (DR) [15,879]

Othniel Looker (F) [6,171]

Others [2,056] 

1816 General Election (Capital moved to Columbus) 

*Thomas Worthington (DR) [22,931]

James Dunlap (DR) [6,295]

Ethan Allen Brown (F) [not active candidate, but received 1,607 votes]

Others [9]

1818 General Election

*Ethan Allen Brown (DR) [34,836]

(resigned to become U.S. Senator 1/4/22)

Jeremiah Morrow (DR) [9,426]

William Henry Harrison (DR) [4,348]

Others [257]

1822 Acting Governor

Allen Trimble (F) (1/4/22-12/28/22) 

1822 General Election

*Jeremiah Morrow (DR)(NR) [26,059]

Allen Trimble (F) [22,089]

William W. Irwin (DR) [11,060]

Others [4,262] 

1824 General Election

*Jeremiah Morrow (Jackson)(DR)(NR) [39,526]

Allen Trimble (F) [37,108]

Others [108] 

1826 General Election

*Allen Trimble (F)(NR) [71,475]

Alex Campbell (DR) [4,765]

John Bigger [4,114]

Benjamin Tappan [4,192]

Others [187] 

1828 General Election

*Allen Trimble (F)(Claywhig)(NR) [53,971]

? Jeremiah Morrow (DR) (Forms nucleus of of Whig Party Dec. 1827)

John W. Campbell (Jackson)(D) [51,951]

Others [112]

1830 General Election (First Nominating Convention)

General Duncan McArthur (NR)(Anti-Jackson)(F) [49,668]

Robert Lucas (D)(Jackson)(Convention-selected) [49,186]

Others [226]

Note: Accurate history of Ohio's early campaigns is difficult.  Fires, poor records, flawed early historys contribute to many errors in modern histories.  One such error in several history books describes a fictional gubernatorial contest between McArthur and Lucas with Lucas winning by one vote.  Such a race did occur some years later in a congressional race between the two. 

1832 General Election

*Robert Lucas (D)  [71,251]

(Became 1st Chairman of the National Democratic Party May 1832)

Darius Lyman (Union)(W)(Anti-Masonic)(NR) [63,185]

Others [33]

1834 General Election

*Robert Lucas (D) [70,738]

(During this term the "Toledo War" with Michigan occurred)

General James Findlay (Anti-Jackson)(W) [67,414]

(Namesake of Findley, OH) 

Others [38]

1836 General Election

*Joseph Vance (W) [92,204]

(Vance was the first elected Ohio Whig)

Eli Baldwin (D) [86,158]

Others [200] 

1838 General Election

*Wilson Shannon (D) [107,884]

(Shannon was the first native Ohioan elected Governor)

Joseph Vance (W) [102,146]

Others [7]

1840 General Election

*Thomas Corwin (W) [145,442]

Wilson Shannon (D) [129,312]

Others [8] 

1842 General Election

*Wilson Shannon (D) [119,774]

(Resigned 4/15/44 to become Minister to Mexico

Thomas Corwin (W) [117,902]

Leicester King (Liberty)(Abolition) [5,134]

Others [40] 

1844 Acting Governor

Thomas W. Bartley (D) 4/15/44-12/3/44

1844 Convention hopefuls

Thomas W. Bartley (D) Lost nomination, and chance to face his father, no one delegate

David Spangler (W) won Whig nomination but withdrew

1844 General Election

*Mordecai Bartley (W) [146,333]

(Succeeded his son, Thomas)

David Tod (D)(Anti-Bank)(Radical Democrats) [145,062]

Leicester King (Libert/Abolitionist) [8.808]

? Samuel Lewis (Liberty Party)

Others [11]

1846 General Election

*William Bebb (W) [118,869]

(Bebb's term was extended by two months due to lengthy qualifications of his successor)

David Tod (D)(Anti-Bank) [116,484]

Samuel Lewis (Liberty)(Free Soil)(Abolitionist) [10,797]

Others [46]

1848 General Election (closed race in Ohio history, decided by State Legislature)

Seabury Ford (W) [148,756]

John B. Weller (D) [148,445]

Others [742]