1896 United States presidential election in Michigan
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Elections in Michigan |
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The1896 United States presidential election in Michigantook place on November 3, 1896. All contemporary 45 states were part of the1896 United States presidential election.Voters chose 14 electors to theElectoral College,which selected thepresidentandvice president.
Ever since the formation of the Republican party,Michiganhad been a Republican-leaning state due tothe Lower Peninsula’s strong history of settlement by anti-slaveryYankees,who after the end ofReconstructioncontinued to see the need for solid Republican voting to oppose the solidly DemocraticConfederateandBorder States.[1]During theThird Party System,heavily Catholic and immigrant-settledSoutheast Michiganwould lean towards the Democratic Party, which was opposed to the moralistic pietism of Yankee Republicans.
In the1892 election,aided by favorable demographic changes[2]and a legislative change allocating electors by congressional district, the Democratic Party managed to carry five of Michigan’s fourteen electoral votes, and also electa Governorand a majority to the state legislature. However, thePanic of 1893turned expectations or hopes of Michigan becoming aswing staterudely on its head, especially when incumbent President Cleveland stood firm, sending in troops to break thePullman Strike.In the1894 elections,only one Democrat maintained a seat in the state legislature,[3]a loss of seventy seats compared tothe 1890 elections.
In the wake of this decline, Cleveland decided not to run for a third term, and endorsed the National Democratic Party ticket ofJohn M. Palmer.[4]The Populist Partyseized control of the Democratic Party and nominated formerNebraska RepresentativeWilliam Jennings Bryan.During his campaign, Bryan traveled through Michigan in the latter stages of his October Midwestern tour. Polls late in that month, covering all but three of Michigan’s counties, showed Republican candidateWilliam McKinleyahead of Bryan by almost three-to-one, which was an increase upon his margin in earlier polls.[5]Another poll a little later was also certain Michigan would vote for McKinley.[6]
Michigan ultimately voted for McKinley by a margin of 10.3 points, a much smaller margin than earlier polls, although a reduction was expected as some unpolled rural areas of the state had been believed to favor Bryan’sfree silverpolicy.[6]His margin was an increase of five points upon whatBenjamin Harrisonhad achieved over the state as a whole in 1892, though there were large variations. In the traditionally Democratic German Catholic areas, there was a large shift to McKinley due to Archbishop Ireland’s opposition to free silver,[7][8]In the heavily Methodistcabinet countiesofMichiana,by contrast, Bryan gained substantially and was the first Democratic presidential candidate to carryBranch County,Calhoun County,Eaton CountyandIsabella Countysince Franklin Pierce in1852.[9]
