The 1856 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1856. Democratic governor Joel Aldrich Matteson did not seek re-election. Former Democratic U.S. representative William Henry Bissell was nominated by the newly formed Republican Party at the Bloomington Convention. Former Chicago mayor Buckner S. Morris was nominated on the Know-Nothing Party ticket.
Bissell was the first Republican and the first Catholic to be elected governor in Illinois history.
General election
Candidates
William Henry Bissell, former Democratic U.S. representative from Belleville (Republican) Buckner Stith Morris, former Whig mayor of Chicago (American) William Alexander Richardson, U.S. representative from Quincy (Democratic)
Campaign The Democratic campaign focused upon Bissell's involvement in a duel with future Confederate States president Jefferson Davis, which purportedly disqualified him from state office, while the Republican campaign emphasized opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Despite Bissell's victory, Republican presidential nominee John C. Frémont failed to carry the state in the concurrent presidential election.
Results
See also
1856 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election
References Illinois Blue Book 1899