In February 1859, Archibald Campbell and John Curtiss Underwood proposed a coalition between the Republican Party of Virginia and Whig Party. However, the Whigs refused to change their position on slavery. The Republicans did not run a gubernatorial candidate and the party told its members to abstain from the election.[1]
^Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. pp. 285–287. ISBN9780786414390.