Bryan would lose Michigan to McKinley againfour years laterand would later lose the state again in1908toWilliam Howard Taft.
Results[edit]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | William McKinley | 293,336 | 53.77% | |
Populist | William Jennings Bryan | 237,166 | 43.47% | |
National Democratic | John M. Palmer | 6,923 | 1.27% | |
Prohibition | Joshua Levering | 4,978 | 0.91% | |
National Prohibition | Charles E. Bentley | 1,816 | 0.33% | |
Write-ins | 1,073 | 0.20% | ||
Socialist Labor | Charles H. Matchett | 293 | 0.05% | |
Total votes | 545,585 | 100% |
Results by county[edit]
County | William McKinley Republican |
William Jennings Bryan Democratic |
John M. Palmer National Democratic |
Joshua Levering Prohibition |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast[11] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Alcona | 743 | 70.90% | 275 | 26.24% | 22 | 2.10% | 6 | 0.57% | 2 | 0.19% | 468 | 44.66% | 1,048 |
Alger | 801 | 58.42% | 539 | 39.31% | 26 | 1.90% | 5 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 262 | 19.11% | 1,371 |
Allegan | 5,810 | 57.85% | 3,937 | 39.20% | 149 | 1.48% | 93 | 0.93% | 54 | 0.54% | 1,873 | 18.65% | 10,043 |
Alpena | 1,777 | 51.03% | 1,665 | 47.82% | 26 | 0.75% | 13 | 0.37% | 1 | 0.03% | 112 | 3.22% | 3,482 |
Antrim | 1,886 | 58.05% | 1,228 | 37.80% | 58 | 1.79% | 39 | 1.20% | 38 | 1.17% | 658 | 20.25% | 3,249 |
Arenac | 611 | 37.39% | 997 | 61.02% | 18 | 1.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 8 | 0.49% | -386 | -23.62% | 1,634 |
Baraga | 611 | 55.90% | 459 | 41.99% | 10 | 0.91% | 11 | 1.01% | 2 | 0.18% | 152 | 13.91% | 1,093 |
Barry | 3,294 | 49.63% | 3,157 | 47.57% | 89 | 1.34% | 51 | 0.77% | 46 | 0.69% | 137 | 2.06% | 6,637 |
Bay | 6,037 | 48.09% | 6,296 | 50.16% | 151 | 1.20% | 63 | 0.50% | 6 | 0.05% | -259 | -2.06% | 12,553 |
Benzie | 1,366 | 60.39% | 803 | 35.50% | 30 | 1.33% | 53 | 2.34% | 10 | 0.44% | 563 | 24.89% | 2,262 |
Berrien | 6,672 | 56.12% | 4,792 | 40.31% | 272 | 2.29% | 115 | 0.97% | 37 | 0.31% | 1,880 | 15.81% | 11,888 |
Branch | 3,596 | 46.58% | 3,976 | 51.50% | 74 | 0.96% | 39 | 0.51% | 35 | 0.45% | -380 | -4.92% | 7,720 |
Calhoun | 5,874 | 47.01% | 6,202 | 49.64% | 211 | 1.69% | 177 | 1.42% | 30 | 0.24% | -328 | -2.63% | 12,494 |
Cass | 3,034 | 49.05% | 3,012 | 48.70% | 59 | 0.95% | 64 | 1.03% | 16 | 0.26% | 22 | 0.36% | 6,185 |
Charlevoix | 1,653 | 61.06% | 978 | 36.13% | 24 | 0.89% | 38 | 1.40% | 14 | 0.52% | 675 | 24.94% | 2,707 |
Cheboygan | 1,576 | 48.79% | 1,617 | 50.06% | 16 | 0.50% | 12 | 0.37% | 9 | 0.28% | -41 | -1.27% | 3,230 |
