1896 United States presidential election in Washington (state)

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1896 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Flag of Washington (1923-1967).png
  1892 November 3, 1896 1900  
  William Jennings Bryan 2 (cropped).jpg William McKinley by Courtney Art Studio, 1896 (cropped).jpg
Nominee William Jennings Bryan William McKinley
Party Populist Republican
Alliance Democratic
Home state Nebraska Ohio
Running mate Thomas E. Watson [a] (Populist)
Arthur Sewall [a] (Democratic)
Garret Hobart
Electoral vote40
Popular vote51,64639,153
Percentage55.19%41.84%

Washington Presidential Election Results 1896.svg
County results

President before election

Grover Cleveland
Democratic

Elected President

William McKinley
Republican

The 1896 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 3, 1896. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1896 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Contents

Washington was won by the People's Party nominees, former U.S. Representative William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate Thomas E. Watson of Maine. Two electors cast their vice presidential ballots for Bryan's Democratic Party running mate Arthur Sewall. They defeated the Republican nominees, former Governor of Ohio William McKinley and his running mate Garret Hobart of New Jersey. Bryan won the state by a margin of 15.13%,

As a result of his win in the state, Bryan would become the first Democratic [b] presidential candidate to win Washington state. He would later lose the state against McKinley in 1900 and then against William Howard Taft in 1908. The state would not vote Democratic again until 1916.

Until 2024, this was the only presidential election since statehood in which Clallam County gave more than 50% of its vote to the losing candidate nationwide.

Results

General Election Results [1]
PartyPledged toElectorVotes
People's Party [2] William Jennings Bryan [c] N. T. Caton51,646
People's Party William Jennings Bryan [c] I. N. Maxwell50,895
People's Party William Jennings Bryan [d] John B. Hart50,842
People's Party William Jennings Bryan [d] D. C. Newman50,643
Republican Party [2] William McKinleyL. H. Anderson39,153
Republican Party William McKinleyJohn N. Conna38,574
Republican Party William McKinleySolomon Smith38,573
Republican Party William McKinleyW. K. Kennedy38,439
Democratic Party [2] John M. PalmerThomas Burke1,668
Democratic Party John M. PalmerGeorge W. Stapleton1,526
Democratic Party John M. PalmerW. S. Yearsley1,517
Democratic Party John M. PalmerY. C. Blalock1,503
Prohibition Party [2] Joshua LeveringD. T. Denny968
Prohibition Party Joshua LeveringR. F. Whittum844
Prohibition Party Joshua LeveringJ. J. Ashby826
Prohibition Party Joshua LeveringO. J. Gist795
National Party [2] Charles E. BentleyCharles Goddard148
National Party Charles E. BentleyR. H. Peter135
National Party Charles E. BentleyJ. B. Redford128
National Party Charles E. BentleyBoyd Tyler125
Votes cast [e] 93,583

