The 1849 California gubernatorial election was held on November 13, 1849, to elect the first governor of California. Peter Hardeman Burnett won in a five-way race.
Peter Hardeman Burnett had only arrived in California a year prior to the election of 1849, but was known for his work Oregon Territory as a judge in their territory's Supreme Court.[1] On January 6, 1849, in a meeting of prominent men in Sacramento, he was appointed President of a committee that formally requested a provisional government to be established in California.[2] This committee would work with Bennet C. Riley the final military governor of California, to establish election procedures, and delegate counts.[3]
