Election 1896 Results
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1896 presidential election results by state and county
Republican William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in a contest fought over gold and silver, starting a long period of Republican dominance.
William McKinley (Republican) beat William Jennings Bryan in 1896, winning 271 electoral votes to 176. William Jennings Bryan carried 22 states and William McKinley 23. Across the states, the Democratic and Republican vote came to 6,507,462 and 7,111,968 (R+4.3 of all votes cast).
The closest states were Kentucky (R+0.1), South Dakota (D+0.2) and California (R+0.6). 21 states changed party from 1892: California to the Republicans, Colorado to the Democrats, Connecticut to the Republicans, Delaware to the Republicans, Idaho to the Democrats, Illinois to the Republicans, Indiana to the Republicans, Kansas to the Democrats, Kentucky to the Republicans, Maryland to the Republicans, Montana to the Democrats, Nebraska to the Democrats, Nevada to the Democrats, New Jersey to the Republicans, New York to the Republicans, North Dakota to the Republicans, South Dakota to the Democrats, Washington to the Democrats, West Virginia to the Republicans, Wisconsin to the Republicans and Wyoming 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 1896 presidential election
The depression that followed the Panic of 1893 discredited Cleveland and the conservative wing of his party. At the Democratic convention, William Jennings Bryan, a 36-year-old former congressman from Nebraska, won the nomination with his "Cross of Gold" speech calling for the free coinage of silver. The Populists endorsed him as well. Republicans nominated William McKinley, a former governor of Ohio, who stood for the gold standard and a protective tariff. Bryan traveled thousands of miles by train. McKinley ran a front-porch campaign from Canton, Ohio, backed by a large fundraising operation led by Mark Hanna. McKinley won 271 electoral votes to Bryan's 176, taking the industrial Northeast and Midwest, and flipping states including New York, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, which he won by about a tenth of a point. Bryan swept the South and most of the Plains and mountain West, carrying South Dakota by 0.2 points and Wyoming by 1.4. The election realigned American politics. Republicans built a coalition of business, urban workers and Northern farmers that held the White House for most of the next 36 years.
Every state
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin | EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | William Jennings Bryan | 130,298 (67.0%) | William McKinley | 55,673 (28.6%) | 8,609 | D+38.4 | 11 |
| Arkansas | William Jennings Bryan | 110,103 (73.7%) | William McKinley | 37,512 (25.1%) | 1,781 | D+48.6 | 8 |
| California flip | William Jennings Bryan | 144,766 (48.5%) | William McKinley | 146,688 (49.2%) | 6,965 | R+0.6 | 9 |
| Colorado flip | William Jennings Bryan | 161,005 (84.9%) | William McKinley | 26,271 (13.9%) | 2,263 | D+71.1 | 4 |
| Connecticut flip | William Jennings Bryan | 56,740 (32.5%) | William McKinley | 110,285 (63.2%) | 7,365 | R+30.7 | 6 |
| Delaware flip | William Jennings Bryan | 16,574 (43.1%) | William McKinley | 20,450 (53.2%) | 1,432 | R+10.1 | 3 |
| Florida | William Jennings Bryan | 32,756 (70.5%) | William McKinley | 11,298 (24.3%) | 2,434 | D+46.2 | 4 |
| Georgia | William Jennings Bryan | 93,445 (57.7%) | William McKinley | 59,395 (36.7%) | 9,153 | D+21.0 | 13 |
| Idaho flip | William Jennings Bryan | 23,135 (78.1%) | William McKinley | 6,314 (21.3%) | 172 | D+56.8 | 3 |
| Illinois flip | William Jennings Bryan | 464,503 (42.6%) | William McKinley | 607,130 (55.7%) | 19,133 | R+13.1 | 24 |
| Indiana flip | William Jennings Bryan | 305,538 (48.0%) | William McKinley | 323,751 (50.8%) | 7,797 | R+2.9 | 15 |
| Iowa | William Jennings Bryan | 223,744 (42.9%) | William McKinley | 289,294 (55.5%) | 8,513 | R+12.6 | 13 |
