Election 1870 Results
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1870 governor election results by state and county
Democrats and Republicans split 18 governorships evenly in 1870, with Democrats winning seven states the Republicans had held, several by narrow margins.
18 governor races were held in 1870. Democrats won 8 and Republicans 9, and 1 went to neither party.
The closest were Alabama (D+0.9), Connecticut (D+1.0) and Oregon (D+2.8). 7 governorships changed party: Alabama to the Democrats, Connecticut to the Democrats, Missouri to the third party, Nevada to the Democrats, Oregon to the Democrats, Tennessee to the Democrats and West Virginia to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1870 governor elections
The 1870 midterm year brought the first broad reverse for Grant's Republicans. The Fifteenth Amendment had just been ratified, but in parts of the South white Democrats were taking back power, often helped by Klan violence and intimidation. Democrats and Republicans each won nine governorships, and Democrats picked up seven that Republicans had held. Alabama changed hands by the smallest margin, with Robert B. Lindsay beating William Hugh Smith by 0.6 points. Tennessee also returned to Democratic control. In Missouri, a breakaway Liberal Republican movement backed by Democrats elected B. Gratz Brown, an early sign of the revolt against Grant that came to a head in 1872. Outside the South, James E. English won back Connecticut by about a point, La Fayette Grover took Oregon by about 3 points, and John J. Jacob won West Virginia by about 4. Lewis R. Bradley carried Nevada for the Democrats, and John T. Hoffman was re-elected in New York. Republicans held Maine, Michigan and Nebraska, where David Butler won by about 12 points.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama flip | Robert B. Lindsay | 77,723 (50.5%) | William Hugh Smith | 76,282 (49.5%) | D+0.9 | |
| Connecticut flip | James E. English | 44,128 (50.5%) | Marshall Jewell | 43,285 (49.5%) | D+1.0 | |
| Delaware | James Ponder | 12,459 (55.6%) | Thomas B. Coursey | 9,942 (44.4%) | D+11.2 | |
| Kansas | Isaac Sharp | 20,496 (33.5%) | James M. Harvey | 40,667 (66.4%) | 108 | R+32.9 |
| Maine | Charles W. Roberts | 45,732 (45.8%) | Sidney Perham | 54,019 (54.1%) | 38 | R+8.3 |
| Massachusetts | John Quincy Adams | 48,680 (32.4%) | William Claflin | 79,549 (53.0%) | Wendell Phillips (Labor Reform) 21,946 (14.6%) |
R+20.6 |
| Michigan | Charles C. Comstock | 83,555 (44.8%) | Henry P. Baldwin | 100,176 (53.7%) | 2,776 | R+8.9 |
| Missouri flip | none | Joseph W. McClurg | 63,235 (37.7%) | Benjamin Gratz Brown (Liberal Republican) 104,374 (62.3%) |
Ind. +24.5 | |
| Nebraska | J. H. Croxton | 8,648 (43.7%) | David Butler | 11,126 (56.3%) | R+12.5 | |
| Nevada flip | Lewis R. Bradley | 7,200 (53.9%) | Frederick Augustus Tritle | 6,148 (46.1%) | 1 | D+7.9 |
| New Hampshire | John Bedell | 25,023 (36.5%) | Onslow Stearns | 34,912 (51.0%) | Samuel Flint (Labor Reform) 7,369 (10.8%) |
R+14.4 |
| New York | John T. Hoffman | 399,490 (52.2%) | Stewart L. Woodford | 366,424 (47.8%) | D+4.3 | |
| Oregon flip | La Fayette Grover | 11,726 (51.4%) | Joel Palmer | 11,095 (48.6%) | D+2.8 | |
| Rhode Island | Lyman Pierce | 6,295 (37.8%) | Seth Padelford | 10,337 (62.2%) | R+24.3 | |
| South Carolina | none | Robert K. Scott | 85,071 (62.3%) | Richard B. Carpenter (Union Reform) 51,537 (37.7%) |
R+62.3 | |
| Tennessee flip | John C. Brown | 78,979 (65.6%) | William H. Wisener | 41,500 (34.4%) | D+31.1 | |
| Vermont | Homer W. Heaton | 12,058 (26.5%) | John W. Stewart | 33,367 (73.5%) | R+46.9 | |
| West Virginia flip | John J. Jacob | 29,097 (51.9%) | William E. Stevenson | 26,924 (48.1%) | D+3.9 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area, so its county detail is an estimate. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.