Supreme Court Chief Justice, 1875 Election

General

Date: November 2, 1875
Cycle: 1875
Office: Supreme Court Chief Justice
State: Minnesota
District: Statewide
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent Margin
James Gilfillan Incumbent Man Nonpartisan 47,010 57.59 +15.17
Lafayette Emmett Man Nonpartisan 34,623 42.41

Chief Justice Gilfillan was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Cushman Davis on March 10, 1875 after Chief Justice McMillan was elected to the U.S. Senate on February 19, 1875 and subsequently resigned.

Emmett was a resident of Faribault, former prosecuting attorney in Knox County (Ohio), former Minnesota Territorial Attorney General (1853-1858), and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1858-1865). Emmett was endorsed by the Democrats, Temperance Party, and Anti-Monopolists.

Sources

  • Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eighteenth Legislature of the State of Minnesota, 1876 (p. 17).