The 1785 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on 8 March 1785 in order to elect the
President of New Hampshire. (The office would be renamed to Governor in 1792.) Candidates consisted of
John Langdon, George Atkinson,
John Sullivan and
Josiah Bartlett. Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Langdon was elected by the
New Hampshire General Court per the state constitution, despite having come in second in the popular vote.[1]
General election
On election day, 8 March 1785, candidate George Atkinson won the popular vote by a margin of 258 votes against his foremost opponent
John Langdon. But because no candidate received a majority of the popular vote, a separate election was held by the
New Hampshire General Court, which chose Langdon as the winner instead of Atkinson. Langdon was sworn in as the 2nd President of
New Hampshire on 6 June 1785.[2]