1835 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 1835 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on October 5, 1835, to elect the governor of Georgia. Democratic Union Governor Wilson Lumpkin, first elected in the 1831 election, did not seek re-election to a second term, instead he became U.S. commissioner to the Cherokee Native Americans. Democratic Union candidate William Schley, U.S House rep for Georgia's 1st congressional district, narrowly defeated Whig State Rights candidate Charles Dougherty.

Background
During this time, Georgian politics were dominated by two local parties, the Union party and the State Rights party. The Union party was the product of the forces of liberal democracy that brought white manhood suffrage and popular elections in the 1800s. The State Rights party, on the other hand, was a political anomaly whose conservative politics and organization were more closely related to those of the late 1800s.

The State Rights caucus held a state convention in June at Milledgeville and nominated Charles Dougherty for governor. The Union party was much slower at adopting a state convention and had a central committee nominate U.S House Representative William Schley.