A presidential election was held in Georgia on January 7, 1789, as part of the 1788–89 United States presidential election. The Georgia House of Assembly chose five electors, who voted for George Washington.
Washington was widely expected to be the first choice of the Electoral College in the first elections held under the Constitution of the United States. Some uncertainty persisted concerning the choice of the first vice president, however, due partly to the electoral system established by Article II of the Constitution. Under this system, each elector voted for two candidates; the candidate with the largest majority was elected president, and the runner-up vice president. With Washington likely to become president, many observers expected John Adams, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, to receive the other vote of most of the electors. Some, such as Alexander Hamilton, feared Adams's popularity would be so great as to result in a tied vote, throwing the election to the United States House of Representatives. Hamilton believed this event would be deeply embarrassing to the new government and personally intervened with the electors to urge them not to vote for Adams.
George Handley, George Walton, Henry Osborne, John King, and John Milton were elected when the legislature met on January 7. All five subsequently voted for Washington at the meeting of the Electoral College in Atlanta on February 4. Although at least one observer believed Adams to be the second choice of most Georgians, he received no electoral votes from the state; instead, the electors split their second votes between four other candidates, including three Georgians—Milton, James Armstrong, and Edward Telfair—and General Benjamin Lincoln.
General election Electors The House of Assembly chose five electors by ballot. The number of votes for the successful candidates was not recorded.
+ 1788–89 United States presidential election in Georgia Party Candidate Votes Federalists George Handley Federalists John King Federalists Henry Osborne Federalists John Milton Federalists George Walton
Electoral College Presidential candidate Party Home state Electoralvote George Washington Independent Virginia 5 John Milton Federalists Georgia 2 James Armstrong Federalists Georgia 1 Benjamin Lincoln Federalists Massachusetts 1 Edward Telfair Federalists Georgia 1 Total votes 5 Source: A New Nation Votes: American Election Results, 1787–1825. American Antiquarian Society.
See also United States presidential elections in Georgia
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