1856 Arkansas gubernatorial election

1856 Arkansas gubernatorial election
August 4, 1856
	Conway: 50%-60% 60%-70% 70%-80% 80%-90%; Yell: 50%-60% 60%-70%; Tie
Governor before election; Elias N. Conway; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Elias N. Conway; Democratic

The 1856 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on August 4, 1856, in order to elect the Governor of Arkansas. Democratic nominee and incumbent Governor Elias N. Conway won re-election against Know Nothing nominee James Yell.^[1]

General election

On election day, August 4, 1856, Democratic nominee Elias N. Conway won re-election by a margin of 12,771 votes against his opponent Know Nothing nominee James Yell, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of Governor. Conway was sworn in for his second term on January 3, 1857.^[2]

Results

1856 Arkansas gubernatorial election^[3]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Elias N. Conway	27,612	65.03
	Know Nothing	James Yell	14,841^[a]	35.58
	Write-in	W. W. Floyd	4	0.01
	Write-in	John S. Roane	1	0.00
	Write-in	John T. Trigg	1	0.00
Total votes			42,459^[a]	100.00
	Democratic hold

Results by county

Results by county^[3]^[4]
County	Elias Nelson Conway		James Yell		W. W. Floyd		John S. Roane		John T. Trigg		Total
County	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Total
Arkansas	309	50.00%	309	50.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	618
Ashley	380	67.02%	187	32.98%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	567
Benton	971	84.14%	183	15.86%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1154
Bradley	469	54.66%	389	45.34%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	858
Calhoun	302	70.56%	126	29.44%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	428
Carroll	911	74.92%	305	25.08%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1216
Chicot	213	58.52%	151	41.48%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	364
Clark	719	69.94%	309	30.06%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1028
Columbia	597	49.54%	608	50.46%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1205
Conway	469	66.62%	235	33.38%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	704
Crawford	172	47.65%	189	52.35%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	361
Crittenden	278	52.35%	253	47.65%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	531
Dallas	470	60.96%	301	39.04%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	771
Desha	318	53.09%	281	46.91%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	599
Drew	458	57.18%	343	42.82%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	801
Franklin	570	81.43%	126	18.00%	4	0.57%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	700
Fulton	397	88.03%	54	11.97%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	451
Greene	562	74.34%	194	25.66%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	756
Hempstead	652	55.68%	519	44.32%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1171
Hot Spring	518	68.70%	236	31.30%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	754
Independence	1060	58.50%	752	41.50%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1812
Izard	697	85.31%	120	14.69%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	817
Jackson	527	53.78%	453	46.22%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	980
Jefferson	521	50.53%	510	49.47%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1031
Johnson	687	83.17%	139	16.83%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	826
Lafayette	154	46.25%	179	53.75%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	333
Lawrence	916	67.75%	436	32.25%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1352
Madison	827	84.82%	148	15.18%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	975
Marion	491	69.55%	215	30.45%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	706
Mississippi	238	55.74%	189	44.26%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	427
Monroe	309	65.19%	165	34.81%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	474
Montgomery	405	82.82%	84	17.18%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	489
Newton	301	77.78%	86	22.22%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	387
Ouachita	711	54.78%	587	45.22%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1298
Perry	193	69.42%	85	30.58%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	278
Phillips	535	48.72%	563	51.28%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1098
Pike	279	76.02%	88	23.98%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	367
Poinsett	457	76.94%	137	23.06%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	594
Polk	245	86.57%	38	13.43%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	283
Pope	597	71.58%	237	28.42%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	834
Prairie	486	56.98%	367	43.02%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	853
Pulaski	468	45.93%	549	53.88%	0	0.10	1	0.10%	1	0.10%	1019
Randolph	545	82.95%	112	17.05%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	657
Saline	521	58.28%	373	41.72%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	894
Scott	239	48.58%	253	51.42%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	492
Searcy	468	80.41%	114	19.59%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	582
Sebastian	337	37.91%	552	62.09%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	889
Sevier	506	62.86%	299	37.14%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	805
St. Francis	630	62.13%	384	37.87%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1014
Union	686	78.94%	183	21.06%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	869
Van Buren	455	83.18%	92	16.82%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	547
Washington	1178	67.28%	573	32.72%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1751
White	653	70.82%	269	29.18%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	922
Yell	555	72.36%	212	27.64%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	767
Total	27,612	65.03%	14,841^[a]	38.58%	4	0.01%	1	0.00%	1	0.00%	42,459

References

^ "Gov. Elias Nelson Conway". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
^ "AR Governor". ourcampaigns.com. March 1, 2005. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
^ ^a ^b Michael J. Dubin (January 1, 2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776 1860: The Official Results By State And County.
^ ^a ^b Arkansas. General Assembly. Senate. Journal of the Senate of Arkansas : reformatted from the original and including, Journals of the ... session of the General Assembly of the Territory of Arkansas ...

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d James Yell's vote total is stated as being 15,249, however, the number of votes in each county adds up to 14,841.

[2] "Gov. Elias Nelson Conway". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2023-12-02.

[GBN-3] "AR Governor". ourcampaigns.com. March 1, 2005. Retrieved 2023-12-02.

[Dubin-4] Michael J. Dubin (January 1, 2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776 1860: The Official Results By State And County.

[Senate_Journal-5] Arkansas. General Assembly. Senate. Journal of the Senate of Arkansas : reformatted from the original and including, Journals of the ... session of the General Assembly of the Territory of Arkansas ...

[Yell-1] James Yell's vote total is stated as being 15,249, however, the number of votes in each county adds up to 14,841.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas