1855 Texas gubernatorial election

none March 2015 January 2025 September 2023 1855 Texas gubernatorial election Texas presidential no 1853 Texas gubernatorial election 1853 1857 Texas gubernatorial election 1857 August 6, 1855 Elisha pease.png 0.85 Elisha M. Pease Democratic Party (United States) 26,336 56.8% David Catchings Dickson.jpg 1.8 David C. Dickson American 18,968 40.9% File:1855 Texas gubernatorial election results map by county.svg Results by County Pease #c5dfff 40–50% #86B6F2 50–60% #4389E3 60–70% #1666CB 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 >90% Dickinson #7DDDDD 40–50% #51C2C2 50–60% #2AACAC 60–70% #009696 70–80% #008080 80–90% #006666 >90% Unknown/No Vote #cccccc 30pxGovernor Elisha M. Pease Democratic Party (United States) 30pxElected Governor Elisha M. Pease Democratic Party (United States) The 1855 Texas gubernatorial election was held on August 6, 1855, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Governor Elisha M. Pease was reelected to a second term, winning 57% of the vote. Background Starting in 1854, the nativist American Party, also known as the "Know Nothings" surged in national popularity. Texas up to this point had been dominated by the Democratic party, but the Know Nothings did see some success on the municipal level in San Antonio and Galveston. Democrats were disjointed going into the election, and when the party organized a convention only delegates from twelve counties were able to attend. Given the small number of delegates, the convention refused to make official nominations, but did "respectfully suggest the reelection of the present incumbents".Winkler Ernest William https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Platforms_of_political_parties_in_Texas_%28IA_platformsofpolit00winkrich%29.pdf?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original Platforms of Political Parties in Texas September 20, 1916 University of Texas 58–64 en Meanwhile, the leaders of the Texas Know Nothings saw an opportunity to build on their momentum and take control of the state from the Democratic Party, by secretly converting Democratic leadership to their cause. Posing as a river improvement convention in June 1855, a surprise nominating convention was held in which they announced a full slate of candidates for congressional and statewide tickets. Leading this ticket was the incumbent lieutenant governor, David Catchings Dickson, who had secretly joined the party to challenge the incumbent governor Elisha M. Pease.Griffin Roger A. 1952 The Rise and Fall of the Know-Nothing Movement in Texas https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/american-party April 21, 2026 Texas State Historical Association en Word of the Know Nothing convention swept the state, alarming the Democratic party and prompting a "Bomb Shell" convention which met on June 16. This convention reiterated its support for Pease in the governor's race and dropped all support for Dickson. They passed resolutions which declared the Know Nothing Party as "an enemy of the government" and denounced anyone who was a member of a secret political faction. In addition to the debates around immigration the campaign also discussed the internal improvements advocated by the Pease administration which were unpopular in some parts of the state, and especially in East Texas as residents there felt they were paying for the bulk of the price.https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1303&context=ethj East Texas Historical Journal 2024-05-08 General election On August 6, 1855, Pease was reelected with nearly 57% of the popular vote. The Know Nothings had their strongest performances in Central Texas around Travis County. The legislature certified the election results on November 7, 1855.https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/SenateJournals/6/S_6_0.pdf Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas: Sixth Legislature Marshall & Oldham, State Printers 1855 Austin, TX 47 en Candidates David C. Dickson, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, former justice of the peace, former surgeon in the Army of the Republic of Texas (American)Cutrer Thomas W. 1952 David Catchings Dickson: Life and Legacy of a Texas Leader https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/dickson-david-catchings 2026-06-18 Texas State Historical Association en Middleton T. Johnson, unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 1849 and governor in 1851, Texas Ranger and militia leader, former representative in Alabama House of Representatives (Democratic)Frazier, Ph.D. Donald 1952 Middleton Tate Johnson: Ranger, Politician, and Founding Figure of Fort Worth https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/johnson-middleton-tate 2026-06-17 Texas State Historical Association en Elisha M. Pease, incumbent governor, former state senator, former Comptroller of Public Accounts of the Republic of Texas (Democratic)Griffin Roger A. 1976 Elisha Marshall Pease: Governor of Texas and Advocate for Education https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/pease-elisha-marshall 2026-06-23 Texas State Historical Association en George Tyler Wood, former governor (1847-1849), plantation owner, veteran of the Mexican-American War (Democratic)Wheat J.E. 1976 George Tyler Wood: Second Governor of Texas https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wood-george-thomas 2026-06-23 Texas State Historical Association en Results 1855 Texas gubernatorial electionhttp://texasalmanac.com/topics/elections/elections-texas-governors-1845%E2%80%932010 Texas Almanac 2015-08-19 2015-11-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20151119092417/http://texasalmanac.com/topics/elections/elections-texas-governors-1845%E2%80%932010 dead Democratic Party (United States) Elisha M. Pease (incumbent) 26,336 56.83% Know Nothing American David C. Dickson 18,968 40.93% Democratic Party (United States) Middleton T. Johnson 809 1.75% Democratic Party (United States) George Tyler Wood 226 0.49% 46,339 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) American References Category:1855 United States gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial 1855 Category:August 1855