1872 Nebraska gubernatorial election

October 8, 1872

Governor before election

William H. James (Acting)
Republican

Elected Governor

Robert Wilkinson Furnas
Republican

Presidential elections
1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate elections
1867 1869 1870 1875 1877 1880 1883 1886 1888 1889 1893 1895 1899 1899 sp 1901 1901 sp 1905 1907 1911 1913 1916 1918 1922 1924 1928 1930 1934 1934 sp 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1952 sp 1954 1954 sp 1958 1960 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 2024 sp 2026
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1889 2nd sp 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1899 6th sp 1900 1902 1904 1905 1st sp 1906 1908 1910 1911 3rd sp 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1st sp 6th sp 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1st sp 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1951 3rd sp 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 1st sp 2024

State elections
2010 2014 2018 2020
Gubernatorial elections
1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2022
State Legislature elections
2018 2020 2022 2024

The 1872 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on October 8, 1872.^[a] Three-term incumbent Governor of Nebraska David Butler was impeached and removed from office on June 2, 1871.^[3] Because Nebraska's Constitution at the time did not have an office of lieutenant governor, Butler was replaced by Nebraska Secretary of State William H. James as acting governor, filling out the remainder of Butler's term. In 1872, James decided not to seek election to the governorship. The election of 1872 thus featured Republican nominee Robert Wilkinson Furnas, a member of the University of Nebraska board of regents since 1869, defeating Democratic nominee Henry C. Lett, a lawyer from Brownville, Nebraska.^[4]^[5]

General election

Colonel Robert W. Furnas, Republican candidate, former member of the Nebraska Territorial Council from 1857 to 1859 from Nemaha County, Nebraska,^[6] and member of the University of Nebraska board of regents from 1869 to 1875^[7]
Henry C. Lett, Democratic candidate, lawyer from Brownville, Nebraska, and president of the Brownville office of the Fort Kearney and Pacific Railroad,^[8]^[9] Democratic nominee for Nebraska State Auditor in 1868^[10]

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 1872^[4]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert W. Furnas	16,543	59.57%
	Democratic	Henry C. Lett	11,227	40.43%
Total votes			27,770	100.0%
	Republican hold

^ The Nebraska Constitution of 1866 specified in Article III, Section 1, that the governor and all executive officers were to be elected on the second Tuesday in October.^[1]^[2]

^ "Nebraska Constitution of 1866, Article III, Section 1". 1866. The Executive Department shall consist of a Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor and Treasurer, who shall be chosen by the electors of the State on the second Tuesday of October....
^ State of Nebraska (1873). Senate Journal of the General Assembly of the State of Nebraska: Ninth Regular Session. Journal Company. p. 36. Retrieved June 21, 2023. Abstract of Votes Cast for State Officers at the General Election, Held October 8th, 1872
^ "Gov. David C. Butler". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Addison E. Sheldon, ed. (December 1918). The Nebraska Blue Book and Historical Register. Nebraska Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 440. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ "Col. R. W. Furnas and Hon. H. C. Lett". Omaha Evening Bee. October 4, 1872. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ State of Nebraska. 2020-21 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF). p. 311. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ "Robert Wilkinson Furnas". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ "H. C. Lett, Come Into Court". Nebraska Advertiser. October 3, 1872. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ "City and County". Nebraska Advertiser. November 14, 1872. Retrieved May 13, 2023. H. C. Lett, Esq. has been...
^ "Democratic State Ticket". Omaha Herald. August 7, 1868. p. 2. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
^ Harrison Johnson (1880). History of Nebraska. Henry Gibson Herald Printing House. p. 52.

This Nebraska elections-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page was last edited on 24 December 2023, at 00:22