1890 Nebraska gubernatorial election

1890 Nebraska gubernatorial election

←  1888 November 4, 1890 1892  →

Nominee James E. Boyd John H. Powers Lucius D. Richards Party Democratic Populist Republican Popular vote 71,331 70,187 68,878 Percentage 33.3% 32.8% 32.2%

County results Boyd:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Powers:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Crounse:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%      No Votes

Governor before election John Milton Thayer Republican Elected Governor James E. Boyd Democratic

The 1890 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1890. Incumbent Republican Governor John Milton Thayer did not seek reelection.

In a four-way race, James E. Boyd, the Democratic nominee, defeated the Populist nominee John H. Powers, the Republican nominee Lucius D. Richards, and the Prohibition nominee Bartlett L. Paine. Boyd thus became the first Democratic candidate to be elected Governor of Nebraska.

General election

Candidates

• James E. Boyd, Democratic candidate, former mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, from 1881 to 1883 and 1885 to 1887
• Dr. Bartlett L. Paine, Prohibition candidate, co-founder of Miller & Paine, a department store in Lincoln, Nebraska ^[1]
• John H. Powers, Populist candidate, president of the Farmers' Alliance ^[2]
• Lucius D. Richards, Republican candidate, former mayor of Fremont, Nebraska, and chairman of the Nebraska Republican state central committee ^[3]

Results

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 1890 ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James E. Boyd	71,331 [a]	33.32%
	Populist	John H. Powers	70,187 [b]	32.78%
	Republican	Lucius D. Richards	68,878 [c]	32.17%
	Prohibition	Bartlett L. Paine	3,676 [d]	1.72%
	Scattering		18
Total votes			214,090	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

1. Some newspaper accounts at the time reported a total of 71,271 for Boyd ^[5]
2. Some newspaper accounts at the time reported a total of 70,287 for Powers ^[5]
3. Some newspaper accounts at the time reported a total of 68,888 for Richards ^[5]
4. Most newspaper accounts at the time failed to report a total for Paine ^[6]

Aftermath

After James E. Boyd was declared the winner, his opponent, John H. Powers, disputed the results of the election. While Boyd won by a margin of 1,144 votes, Powers claimed to have evidence that "2000 persons were bribed in Douglas County to vote for Boyd." ^{[7] [8]} A resolution to investigate these allegations was introduced in a joint session of the Nebraska Legislature, but it was ruled out of order. ^[9]

However, the trouble was not over for Boyd. He was due to be sworn in as Governor of Nebraska on January 8, 1891, but John Milton Thayer, who was not a candidate in the 1890 election, challenged Boyd's citizenship, and thus his eligibility to be governor. This delayed Boyd's inauguration until January 15. Boyd took office as governor; however, he only served until May 5, 1891, because the Supreme Court of Nebraska ruled that Boyd was ineligible to be governor, and thus Thayer took office again on May 5. ^{[10] [11]} Boyd took his case, Boyd v. Nebraska ex rel. Thayer, to the United States Supreme Court, and it was argued on December 8, 1891. ^[12] On February 1, 1892, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Boyd was eligible, and thus he took office again on February 8, 1892, and served out the remainder of his term. ^{[12] [13]}

See also

• 1890 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election

References

1. "Dr. Bartlett Lewis Paine". Prohibition Party.
2. "The Populists". NebraskaStudies.org. Nebraska Public Media.
3. "The Next Governor of Nebraska". Chicago Tribune. July 30, 1890. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
4. Chicago Daily News Almanac and Political Register. Chicago Daily News Company. 1891. p. 245. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
5. "Official Vote in Nebraska: The Result and Votes Received by Boyd, Richards, and Powers for Governor". Beemer Times. November 28, 1890. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
6. "The Official Vote". Omaha World-Herald. November 20, 1890. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
7. "Hon. John H. Powers Demands Justice". The Farmers' Alliance. February 21, 1891. p. 5.
8. "The Official Returns". The Aurora Republican. November 21, 1890. Retrieved April 23, 2023. Powers will contest Boyd's election...
9. "Returns Counted: Boyd Has A Majority For the Governorship". The Axtell Republican. January 15, 1891.
10. Sobel, Robert (1978). Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. III. Meckler Books. pp. 894–896. ISBN   9780930466008 . Retrieved March 25, 2023.
11. "John Milton Thayer". National Governors Association . Retrieved March 27, 2023.
12. Boyd v. Nebraska ex rel. Thayer, 143 U.S. 135 ( Supreme Court of the United States February 1, 1892).
13. "James E. Boyd". National Governors Association . Retrieved March 27, 2023.