Chippewa | 2,105 | 65.52% | 1,001 | 31.15% | 46 | 1.43% | 58 | 1.81% | 3 | 0.09% | 1,104 | 34.36% | 3,213 |
Clare | 886 | 53.09% | 723 | 43.32% | 29 | 1.74% | 12 | 0.72% | 19 | 1.14% | 163 | 9.77% | 1,669 |
Clinton | 3,480 | 48.95% | 3,467 | 48.76% | 65 | 0.91% | 62 | 0.87% | 36 | 0.51% | 13 | 0.18% | 7,110 |
Crawford | 350 | 49.65% | 350 | 49.65% | 3 | 0.43% | 2 | 0.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 705 |
Delta | 2,774 | 67.81% | 1,237 | 30.24% | 65 | 1.59% | 11 | 0.27% | 4 | 0.10% | 1,537 | 37.57% | 4,091 |
Dickinson | 2,608 | 80.59% | 528 | 16.32% | 56 | 1.73% | 41 | 1.27% | 3 | 0.09% | 2,080 | 64.28% | 3,236 |
Eaton | 4,270 | 46.97% | 4,631 | 50.95% | 108 | 1.19% | 63 | 0.69% | 18 | 0.20% | -361 | -3.97% | 9,090 |
Emmet | 1,727 | 54.17% | 1,337 | 41.94% | 48 | 1.51% | 69 | 2.16% | 7 | 0.22% | 390 | 12.23% | 3,188 |
Genesee | 5,638 | 52.00% | 4,915 | 45.33% | 102 | 0.94% | 127 | 1.17% | 61 | 0.56% | 723 | 6.67% | 10,843 |
Gladwin | 748 | 67.09% | 323 | 28.97% | 28 | 2.51% | 13 | 1.17% | 3 | 0.27% | 425 | 38.12% | 1,115 |
Gogebic | 1,982 | 67.53% | 873 | 29.74% | 48 | 1.64% | 26 | 0.89% | 6 | 0.20% | 1,109 | 37.79% | 2,935 |
Grand Traverse | 2,533 | 57.20% | 1,745 | 39.41% | 71 | 1.60% | 72 | 1.63% | 7 | 0.16% | 788 | 17.80% | 4,428 |
Gratiot | 3,380 | 44.97% | 3,971 | 52.83% | 72 | 0.96% | 59 | 0.78% | 34 | 0.45% | -591 | -7.86% | 7,516 |
Hillsdale | 4,564 | 52.12% | 3,986 | 45.52% | 91 | 1.04% | 77 | 0.88% | 38 | 0.43% | 578 | 6.60% | 8,756 |
Houghton | 6,141 | 71.85% | 1,996 | 23.35% | 178 | 2.08% | 225 | 2.63% | 7 | 0.08% | 4,145 | 48.50% | 8,547 |
Huron | 3,396 | 53.64% | 2,808 | 44.35% | 88 | 1.39% | 30 | 0.47% | 9 | 0.14% | 588 | 9.29% | 6,331 |
Ingham | 4,958 | 45.43% | 5,691 | 52.14% | 82 | 0.75% | 112 | 1.03% | 71 | 0.65% | -733 | -6.72% | 10,914 |
Ionia | 4,593 | 48.35% | 4,757 | 50.08% | 65 | 0.68% | 58 | 0.61% | 26 | 0.27% | -164 | -1.73% | 9,499 |
Iosco | 1,470 | 60.25% | 912 | 37.38% | 38 | 1.56% | 17 | 0.70% | 3 | 0.12% | 558 | 22.87% | 2,440 |
Iron | 1,048 | 79.70% | 236 | 17.95% | 24 | 1.83% | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.53% | 812 | 61.75% | 1,315 |
Isabella | 2,424 | 46.71% | 2,679 | 51.63% | 24 | 0.46% | 40 | 0.77% | 22 | 0.42% | -255 | -4.91% | 5,189 |
Jackson | 6,208 | 47.51% | 6,498 | 49.73% | 127 | 0.97% | 145 | 1.11% | 89 | 0.68% | -290 | -2.22% | 13,067 |
Kalamazoo | 5,891 | 51.16% | 5,434 | 47.19% | 83 | 0.72% | 82 | 0.71% | 25 | 0.22% | 457 | 3.97% | 11,515 |
Kalkaska | 940 | 66.38% | 422 | 29.80% | 27 | 1.91% | 18 | 1.27% | 9 | 0.64% | 518 | 36.58% | 1,416 |
Kent | 17,053 | 54.34% | 13,582 | 43.28% | 319 | 1.02% | 395 | 1.26% | 35 | 0.11% | 3,471 | 11.06% | 31,384 |
Keweenaw | 411 | 88.96% | 45 | 9.74% | 5 | 1.08% | 1 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 366 | 79.22% | 462 |
Lake | 888 | 60.61% | 547 | 37.34% | 20 | 1.37% | 8 | 0.55% | 2 | 0.14% | 341 | 23.28% | 1,465 |
