Election 1885 Results
Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.
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1885 governor election results by state and county
Joseph B. Foraker took Ohio for the Republicans in 1885, while David B. Hill held New York and Fitzhugh Lee won Virginia for the Democrats.
7 governor races were held in 1885. Democrats won 3 and Republicans 4.
The closest were New York (D+1.1), Iowa (R+2.0) and Ohio (R+2.4). 2 governorships changed party: Ohio to the Republicans and Virginia to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1885 governor elections
Grover Cleveland's first year in the White House was followed by a quiet off-year election, with seven states choosing governors. The results were mixed. In Ohio, Joseph B. Foraker beat the Democratic governor George Hoadly by about 2 points, reversing their 1883 result. In New York, David B. Hill, who had succeeded Cleveland as governor, won a full term by about a point over Ira Davenport. Virginia's Democrats, who had regained control from the Readjusters, elected Fitzhugh Lee, a former Confederate cavalry general and nephew of Robert E. Lee, by about 4 points over John S. Wise. Republicans held Iowa, where William Larrabee won by about 2 points, and Massachusetts, where George D. Robinson was re-elected by about 10 over Frederick O. Prince. Robert Lowry was re-elected in Mississippi with no opposition. Liquor laws, tariffs and civil service reform were the main state issues, and the close Ohio and New York votes showed both large states remained competitive ahead of 1888.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | Charles Whiting | 168,584 (48.7%) | William Larrabee | 175,605 (50.8%) | 1,773 | R+2.0 |
| Massachusetts | Frederick O. Prince | 90,346 (43.1%) | George D. Robinson | 112,243 (53.5%) | 7,079 | R+10.4 |
| Mississippi | Robert Lowry | 88,783 (99.0%) | none | 888 | D+99.0 | |
| New York | David B. Hill | 501,465 (48.9%) | Ira Davenport | 490,331 (47.8%) | 32,997 | D+1.1 |
| Ohio flip | George Hoadly | 341,830 (46.7%) | Joseph B. Foraker | 359,281 (49.1%) | 30,082 | R+2.4 |
| Rhode Island | Ziba O. Slocum | 8,674 (38.6%) | George Peabody Wetmore | 12,563 (56.0%) | George H. Slade (Prohibition) 1,206 (5.4%) |
R+17.3 |
| Virginia flip | Fitzhugh Lee | 152,547 (52.8%) | John S. Wise | 136,508 (47.2%) | 17 | D+5.6 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area, so its county detail is an estimate. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.