1788–89 United States presidential election in Delaware

none June 2025 September 2023 1788–89 United States presidential election 1788–89 United States presidential election in Delaware Delaware File:Flag of the United States (1777–1795).svg presidential no 1792 United States presidential election in Delaware 1792 January 7, 1789 200x200px File:George Washington Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg George Washington Independent (United States) Virginia 3 685 100.00% File:John Jay (cropped).jpg John Jay Federalists (United States) New York 3 — — File:1788–89 United States presidential election in Delaware results map by county.svg 125px County results Federalists #382005 100% President Office established George Washington Independent (United States) A presidential election was held in Delaware on January 7, 1789, as part of the 1788–89 United States presidential election.DenBoer Brown Hagermann 1986 81 The Federalists carried the state's three counties unanimously, choosing three electors who voted for George Washington.Lampi 2012a Washington was widely expected to be the first choice of the Electoral College in the first elections held under the Constitution of the United States. Some uncertainty persisted concerning the choice of the first vice president, however, due partly to the electoral system established by Article II of the Constitution. Under this system, each elector voted for two candidates; the candidate with the largest majority was elected president, and the runner-up vice president. With Washington likely to become president, many observers expected John Adams, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, to receive the other vote of most of the electors. Some, such as Alexander Hamilton, feared Adams's popularity would be so great as to result in a tied vote, throwing the election to the United States House of Representatives. Hamilton believed this event would be deeply embarrassing to the new government and personally intervened with the electors to urge them not to vote for Adams.Cunliffe 2002 7, 12–13 Voters in each county voted for one elector, with the three candidates with the most votes statewide being elected.DenBoer Brown Hagermann 1986 81 John Banning, George Mitchell, and Gunning Bedford Sr. were each unanimously elected.Lampi 2012a All three subsequently voted for Washington and John Jay at the meeting of the Electoral College on February 4.Lampi 2012b General election Summary Delaware chose three electors statewide, based on the cumulative vote in the state's three counties. Early election laws required voters to elect the members of the Electoral College individually, rather than as a block.Lampi n.d. The following table calculates the sum of all votes for electors in each county to give an approximate sense of the statewide popular vote. 1788–89 United States presidential election in DelawareLampi 2012aincomplete Based on returns from New Castle and Sussex counties. The returns from Kent County are missing. Federalists (United States) George Washington 685 100.00 Total George Washington 685 100.00 685 100.00 Results by county + 1788–89 United States presidential election in Delaware by countyLampi 2012a County George WashingtonFederalists Margin Total Votes % Votes % Kent ** No data ** No data 100.00 ** No data New Castle 163 100.00 163100.00 163 Sussex 522 100.00 522 100.00% 522 TOTAL 685 100.00 685 100.00 685 Electors 1788-89 United States presidential election in DelawareLampi 2012aincomplete George Mitchell Federalists (United States) 522 76.20 Gunning Bedford Sr. Federalists (United States) 163 23.80 John Banning Federalists (United States) 0 0.00 685 100.00 Electoral College Presidential candidate Party Home state ElectoralvoteEach elector voted for two candidates. George Washington Independent Virginia 3 John Jay Federalists New York 3 Total votes 3 Source: A New Nation Votes: American Election Results, 1787–1825. American Antiquarian Society.Lampi 2012b See also United States presidential elections in Delaware Notes References Bibliography Cunliffe Marcus Schlesinger Arthur M. Jr. Israel Fred L. History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–2001 1 Chelsea House Publishers Philadelphia 2002 Elections of 1789 and 1792 1–56 https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica01schl/page/1/mode/2up DenBoer Gordon Brown Lucy Trumbull Hagermann Charles D. The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788–1790 2 1986 University of Wisconsin Press Madison https://archive.org/details/documentaryhisto0002unse_n1m7 Lampi Philip J. Electoral College https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/?f%5Boffice_id_ssim%5D%5B%5D=ON056 A New Nation Votes American Antiquarian Society April 19, 2026 n.d. Lampi Philip J. Delaware 1789 Electoral College https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/9306sz94c A New Nation Votes American Antiquarian Society April 19, 2026 2012a Lampi Philip J. 1789 President of the United States, Electoral College https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/zp38wf06k A New Nation Votes American Antiquarian Society April 18, 2026 2012b Delaware 1789 Category:1789 Delaware elections