Lapeer | 3,809 | 53.63% | 3,065 | 43.15% | 105 | 1.48% | 100 | 1.41% | 24 | 0.34% | 744 | 10.47% | 7,103 |
Leelanau | 1,402 | 64.25% | 690 | 31.62% | 53 | 2.43% | 33 | 1.51% | 4 | 0.18% | 712 | 32.63% | 2,182 |
Lenawee | 6,863 | 50.89% | 6,300 | 46.72% | 143 | 1.06% | 145 | 1.08% | 35 | 0.26% | 563 | 4.17% | 13,486 |
Livingston | 2,893 | 47.69% | 2,994 | 49.36% | 76 | 1.25% | 73 | 1.20% | 30 | 0.49% | -101 | -1.67% | 6,066 |
Luce | 358 | 57.01% | 236 | 37.58% | 16 | 2.55% | 17 | 2.71% | 1 | 0.16% | 122 | 19.43% | 628 |
Mackinac | 806 | 48.73% | 804 | 48.61% | 36 | 2.18% | 7 | 0.42% | 1 | 0.06% | 2 | 0.12% | 1,654 |
Macomb | 4,153 | 53.22% | 3,400 | 43.57% | 157 | 2.01% | 70 | 0.90% | 23 | 0.29% | 753 | 9.65% | 7,803 |
Manistee | 2,697 | 50.65% | 2,487 | 46.70% | 94 | 1.77% | 35 | 0.66% | 12 | 0.23% | 210 | 3.94% | 5,325 |
Marquette | 5,111 | 70.11% | 1,980 | 27.16% | 79 | 1.08% | 100 | 1.37% | 20 | 0.27% | 3,131 | 42.95% | 7,290 |
Mason | 2,177 | 56.27% | 1,580 | 40.84% | 66 | 1.71% | 31 | 0.80% | 15 | 0.39% | 597 | 15.43% | 3,869 |
Mecosta | 2,887 | 57.80% | 1,975 | 39.54% | 73 | 1.46% | 48 | 0.96% | 12 | 0.24% | 912 | 18.26% | 4,995 |
Menominee | 3,105 | 66.39% | 1,499 | 32.05% | 47 | 1.00% | 21 | 0.45% | 5 | 0.11% | 1,606 | 34.34% | 4,677 |
Midland | 1,524 | 48.83% | 1,507 | 48.29% | 47 | 1.51% | 34 | 1.09% | 9 | 0.29% | 17 | 0.54% | 3,121 |
Missaukee | 899 | 55.15% | 687 | 42.15% | 14 | 0.86% | 26 | 1.60% | 4 | 0.25% | 212 | 13.01% | 1,630 |
Monroe | 4,053 | 48.13% | 4,208 | 49.97% | 74 | 0.88% | 51 | 0.61% | 35 | 0.42% | -155 | -1.84% | 8,421 |
Montcalm | 4,523 | 54.23% | 3,651 | 43.78% | 88 | 1.06% | 60 | 0.72% | 18 | 0.22% | 872 | 10.46% | 8,340 |
Montmorency | 481 | 58.73% | 330 | 40.29% | 2 | 0.24% | 5 | 0.61% | 1 | 0.12% | 151 | 18.44% | 819 |
Muskegon | 4,682 | 58.79% | 3,110 | 39.05% | 83 | 1.04% | 70 | 0.88% | 19 | 0.24% | 1,572 | 19.74% | 7,964 |
Newaygo | 2,650 | 56.53% | 1,943 | 41.45% | 30 | 0.64% | 44 | 0.94% | 21 | 0.45% | 707 | 15.08% | 4,688 |
Oakland | 5,846 | 46.01% | 5,271 | 41.49% | 182 | 1.43% | 129 | 1.02% | 1,277 | 10.05% | 575 | 4.53% | 12,705 |
Oceana | 2,534 | 58.09% | 1,637 | 37.53% | 61 | 1.40% | 113 | 2.59% | 17 | 0.39% | 897 | 20.56% | 4,362 |
Ogemaw | 793 | 56.64% | 560 | 40.00% | 24 | 1.71% | 18 | 1.29% | 5 | 0.36% | 233 | 16.64% | 1,400 |
Ontonagon | 757 | 62.77% | 416 | 34.49% | 25 | 2.07% | 7 | 0.58% | 1 | 0.08% | 341 | 28.28% | 1,206 |
Osceola | 2,268 | 62.90% | 1,177 | 32.64% | 69 | 1.91% | 52 | 1.44% | 40 | 1.11% | 1,091 | 30.26% | 3,606 |
Oscoda | 308 | 80.84% | 63 | 16.54% | 9 | 2.36% | 1 | 0.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 245 | 64.30% | 381 |
Otsego | 859 | 59.41% | 560 | 38.73% | 14 | 0.97% | 10 | 0.69% | 3 | 0.21% | 299 | 20.68% | 1,446 |
