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Election 1897 Results

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1897 governor election results by state and county

Republicans won four of five governor races in 1897 as the economy recovered in William McKinley's first year, with Ohio the closest.

5 governor races were held in 1897. Democrats won 1 and Republicans 4.

The closest were Ohio (R+3.3), Iowa (R+6.8) and Rhode Island (R+25.4).

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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 1897 governor elections

William McKinley's first year in office brought the Dingley Tariff and the start of an economic recovery, helped by rising farm prices and new gold supplies. Only five states chose governors in 1897: Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia. The closest race came in Ohio, McKinley's home state, where Asa S. Bushnell was re-elected by about 3 points over Horace L. Chapman. Leslie M. Shaw won Iowa by about 7 points. In Massachusetts, Roger Wolcott beat George Fred Williams, a leading silver Democrat, by about 32 points, and Elisha Dyer won Rhode Island by about 25. Virginia was the only Democratic win, with James Hoge Tyler elected by about 28 points. The silver issue that had divided the Democrats in 1896 was losing force in the East as prosperity returned.

Every race

StateDemocratVotesRepublicanVotesOthersMargin
Iowa Frederick E. White194,853 (44.5%) Leslie M. Shaw224,729 (51.3%) 18,710 R+6.8
Massachusetts George Fred Williams79,552 (29.5%) Roger Wolcott165,095 (61.2%) William Everett (National Democratic) 13,897 (5.2%)
R+31.7
Ohio Horace L. Chapman401,747 (47.0%) Asa S. Bushnell429,915 (50.3%) 23,321 R+3.3
Rhode Island Daniel T. Church13,675 (32.7%) Elisha Dyer24,309 (58.1%) Thomas H. Peabody (Prohibition) 2,096 (5.0%)
R+25.4
Virginia James Hoge Tyler110,253 (64.6%) Patrick H. McCaull56,739 (33.2%) 3,698 D+31.4

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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