1820 Maine gubernatorial election

1820 Maine gubernatorial election

April 3, 1820

Candidate William King Party Democratic-Republican Popular vote 21,083 Percentage 95.3%

County results King:      80–90%      90–100% No Data/Vote:

Governor before election John Brooks as Governor of Massachusetts Federalist Elected Governor William King Democratic-Republican

The 1820 Maine gubernatorial election took place on April 3, 1820. It was the first election for Governor of Maine, taking place after Maine separated from Massachusetts and was recognized as a state on March 15, 1820. Maine's separation from Massachusetts came as a result of The Missouri Compromise. The new Constitution of Maine kept some aspects of the Massachusetts form of government such as the Executive Council and the term of office only being one year.

The election saw the virtually unanimous election of William King, the primary leader of the push for Maine statehood. He had no opponents.

Results

1820 Gubernatorial Election, Maine

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	William King	21,083	95.3
	Write-in		1,031	4.7
Total votes			22,114	100.0

Aftermath

King was inaugurated on June 2, 1820. He did not complete his term as President James Monroe appointed King to serve as a member of the Spanish Claims Commission to help formalize border changes caused by the Adams–Onís Treaty. He resigned the office on April 28, 1821. Maine does not have a lieutenant governor, so under the rules of succession the President of the Maine Senate William D. Williamson became the next governor.