1850 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

The 1850 United States House of Representatives election in Florida was held on Monday, October 7, 1846 to elect the single United States Representative from the state of Florida, one from the state's single at-large congressional district, to represent Florida in the 32nd Congress. The election coincided with the elections of other offices, including the senatorial election and various state and local elections.[1]

1850 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

October 7, 1850

Nominee Edward Carrington Cabell John Beard Party Whig Democratic Popular vote 4,531 4,050 Percentage 52.80% 47.20%

Representative before election Edward Carrington Cabell Whig Elected Representative Edward Carrington Cabell Whig

The winning candidate would serve a two-year term in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1851, to March 4, 1853.

Candidates

Nominee

• Edward Carrington Cabell, incumbent U.S. representative

Nominee

• John Beard, former North Carolina state senator

Campaign

Despite the weakness of the Whig Party after the death of President Zachary Taylor, Beard was a source of great controversy. Beard, a staunch advocate of nullification while he was in North Carolina, became one of Florida's earliest secessionists. Beard claimed that with the admission of Texas to the United States, the South had enough power to break free through war.[2]

Cabell ran on the complete opposite as Beard, arguing that the Compromise of 1850 will bring peace and an end to the slavery question. Many Floridians were also skeptical of breaking free from a Union they had just joined.[3]

General election

Results

Florida's At-large congressional district election, 1850[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Carrington Cabell (inc.)	4,531	52.80%	-0.72%
	Democratic	John Beard	4,050	47.20%	+0.72%
Majority			481	5.61%	-1.44%
Turnout			8,581	100.00%
	Whig hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1850

References

1. "Our Campaigns - FL At Large Race - Oct 07, 1850". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
2. Nicholson, Angus W. (1850-10-05). "Cabell vs. Beard - 1850". Pensacola Gazette. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
3. "To the Voters of Florida". Pensacola Gazette. 1850-09-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
4. "FL At Large - 1850". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 16, 2020.