| Kansas flip | William Jennings Bryan | 171,675 (51.3%) | William McKinley | 159,345 (47.6%) | 3,527 | D+3.7 | 10 |
| Kentucky flip | William Jennings Bryan | 217,894 (48.9%) | William McKinley | 218,171 (48.9%) | 9,863 | R+0.1 | 13 |
| Louisiana | William Jennings Bryan | 77,175 (76.4%) | William McKinley | 22,037 (21.8%) | 1,834 | D+54.6 | 8 |
| Maine | William Jennings Bryan | 34,587 (29.2%) | William McKinley | 80,403 (67.9%) | 3,429 | R+38.7 | 6 |
| Maryland flip | William Jennings Bryan | 104,150 (41.6%) | William McKinley | 136,959 (54.7%) | 9,140 | R+13.1 | 8 |
| Massachusetts | William Jennings Bryan | 105,711 (26.3%) | William McKinley | 278,976 (69.5%) | 16,881 | R+43.2 | 15 |
| Michigan | William Jennings Bryan | 237,166 (43.5%) | William McKinley | 293,336 (53.8%) | 15,083 | R+10.3 | 14 |
| Minnesota | William Jennings Bryan | 140,817 (41.1%) | William McKinley | 193,503 (56.4%) | 8,541 | R+15.4 | 9 |
| Mississippi | William Jennings Bryan | 63,355 (91.0%) | William McKinley | 4,819 (6.9%) | 1,411 | D+84.1 | 9 |
| Missouri | William Jennings Bryan | 363,667 (54.0%) | William McKinley | 304,940 (45.2%) | 5,299 | D+8.7 | 17 |
| Montana flip | William Jennings Bryan | 42,821 (80.3%) | William McKinley | 10,509 (19.7%) | D+60.6 | 3 | |
| Nebraska flip | William Jennings Bryan | 115,007 (51.5%) | William McKinley | 103,064 (46.2%) | 5,110 | D+5.4 | 8 |
| Nevada flip | William Jennings Bryan | 8,348 (81.2%) | William McKinley | 1,938 (18.8%) | D+62.3 | 3 | |
| New Hampshire | William Jennings Bryan | 21,271 (25.4%) | William McKinley | 57,444 (68.7%) | 4,955 | R+43.2 | 4 |
| New Jersey flip | William Jennings Bryan | 133,675 (36.0%) | William McKinley | 221,367 (59.7%) | 15,972 | R+23.6 | 10 |
| New York flip | William Jennings Bryan | 551,369 (38.7%) | William McKinley | 819,838 (57.6%) | 52,669 | R+18.9 | 36 |
| North Carolina | William Jennings Bryan | 174,408 (52.6%) | William McKinley | 155,122 (46.8%) | 1,807 | D+5.8 | 11 |
| North Dakota flip | William Jennings Bryan | 20,686 (43.6%) | William McKinley | 26,335 (55.6%) | 370 | R+11.9 | 3 |
| Ohio | William Jennings Bryan | 474,882 (46.8%) | William McKinley | 525,991 (51.9%) | 13,422 | R+5.0 | 23 |
| Oregon | William Jennings Bryan | 46,745 (47.9%) | William McKinley | 48,779 (50.0%) | 1,978 | R+2.1 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | William Jennings Bryan | 433,228 (36.3%) | William McKinley | 728,300 (61.0%) | 32,827 | R+24.7 | 32 |
| Rhode Island | William Jennings Bryan | 14,459 (26.4%) | William McKinley | 37,437 (68.3%) | 2,889 | R+41.9 | 4 |
| South Carolina | William Jennings Bryan | 58,799 (85.3%) | William McKinley | 9,313 (13.5%) | 828 | D+71.8 | 9 |
| South Dakota flip | William Jennings Bryan | 41,225 (49.7%) | William McKinley | 41,042 (49.5%) | 683 | D+0.2 | 4 |
| Tennessee | William Jennings Bryan | 167,168 (52.1%) | William McKinley | 148,683 (46.3%) | 5,052 | D+5.8 | 12 |
| Texas | William Jennings Bryan | 370,434 (68.0%) | William McKinley | 167,520 (30.7%) | 6,832 | D+37.3 | 15 |
| Utah | William Jennings Bryan | 64,607 (82.7%) | William McKinley | 13,491 (17.3%) | D+65.5 | 3 | |
| Vermont | William Jennings Bryan | 10,640 (16.7%) | William McKinley | 51,127 (80.1%) | 2,080 | R+63.4 | 4 |
| Virginia | William Jennings Bryan | 154,708 (52.5%) | William McKinley | 135,379 (45.9%) | 4,587 | D+6.6 | 12 |
| Washington flip | William Jennings Bryan | 53,314 (57.0%) | William McKinley | 39,153 (41.8%) | 1,116 | D+15.1 | 4 |
| West Virginia flip | William Jennings Bryan | 94,480 (46.8%) | William McKinley | 105,379 (52.2%) | 1,898 | R+5.4 | 6 |
| Wisconsin flip | William Jennings Bryan | 165,523 (37.0%) | William McKinley | 268,135 (59.9%) | 13,751 | R+22.9 | 12 |
| Wyoming flip | William Jennings Bryan | 10,861 (51.5%) | William McKinley | 10,072 (47.8%) | 159 | D+3.7 | 3 |
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). Maine and Nebraska are shown whole, without their district votes. 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.