1834 Illinois gubernatorial election

August 4, 1834


Nominee	Joseph Duncan	William Kinney	Robert K. McLaughlin
Party	Democratic^[a]	Democratic	Democratic
Popular vote	17,349	10,229	4,315
Percentage	52.93%	31.21%	13.16%

County Results

Duncan:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%      90-100%
Ewing:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%
McLaughlin:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

Unknown/No Vote:

Governor before election

William Lee D. Ewing
Democratic

Elected Governor

Joseph Duncan
Whig^[b]

The 1834 Illinois gubernatorial election was the fifth quadrennial election for this office. U.S. Representative Joseph Duncan was elected by a majority of the voters. He defeated former Lt. Governor William Kinney and former state treasurer Robert K. McLaughlin.

Duncan was a member of the Democratic Party for most of his early career, but fell out with party leader and President Andrew Jackson during Jackson's first term.^[1] He did not announce his change in party affiliation publicly, allowing his votes against Jackson in Congress to relay the message, but news of Duncan's change in affiliation did not reach most Illinois voters and politicians until after the election, resulting in Duncan's nomination and election as a Democrat.^[1]

Duncan did not return to the state from Washington, D.C. until after the election.^[1] This was the only election of a Whig Governor in Illinois history, albeit by accident on the part of voters.^[1]

Results

[edit]

1834 gubernatorial election, Illinois
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Duncan	17,349	52.93%	+52.93%
	Democratic	William Kinney	10,229	31.21%	−8.84%
	Democratic	Robert K. McLaughlin	4,315	13.16%	N/A
	Democratic	James Adams	887	2.71%	N/A
Majority			7,120	21.72%	N/A
Turnout			32,780
	Whig gain from Democratic		Swing

References

[edit]

Illinois Blue Book 1899

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State judicial	1936 1938 1940 1942 1948 1960 1962 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Ballot measures and referendums	State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
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Other municipal	1924 Cicero
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

^ By the time of Duncan's nomination and election, news of his defection to the Whig Party had not yet reached Illinois. As such, Duncan was elected as a Democrat, though he did not take office as one.
^ Though elected as a Democrat, Duncan's party switch had occurred prior to the election and he took office as a Whig.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Howard, Robert P. (1988). Mostly Good and Competent Men (2nd ed.). Springfield, Illinois: Institute for Public Affairs. pp. 43–46. ISBN 0-938943-15-4.

Results

See also

References