1870 Missouri gubernatorial election
The 1870 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1870, and resulted in a victory for the Liberal Republican nominee, former Senator Benjamin Gratz Brown, over incumbent Republican Governor Joseph W. McClurg.
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County results Brown: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% McClurg: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% >90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Missouri |
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The election centered on the restoration of political rights for Confederates and Confederate sympathizers, leading to a split in the state Republican Party. In addition to support for re-enfranchisement, Liberals supported tariff reform and were critical of President Ulysses S. Grant, particularly his federal appointments policy. The election grew to become a referendum on Grant's presidency, and Brown's landslide victory would lay the ground for the formation of the national Liberal Republican Party which challenged Grant in the 1872 presidential election.