1869 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election

none April 2026 April 2026 ly 1869 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election Texas Presidential no 1866 1873 November 30, 1869 File:James W. Flanagan - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg James W. Flanagan Republican Party (United States) Radical Republicans 35,461 49.15% 3x4.svg Wells Thompson Democratic Party (United States) 19,553 27.10% 3x4.svg Boulds Baker Independent 10,327 14.31% 3x4.svg H. R. Latimer #ff6600ff Republican Party (United States) Conservative Republicans 6,801 9.43% Lieutenant Governor Vacant James W. Flanagan Republican Party (United States) The 1869 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 30, 1869, in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Texas. Republican candidate James W. Flanagan won a four-way race for the office winning with just under 50% of the vote. Flanagan was the first and only Republican to hold the office until Rick Perry was inaugurated in 1999. Background Following the end of the Civil War, the federal government required that all formerly Confederate states adopt new state constitutions which abolished slavery in order to rejoin the Union. Texas wrote a constitution in 1866, but it was rejected by Congress and the state was placed under the control of a Reconstruction military district. A second constitution was drafted in 1869 which incorporated more of the reforms sought by the Radical Republicans in Congress. The new document was ratified by a vote in July 1869.McKay S. S. 1952 Understanding the Constitution of 1869: A Shift in Texas Governance https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/constitution-of-1869 2026-04-15 Texas State Historical Association en The office of lieutenant governor had been vacant since 1867, after the previous office holder, George Washington Jones, was removed from the office by General Philip Sheridan for being an "impediment to reconstruction".Cutrer Thomas 1952 George Washington Jones: A Political Biography https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/jones-george-washington 2026-04-15 Texas State Historical Association en General Election The election was one of the most controversial in Texas history. Favoritism by the military for the Republican party and troops stationed at the polls intimidated and probably prevented many Democrats from voting. General J. J. Reynolds ordered the drawing up of a new voter registration list, eliminating many of those who had qualified in 1867. Only about half of the registered white voters actually cast a ballot, and many polling places were either not opened, or ordered closed. Irregularities were reported but never investigated.Texas Governor Edmund Jackson Davis Records: An Inventory of Governor Edmund Jackson Davis Records at the Texas State Archives, 1869-1874 https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/40016.xml 2026-04-15 txarchives.org Candidates James W. Flanagan, former state senator and state representative (Radical Republican)June 24, 1869 Republican State Ticket https://www.newspapers.com/image/1283897197/ April 15, 2026 San Antonio Daily Express 2 Judge Henry Russell Latimer, chief justice of Lamar County (Conservative Republican)Rose Lura 1952 Henry Russell Latimer: A Texas Pioneer and Chief Justice https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/latimer-henry-russell 2026-04-15 Texas State Historical Association enNovember 26, 1869 Can It Be Done? https://www.newspapers.com/image/22736286/ April 15, 2026 The Galveston Daily News 2 Newspapers.com Dr. Boulds Baker (Independent)April 1, 1871 The Coalition of 1869 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth235854/ April 15, 2026 The Watchman Georgetown, TX 2 The Portal to Texas HistoryNovember 27, 1869 Letter from Houston https://www.newspapers.com/image/168149815/ April 15, 2026 The Dallas Weekly Herald 2 Newspapers.com Wells Thompson, former district attorney from Matagorda County (Democrat)Thompson John D. 1952 Wells Thompson: Life and Legacy of a Texas Lieutenant Governor https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/thompson-wells 2026-04-15 Texas State Historical Association en Results Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 1869https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123775/m1/197/ The Texas Almanac for 1870, and Emigrant's Guide to Texas Jan 1870 Richardson & Co. 195 The Portal to Texas History Republican Party (United States) James W. Flanagan 35,461 49.15 34.13 Democratic Party (United States) Wells Thompson 19,553 27.10 57.17 Independent Boulds Baker 10,327 14.31 N/A Republican #ff6600ff H. R. Latimer 6,801 9.43 N/A 266,514 100.00 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Aftermath Flanagan, though he won the election, never took the oath of office to be inaugurated. He briefly presided over the Texas Senate during a provisional session of the legislature that ratified the Reconstruction Amendments to the United States Constitution as part of the state's reconstruction process. With the state readmitted to the Union, the legislature elected Flanagan to a seat in the United States Senate and he vacated the office.Cutrer Thomas W. 1976 James Winwright Flanagan: Texas Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senator https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/flanagan-james-winwright 2026-04-15 Texas State Historical Association en References Category:1869 Texas elections Category:Texas lieutenant gubernatorial elections Category:November 1869 in the United States Category:Government of Texas