The 1866 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on September 4, 1866.[1] In keeping with the "Mountain Rule",[2] Incumbent Republican Paul Dillingham was a candidate for a second one-year term as governor of Vermont.[3] With the election taking place soon after the American Civil War, Dillingham ran as a pro-Union Republican.[4] The Democratic nomination was won by Charles N. Davenport of Wilmington, an attorney and founder of the Brattleboro Reformer newspaper, who was also the Democratic nominee in 1865.[5][6] In the general election, Dillingham was easily elected to a second one-year term as governor.[7]