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Election 1889 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.

1889 governor election results by state and county

Four new Western states elected their first governors in 1889, while Democrats won Iowa and Ohio from the Republicans.

11 governor races were held in 1889. Democrats won 6 and Republicans 5.

The closest were Ohio (D+1.4), Iowa (D+1.9) and Montana (D+1.9). 2 governorships changed party: Iowa to the Democrats and Ohio to the Democrats.

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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 1889 governor elections

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington were admitted to the Union in November 1889 and held their first governor elections that fall. Republicans won three of them easily: John Miller in North Dakota by about 33 points, Arthur C. Mellette in South Dakota by about 39, and Elisha P. Ferry in Washington by about 12. Montana went to Democrat Joseph K. Toole by about 2 points over Thomas C. Power. In the older states, Democrats made gains in Benjamin Harrison's first year as president. Horace Boies won Iowa by about 2 points, becoming the state's first Democratic governor since the 1850s, helped by opposition to statewide prohibition. In Ohio, James E. Campbell beat Joseph B. Foraker by about a point as Foraker sought a third term. Leon Abbett returned as governor of New Jersey, winning by about 5 points, and John M. Stone was elected in Mississippi with no opposition. Republicans held Massachusetts, where John Q. A. Brackett won by about 25 points over William E. Russell.

Every race

StateDemocratVotesRepublicanVotesOthersMargin
Iowa flip Horace Boies180,106 (49.9%) Joseph Hutchison173,450 (48.1%) 7,135 D+1.9
Massachusetts William E. Russell120,582 (45.8%) John Q.A. Brackett127,357 (48.4%) John Blackmer (Prohibition) 15,108 (5.7%)
R+2.6
Mississippi John M. Stone84,929 (100.0%) none D+100.0
Montana Joseph K. Toole19,735 (51.0%) Thomas C. Power18,991 (49.0%) D+1.9
New Jersey Leon Abbett138,245 (51.4%) Edward B. Grubb123,992 (46.1%) 6,866 D+5.3
North Dakota William Roach12,733 (33.4%) John Miller25,365 (66.6%) R+33.2
Ohio flip James E. Campbell379,423 (48.9%) Joseph B. Foraker368,551 (47.5%) 27,552 D+1.4
Rhode Island John W. Davis21,289 (49.4%) Herbert W. Ladd16,870 (39.1%) James Chace (Independent) 3,596 (8.3%)
D+10.3
Rhode Island: No candidate won a majority; the legislature chose Herbert W. Ladd.
South Dakota P. F. McClure23,840 (30.6%) Arthur C. Mellette53,964 (69.4%) R+38.7
Virginia Philip W. McKinney163,180 (57.2%) William Mahone121,240 (42.5%) 897 D+14.7
Washington Eugene Semple24,732 (42.3%) Elisha P. Ferry33,711 (57.7%) 11 R+15.4

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.

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