1888 Minnesota gubernatorial election

1888 Minnesota gubernatorial election

←  1886 November 6, 1888 1890  →

Nominee William Rush Merriam Eugene McLanahan Wilson Hugh G. Harrison Party Republican Democratic Prohibition Popular vote 134,355 110,251 17,026 Percentage 51.35% 42.14% 6.51%

County results Merriam     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70−80% Wilson     40−50%     50–60%     60–70%     70−80%

Governor before election Andrew Ryan McGill Republican Elected Governor William Rush Merriam Republican

The 1888 Minnesota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1888, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent Andrew Ryan McGill was not not nominated for a second term. Republican William Rush Merriam was elected.

Candidates

• Eugene McLanahan Wilson, former member of the United States House of Representatives
• Hugh G. Harrison, former mayor of Minneapolis
• William Rush Merriam, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives (Republican)

Campaigns

Republican County Conventions was held over August and September of 1888. Unlike previous elections, where candidates were chosen by delegates from all counties assembling to one place at one time to vote, in 1888 each county met among themselves and simply published their votes to be counted. The three primary candidates were Merriam, incumbent Andrew Ryan McGill, and Albert Scheffer. By September 1st, Merriam had already won enough delegates to secure his victory in the primary. ^[1] Nominee Merriam began his campaign with a party for Republican officials in his mansion on September 27th, 1888. ^[2]

The Democratic Party held a primary between candidates Charles Canning, and Eugene M. Wilson. Canning campaigned on the same populist platform as Ames's previous campaign in 1886, and Wilson campaigned as a conservative. Wilson would be nominated. Wilson would disavow the previously Democratic-aligned Knights of Labor. Wilson would be described as "the Candidate for the Monopolistic Bosses." ^[3]

Results

Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1888 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Rush Merriam	134,355	51.35
	Democratic	Eugene McLanahan Wilson	110,251	42.14
	Prohibition	Hugh G. Harrison	17,026	6.51
Total votes			261,632	100
	Republican hold

References

1. "A CANDIDATE'S CLAIM". September 1, 1888.
2. "OPENED THE CAMPAIGN". September 27, 1888.
3. "A SOUBLE CANVASS". September 22, 1888.
4. "Our Campaigns - MN Governor Race - Nov 06, 1888" . Retrieved May 4, 2016.
5. "Minnesota Legislative Manual (Blue Book) - Chapter 10 Minnesota Elections" (PDF). Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. April 1, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2016.