Attorney General, 1869 Election
General
| Date: | November 2, 1869 |
| Cycle: | 1869 |
| Office: | Attorney General |
| State: | Minnesota |
| District: | Statewide |
| Candidate | Gender | Party | Votes | Percent | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis R.E. Cornell Incumbent | Man | Republican | 29,300 | 53.75 | +10.07 |
| Seagrave Smith | Man | Democrat | 23,812 | 43.68 | |
| J. Ham (J.H.) Davidson | Man | Temperance | 1,348 | 2.47 |
This was the first Minnesota gubernatorial election with a third party candidate on the ballot. The Temperance Party was founded in 1868 and held its first convention in St. Paul on October 6, 1869. It would later be known as the Prohibition Party in the state.
Attorney General Cornell was reelected to a second term.
Smith was an attorney from Hastings and a state Senator (SD 07, 1868-1870). Smith had previously served in the Connecticut Senate (1855).
Sources
- Journal of the House of Representatives of the Twelfth Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota, 1870 (p. 12).