Results by county

CountyWilliam Jennings Bryan
Populist
John M. Palmer
Democratic
Total Democratic/Populist VoteWilliam McKinley
Republican
Joshua Levering
Prohibition
Charles Bentley
National
MarginTotal votes cast [f]
#%#%#%#%#%#%#%
Adams 36357.99%91.44%37259.42%24338.82%111.76%00.00%12920.61%626
Asotin 25452.16%153.08%26955.24%21443.94%30.62%10.21%5511.29%487
Chehalis 1,31249.68%381.44%1,35051.12%1,26747.97%210.80%30.11%833.14%2,641
Clallam 67652.53%413.19%71755.71%55943.43%60.47%50.39%15812.28%1,287
Clark 1,49748.23%501.61%1,54749.84%1,49748.23%511.64%90.29%50 [g] 1.61%3,104
Columbia 84751.30%150.91%86252.21%77647.00%90.55%40.24%865.21%1,651
Cowlitz 93547.03%391.96%97448.99%98949.75%231.16%20.10%-15-0.75%1,988
Douglas 72267.04%111.02%73368.06%33431.01%100.93%00.00%39937.05%1,077
Franklin 10870.59%53.27%11373.86%3824.84%21.31%00.00%7549.02%153
Garfield 46953.60%131.49%48255.09%37843.20%141.60%10.11%10411.89%875
Island 18144.69%102.47%19147.16%20650.86%71.73%10.25%-15-3.70%405
Jefferson 50040.00%362.88%53642.88%70456.32%80.64%20.16%-168-13.44%1,250
King 7,49752.41%2361.65%7,73354.06%6,41344.83%1441.01%150.10%1,3209.23%14,305
Kitsap 70247.15%261.75%72848.89%72848.89%291.95%40.27%0 [h] 0.00%1,489
Kittitas 1,29653.87%401.66%1,33655.53%1,04443.39%230.96%30.12%29212.14%2,406
Klickitat 66441.63%442.76%70844.39%87654.92%110.69%00.00%-168-10.53%1,595
Lewis 1,58448.04%702.12%1,65450.17%1,59448.35%371.12%120.36%60 [h] 1.82%3,297
Lincoln 1,71566.27%562.16%1,77168.43%78130.18%311.20%50.19%99038.25%2,588
Mason 65060.35%171.58%66761.93%39736.86%111.02%20.19%27025.07%1,077
Okanogan 91272.96%383.04%95076.00%28422.72%110.88%50.40%66653.28%1,250
Pacific 51233.88%503.31%56237.19%92561.22%191.26%50.33%-363-24.02%1,511
Pierce 5,40452.45%1661.61%5,57054.06%4,65145.14%580.56%240.23%9198.92%10,303
San Juan 28340.14%81.13%29141.28%41158.30%30.43%00.00%-120-17.02%705
Skagit 1,57353.85%501.71%1,62355.56%1,26843.41%280.96%20.07%35512.15%2,921
Skamania 23762.70%153.97%25266.67%12232.28%41.06%00.00%13034.39%378
Snohomish 2,77558.13%831.74%2,85859.87%1,87139.19%430.90%20.04%98720.67%4,774
Spokane 5,72566.17%1041.20%5,82967.37%2,70131.22%1111.28%110.13%3,12836.15%8,652
Stevens 1,88078.50%461.92%1,92680.42%43318.08%261.09%100.42%1,49362.34%2,395
Thurston 1,37155.08%441.77%1,41556.85%1,05242.27%170.68%50.20%36314.58%2,489
Wahkiakum 37654.57%202.90%39657.47%29042.09%30.44%00.00%10615.38%689
Walla Walla 1,65249.30%641.91%1,71651.21%1,59647.63%371.10%20.06%1203.58%3,351
Whatcom 2,17750.98%501.17%2,22752.15%1,97146.16%681.59%40.09%2566.00%4,270
Whitman 3,57866.67%1122.09%3,69068.75%1,59229.66%771.43%80.15%2,09839.09%5,367
Yakima 1,21954.74%472.11%1,26656.85%94842.57%120.54%10.04%31814.28%2,227
Totals51,64655.19%1,6681.78%53,31456.97%39,15341.84%9681.03%1480.16%14,16115.13%93,583

Counties that flipped from Republican to Populist

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Received 2 electoral votes for Vice President
  2. Most of Bryan's vote came on the Populist ticket
  3. 1 2 Voted for Arthur Sewall for Vice President
  4. 1 2 Voted for Thomas E. Watson for Vice President
  5. Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
  6. Based on highest elector on each ticket
  7. Bryan only wins this county if you include his Democratic vote, otherwise it is a tie between the Populist and Republican vote
  8. 1 2 McKinley wins this county if Bryan's votes are not combined

References

  1. Abstract of Votes Polled in the State of Washington, at a General Election held in the several voting precincts of said State, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday, being the third day of November, A.D. 1896, taken from the official returns.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Official Ballot". Washington Digital Newspapers. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. November 2, 1896. Retrieved July 31, 2024.