1892 United States presidential election in Idaho

Main article: 1892 United States presidential election

1892 United States presidential election in Idaho

November 8, 1892 1896  →

Nominee James B. Weaver Benjamin Harrison Party Populist Republican Alliance Democratic - Home state Iowa Indiana Running mate James G. Field Whitelaw Reid Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 10,520 8,599 Percentage 54.21% 44.31%

County Results Weaver   40-50%   50-60%   60-70% Harrison   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%

President before election Benjamin Harrison Republican Elected President Grover Cleveland Democratic

The 1892 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 8, 1892. All contemporary 44 states were part of the 1892 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

This was the first time Idaho participated in a presidential election, having become the 43rd state on July 3, 1890. During its period as a territory Idaho had been divided between a strongly Republican northern half and an anti-Republican Mormon south, ^[1] which in this first presidential election was in places (notably Oneida County) still excluded from voting. ^[1]

A wave of strikes in the silver-mining regions ^[2] and even deeper conflict whereby an idled ore concentrator was destroyed in Gem, ^[3] was to give the Populists a grip on the Mountain West that was not to be relinquished. Almost all the large number of dissenting farmers in the new state were to join with the silver interests ^[4] to back Weaver's policies of nationalization of railways and communications, restriction of immigration, shorter working days and direct election of senators. ^[5] Although Senator-to-be William Borah campaigned for Harrison under the slogan that “a vote for Weaver was a vote for Cleveland and therefore against their own interests” ^[6] Weaver's campaign against Republican Governor Norman Bushnell Willey’s declaration of martial law upon the miners, and against the absentee ownership of Idaho's land and water, ^[7] ensured that these campaigns for Harrison would not be decisive.

Owing to the unpopularity of Grover Cleveland in the West due to his gold standard platform, the Democratic Party decided to not enter a Cleveland ticket in the race and to instead back Weaver. ^[8] Idaho was won by the Populist nominees, James B. Weaver of Iowa and his running mate James G. Field of Virginia. Weaver and Field defeated the Republican nominees, incumbent President Benjamin Harrison of Indiana and his running mate Whitelaw Reid of New York. Weaver won the state by a margin of 9.9%.

Results

1892 United States presidential election in Idaho [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	People's / Democratic	James B. Weaver	10,520	54.21%	3
	Republican	Benjamin Harrison (incumbent)	8,599	44.31%	0
	Prohibition	John Bidwell	288	1.48%	0
Totals			19,407	100.00%	3
Voter turnout					—

Results by county

County	Benjamin Harrison [10] Republican		James Baird Weaver [11] People's/Democratic		John Bidwell [12] Prohibition		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Ada	1,170	41.39%	1,597	56.49%	60	2.12%	-427	-15.10%	2,827
Alturas	290	32.66%	596	67.12%	2	0.23%	-306	-34.46%	888
Bear Lake	114	33.93%	220	65.48%	2	0.60%	-106	-31.55%	336
Bingham	937	48.35%	933	48.14%	68	3.51%	4	0.21%	1,938
Boise	377	42.60%	500	56.50%	8	0.90%	-123	-13.90%	885
Cassia	121	39.16%	173	55.99%	15	4.85%	-52	-16.83%	309
Custer	187	36.45%	324	63.16%	1	0.19%	-137	-26.71%	513 [lower-alpha 1]
Elmore	188	34.81%	351	65.00%	1	0.19%	-163	-30.19%	540
Idaho	386	46.01%	448	53.40%	5	0.60%	-62	-7.39%	839
Kootenai	713	47.95%	753	50.64%	21	1.41%	-40	-2.69%	1,487
Latah	1,242	45.46%	1,432	52.42%	58	2.12%	-190	-6.95%	2,732
Lemhi	330	57.39%	244	42.43%	1	0.17%	86	14.96%	575
Logan	306	36.69%	518	62.11%	9	1.08%	-212	-25.42%	834 [lower-alpha 1]
Nez Perce	345	44.23%	428	54.87%	7	0.90%	-83	-10.64%	780
Oneida	267	63.88%	137	32.78%	14	3.35%	130	31.10%	418
Owyhee	337	49.34%	340	49.78%	6	0.88%	-3	-0.44%	683
Shoshone	936	48.95%	971	50.78%	5	0.26%	-35	-1.83%	1,912
Washington	317	36.15%	555	63.28%	5	0.57%	-238	-27.14%	877
Totals	8,563	44.21%	10,520	54.31%	288	1.49%	-1,957	-10.10%	19,371

See also

• United States presidential elections in Idaho

Notes

1. One write-in vote was recorded in this county for Democratic President Grover Cleveland.

References

1. Idaho Historical Society (1988); ‘Idaho Yesterdays’, vol. 32, p. 13
2. Kennedy, David M. and Cohen, Lizabeth; American Pageant, Volume 2, p. 506 ISBN   1305537416
3. Schwantes, Carlos A.; The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History, p. 343
4. Martin, Boyd Archer (1975); Idaho Voting Trends: Party Realignment and Percentage of Votes for Candidates, Parties, and Elections, 1890-1974, p. 373
5. Kennedy and Cohen; American Pageant, Volume 2, p. 505
6. Johnson, Claudius O.; ‘The Story of Silver Politics in Idaho, 1892-1902’; The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 3 (July 1942), pp. 283-296
7. Larson, Robert W.; ‘Populism in the Mountain West: A Mainstream Movement’; Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 13, no. 2 (April 1982), pp. 143-164
8. The Society (1974); State Historic Preservation Plan, Idaho, Volume 1, p. 72
9. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1892 Presidential General Election Results – Idaho
10. Géoelections; Presidential election of 1892 Popular Vote (.xlsx file for €15)
11. Géoelections; Popular Vote for James B. Weaver (.xlsx file for €15)
12. Géoelections; Popular Vote for John Bidwell (.xlsx file for €15)