Election 1886 Results
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1886 governor election results by state and county
California was decided by 0.3 points in 1886, as Republicans won 12 governorships to the Democrats' 11 in a year of labor unrest.
24 governor races were held in 1886. Democrats won 11 and Republicans 13.
The closest were California (D+0.3), New Hampshire (R+0.6) and Minnesota (R+1.1). 4 governorships changed party: Colorado to the Democrats, Nevada to the Republicans, Oregon to the Democrats and Pennsylvania to the Republicans.
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 1886 governor elections
The 1886 midterms came in a year of strikes and the Haymarket bombing in Chicago, with labor parties running in several cities. In the governor races the parties finished nearly even, with Republicans winning 12 and Democrats 11. California produced the closest result, with Democrat Washington Bartlett beating John F. Swift by 0.3 points. Charles H. Sawyer held New Hampshire for the Republicans by under a point, and Andrew R. McGill won Minnesota by about a point over Albert A. Ames. In Connecticut, Edward C. Cleveland led Phineas C. Lounsbury by about 1.5 points, but without a majority the race went to the legislature, which chose Lounsbury. Republicans took Pennsylvania, where James A. Beaver won by about 5 points, and Nevada with Charles C. Stevenson. Democrats gained Colorado, where Alva Adams won by about 4, and Oregon, where Sylvester Pennoyer was elected. In Tennessee, Robert L. Taylor beat his brother Alfred A. Taylor in the race known as the War of the Roses. Oliver Ames won Massachusetts by about 4 points.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Thomas Seay | 145,095 (79.4%) | Arthur Bingham | 36,809 (20.2%) | 754 | D+59.3 |
| Arkansas | Simon P. Hughes | 90,650 (55.3%) | Lafayette Gregg | 54,063 (33.0%) | Charles E. Cunningham (Agricultural Wheel) 19,169 (11.7%) |
D+22.3 |
| California | Washington Bartlett | 84,970 (43.4%) | John F. Swift | 84,316 (43.1%) | Charles C. O'Donnell (Independent) 12,227 (6.3%) |
D+0.3 |
| Colorado flip | Alva Adams | 29,234 (49.7%) | William H. Meyer | 26,816 (45.6%) | 2,818 | D+4.1 |
| Connecticut | Edward S. Cleveland | 58,818 (47.7%) | Phineas C. Lounsbury | 56,920 (46.2%) | 7,491 | D+1.5 |
| Connecticut: No candidate won a majority; the legislature chose Phineas C. Lounsbury. | ||||||
| Delaware | Benjamin T. Biggs | 13,942 (63.5%) | none | John H. Hoffecker (Prohibition) 7,832 (35.7%) |
D+63.5 | |
| Georgia | John B. Gordon | 101,159 (99.2%) | none | 815 | D+99.2 | |
| Kansas | Thomas Moonlight | 115,667 (42.3%) | John A. Martin | 149,715 (54.7%) | 8,105 | R+12.5 |
| Maine | Clark S. Edwards | 55,289 (43.1%) | Joseph R. Bodwell | 68,850 (53.7%) | 4,030 | R+10.6 |
| Massachusetts | John F. Andrew | 112,883 (46.3%) | Oliver Ames | 122,346 (50.2%) | 8,540 | R+3.9 |
| Michigan | George L. Yaple | 174,042 (45.7%) | Cyrus G. Luce | 181,474 (47.6%) | Samuel Dickie (Prohibition) 25,326 (6.6%) |
R+2.0 |
| Minnesota | Albert A. Ames | 104,484 (47.4%) | Andrew R. McGill | 106,966 (48.5%) | 9,030 | R+1.1 |
| Nebraska | James E. North | 52,656 (38.1%) | John M. Thayer | 75,956 (54.9%) | Harvey W. Hardy (Prohibition) 8,175 (5.9%) |
R+16.9 |
| Nevada flip | Jewett W. Adams | 5,869 (47.6%) | Charles C. Stevenson | 6,463 (52.4%) | R+4.8 | |
| New Hampshire | Thomas Cogswell | 37,334 (48.3%) | Charles H. Sawyer | 37,819 (48.9%) | 2,137 | R+0.6 |
| New Jersey | Robert S. Green | 109,939 (47.5%) | Benjamin F. Howey | 101,919 (44.0%) | Clinton B. Fisk (Prohibition) 19,808 (8.6%) |
D+3.5 |
| Oregon flip | Sylvester Pennoyer | 27,901 (50.9%) | T. R. Cornelius | 24,199 (44.1%) | 2,732 | D+6.8 |
| Pennsylvania flip | Chauncey F. Black | 369,634 (45.1%) | James A. Beaver | 412,285 (50.3%) | 37,293 | R+5.2 |
| Rhode Island | Amasa Sprague | 9,944 (37.0%) | George Peabody Wetmore | 14,340 (53.4%) | George H. Slade (Prohibition) 2,585 (9.6%) |
R+16.4 |
| South Carolina | John P. Richardson | 33,114 (100.0%) | none | D+100.0 | ||
| Tennessee | Robert L. Taylor | 126,237 (53.6%) | Alfred A. Taylor | 109,317 (46.4%) | D+7.2 | |
| Texas | Lawrence S. Ross | 228,776 (73.0%) | A. M. Cochran | 65,236 (20.8%) | Ebenezer L. Dohoney (Prohibition) 19,186 (6.1%) |
D+52.2 |
| Vermont | Stephen C. Shurtleff | 17,187 (30.1%) | Ebenezer J. Ormsbee | 37,709 (66.1%) | 2,185 | R+36.0 |
| Wisconsin | Gilbert M. Woodward | 114,529 (40.0%) | Jeremiah M. Rusk | 133,247 (46.5%) | John Cochrane (Union Labor) 21,467 (7.5%) |
R+6.5 |
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.