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1856 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

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Field	Value
election_name	1856 United States House of Representatives election in Florida
country	Florida
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	United States House of Representatives election in Florida, 1854
previous_year	1854
next_election	United States House of Representatives election in Florida, 1858
next_year	1858
election_date	October 6, 1856
image1	[[File:Rep George Sydney Hawkins.jpg	x150px]]
nominee1	George Sydney Hawkins
party1	Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1	6,392
percentage1	53.08%
image2	[[File:James McNair Baker.png	x150px]]
nominee2	James McNair Baker
party2	Know Nothing
popular_vote2	5,650
percentage2	46.92%
map_image	1855 Florida US House Results by County.png
map_size	300px
map_caption	County Results
title	Representative
before_election	Augustus Maxwell
before_party	Democratic Party (United States)
after_election
George Sydney Hawkins
after_party	Democratic Party (United States)
flag_image	Flag_of_the_United_States_(1851–1858).svg

Hawkins Baker No Votes George Sydney Hawkins The 1856 United States House of Representatives election in Florida was held on Monday, October 6, 1856, to elect the single United States Representative from the state of Florida, one from the state's single at-large congressional district, to represent Florida in the 35th Congress. The election coincided with the elections of other offices, including the presidential election, the senatorial election, the gubernatorial election, and various state and local elections.

The winning candidate would serve a two-year term in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1859.

Background

Florida's single seat in the House of Representatives had been held by the Democrats since 1852. In the 1854 election, the Democratic Party made key gains in the former Whig strongholds of Pensacola and Jacksonville. By 1856, the Whig Party had collapsed, and they were replaced in the South by the Know Nothing Party, also known as the American Party, which was serving as a successor to the prior Anti-Masonic Party.

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

George Sydney Hawkins, federal judge for the Northern District of Florida and former associate justice of the Supreme Court of Florida

Withdrawn

Frederick L. Villepigue, secretary of state of Florida

Know Nothing

Nominee

James McNair Baker, state attorney for the Columbia County Circuit Court

Campaign

Baker campaigned heavily alongside the Know Nothing candidates for president and governor, former President Millard Fillmore and former Tallahassee Mayor David S. Walker, respectively. However, Baker fell severely ill during the election and was not able to campaign properly for the last few months, instead relying on Walker to campaign for him. This put Baker, a political unknown, at a severe disadvantage to Hawkins, who was a popular judge throughout the state.

General election

Results

Results by County

County	George Sydney Hawkins
Democratic	James McNair Baker
Know Nothing	Total votes	#	%	#	%	Totals	6,392	53.08%	5,650	46.92%	12,042
Alachua	337	63.83%	191	36.17%	528
Brevard	10	66.67%	5	33.33%	15
Calhoun	112	62.57%	67	37.43%	179
Columbia	419	45.05%	511	54.95%	930
Dade	0	0%	0	0%	0
Duval	268	35.26%	492	64.74%	760
Escambia	260	52.42%	236	47.58%	496
Franklin	178	67.17%	87	32.83%	265
Gadsden	385	49.23%	397	50.77%	782
Hamilton	195	48.03%	211	51.97%	406
Hernando	122	58.65%	86	41.35%	208
Hillsborough	316	67.09%	155	32.91%	471
Holmes	44	29.93%	103	70.07%	147
Jackson	414	47.48%	458	52.52%	872
Jefferson	374	71.37%	150	28.63%	524
Leon	438	56.88%	332	43.12%	770
Levy	57	44.53%	71	55.47%	128
Liberty	97	56.73%	74	43.27%	171
Madison	469	48.91%	490	51.09%	959
Manatee	24	42.11%	33	57.89%	57
Marion	361	58.13%	260	41.87%	621
Monroe	235	80.20%	58	19.80%	293
Nassau	106	53.54%	92	46.46%	198
Orange	51	52.58%	46	47.42%	97
Putnam	117	50.87%	113	49.13%	230
Santa Rosa	206	40.71%	300	59.29%	506
St. Johns	195	74.43%	67	25.57%	262
Sumter	93	58.13%	67	41.88%	160
Volusia	26	38.24%	42	61.76%	68
Wakulla	155	45.72%	184	54.28%	339
Walton	177	51.60%	166	48.40%	343
Washington	151	53.08%	106	46.92%	257

References

"Our Campaigns - FL At Large Race - Oct 06, 1856".
(1856-03-08). "Judge George Sydney Hawkins". Pensacola Gazette.
(1856-04-26). "1856 Florida Democratic Convention". Pensacola Gazette.
(1856-06-21). "Our Candidate". Pensacola Gazette.
(1856-08-19). "Col. Baker in Pensacola". Pensacola Gazette.
(1856-08-12). "Grand Rally!". Pensacola Gazette.
"FL At Large - 1856".
Jones, James S.. (November 29, 1856). "Official Vote for Governor". Floridian & Journal.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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