Ottawa | 5,188 | 58.05% | 3,550 | 39.72% | 114 | 1.28% | 64 | 0.72% | 21 | 0.23% | 1,638 | 18.33% | 8,937 |
Presque Isle | 763 | 66.06% | 371 | 32.12% | 10 | 0.87% | 10 | 0.87% | 1 | 0.09% | 392 | 33.94% | 1,155 |
Roscommon | 282 | 65.43% | 141 | 32.71% | 3 | 0.70% | 4 | 0.93% | 1 | 0.23% | 141 | 32.71% | 431 |
Saginaw | 8,361 | 47.92% | 8,792 | 50.39% | 182 | 1.04% | 75 | 0.43% | 37 | 0.21% | -431 | -2.47% | 17,447 |
Sanilac | 3,634 | 51.74% | 3,156 | 44.93% | 90 | 1.28% | 91 | 1.30% | 53 | 0.75% | 478 | 6.81% | 7,024 |
Schoolcraft | 973 | 62.86% | 548 | 35.40% | 13 | 0.84% | 13 | 0.84% | 1 | 0.06% | 425 | 27.45% | 1,548 |
Shiawassee | 4,654 | 50.50% | 4,303 | 46.69% | 139 | 1.51% | 85 | 0.92% | 35 | 0.38% | 351 | 3.81% | 9,216 |
St. Clair | 7,160 | 56.86% | 5,130 | 40.74% | 161 | 1.28% | 97 | 0.77% | 45 | 0.36% | 2,030 | 16.12% | 12,593 |
St. Joseph | 3,184 | 43.76% | 3,968 | 54.54% | 51 | 0.70% | 60 | 0.82% | 13 | 0.18% | -784 | -10.78% | 7,276 |
Tuscola | 4,277 | 53.10% | 3,564 | 44.25% | 87 | 1.08% | 87 | 1.08% | 40 | 0.50% | 713 | 8.85% | 8,055 |
Van Buren | 4,510 | 51.95% | 3,982 | 45.87% | 93 | 1.07% | 73 | 0.84% | 24 | 0.28% | 528 | 6.08% | 8,682 |
Washtenaw | 5,671 | 49.73% | 5,348 | 46.90% | 215 | 1.89% | 110 | 0.96% | 59 | 0.52% | 323 | 2.83% | 11,403 |
Wayne | 36,400 | 56.73% | 26,231 | 40.89% | 915 | 1.43% | 258 | 0.40% | 354 | 0.55% | 10,169 | 15.85% | 64,158 |
Wexford | 2,036 | 58.27% | 1,359 | 38.90% | 36 | 1.03% | 49 | 1.40% | 14 | 0.40% | 677 | 19.38% | 3,494 |
Totals | 293,338 | 53.76% | 237,200 | 43.47% | 6,923 | 1.27% | 4,978 | 0.91% | 3,182 | 0.58% | 56,138 | 10.29% | 545,621 |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^English, Gustavus P.;Proceedings of the Ninth Republican National Convention(1888), p. 234
- ^Kleppner, Paul;The Third Electoral System, 1853-1892: Parties, Votes and Political Cultures,pp. 198-207ISBN0807813281
- ^‘Swamped! The Democrats Drowned Out by a Tremendous Republican Tidal Wave’;TheL'AnseSentinel,November 10, 1894, p. 1
- ^Graff, Henry F.;Grover Cleveland,pp. 128-129ISBN0-8050-6923-2
- ^‘Steadily Gaining:The Chicago Record’s Postal Card Election’;Los Angeles Evening Express,October 23, 1896, p. 8
- ^ab‘McKinley’s Cheering Prospects’;The Philadelphia Inquirer,October 25, 1896, p. 18
- ^Kleppner, Paul (1970).The cross of culture: a social analysis of midwestern politics, 1850-1900.Free Press. pp. 323-335
- ^Harpine, William D.;From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential Campaign,pp. 166-167ISBN9781585444502
- ^Menendez, Albert J.;The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004,p. 31ISBN0786422173
- ^Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas;Presidential General Election Results – Michigan
- ^Géoelections;Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1896(.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)