1834 Illinois gubernatorial election

August 4, 1834


Nominee	Joseph Duncan	William Kinney	Robert K. McLaughlin
Party	Democratic	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

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. 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.

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

Results

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

Illinois Blue Book 1899

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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.

^ 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.

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