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1896 United States presidential election in Iowa
← 1892 November 3, 1896 1900 →
 
Nominee William McKinley William Jennings Bryan
Party Republican Populist

[a]

Alliance Democratic
Home state Ohio Nebraska
Running mate Garret Hobart Thomas E. Watson
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 289,293 223,741
Percentage 55.47% 42.90%
County Results
President before election

Grover Cleveland
Democratic

Elected President

William McKinley
Republican

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The 1896 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 3, 1896. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1896 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Iowa voted for the Republican nominees, former Ohio Governor William McKinley and his running mate Garret Hobart of New Jersey, over the Populist nominees, former Representative William Jennings Bryan, and former Representative Thomas E. Watson.

McKinley won 55.47% of the vote to Bryan's 42.90%, a margin of 12.57%. Bryan's performance in Iowa was the worst performance for a Democratic candidate since 1880. McKinley both became the first Republican to win over 55% of the popular vote, and the first to win multiple counties that hadn't voted for the Republican candidate since 1880. This was also the first election since 1864 in which Iowa voted more Republican than neighboring Minnesota.

By 1896, incumbent president Grover Cleveland was eligible to run for a second consecutive term (third overall), however he had declined. People had begun losing money during the panic of 1893, and blamed Cleveland for it, which was a big blow for the Democrats. This left the Democratic nomination open to multiple candidates. Eventually, William Jennings Bryan won both the Democratic nomination and the endorsement of the Populist nomination. In Iowa, Bryan had uniquely run under the Populist party, with Thomas E. Watson as his running mate.

Bryan would lose Iowa to McKinley again four years later and would later lose the state again in 1908 to William Howard Taft.

Results

1896 United States presidential election in Iowa[1]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican William McKinley 289,293 55.47% 13
Populist William Jennings Bryan 223,741 42.90% 0
National Democratic John M. Palmer 4,516 0.87% 0
Prohibition Joshua Levering 3,192 0.61% 0
Socialist Labor Charles H. Matchett 453 0.09% 0
National Prohibition Charles E. Bentley 352 0.07% 0
Totals 521,547 100.00% 13
Voter turnout —

Results by county

County[2] William McKinley
Republican 		William Jennings Bryan
Populist 		John McAuley Palmer
National Democratic 		Joshua Levering
Prohibition 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Adair 2,127 51.74% 1,946 47.34% 28 0.68% 9 0.22% 1 0.02% 181 4.40% 4,111
Adams 1,736 49.77% 1,701 48.77% 22 0.63% 25 0.72% 4 0.11% 35 1.00% 3,488
Allamakee 2,471 55.16% 1,897 42.34% 95 2.12% 13 0.29% 4 0.09% 574 12.81% 4,480
Appanoose 3,046 50.54% 2,940 48.78% 19 0.32% 12 0.20% 10 0.17% 106 1.76% 6,027
Audubon 1,705 54.14% 1,417 45.00% 16 0.51% 11 0.35% 0 0.00% 288 9.15% 3,149
Benton 3,604 57.50% 2,560 40.84% 63 1.01% 38 0.61% 3 0.05% 1,044 16.66% 6,268
Black Hawk 4,643 66.05% 2,167 30.83% 158 2.25% 56 0.80% 6 0.09% 2,476 35.22% 7,030
Boone 3,741 56.43% 2,801 42.25% 26 0.39% 56 0.84% 6 0.09% 940 14.18% 6,630
Bremer 2,116 54.02% 1,704 43.50% 73 1.86% 20 0.51% 4 0.10% 412 10.52% 3,917
Buchanan 2,865 55.30% 2,233 43.10% 50 0.97% 31 0.60% 2 0.04% 632 12.20% 5,181
Buena Vista 2,368 65.83% 1,178 32.75% 22 0.61% 26 0.72% 3 0.08% 1,190 33.08% 3,597
Butler 2,670 64.95% 1,372 33.37% 31 0.75% 36 0.88% 2 0.05% 1,298 31.57% 4,111
Calhoun 2,698 67.25% 1,280 31.90% 24 0.60% 10 0.25% 0 0.00% 1,418 35.34% 4,012
Carroll 2,066 45.67% 2,417 53.43% 25 0.55% 13 0.29% 3 0.07% -351 -7.76% 4,524
Cass 2,959 56.11% 2,240 42.47% 58 1.10% 13 0.25% 4 0.08% 719 13.63% 5,274
Cedar 2,717 54.50% 2,128 42.69% 78 1.56% 50 1.00% 12 0.24% 589 11.82% 4,985
Cerro Gordo 3,048 66.73% 1,408 30.82% 38 0.83% 59 1.29% 15 0.33% 1,640 35.90% 4,568
Cherokee 2,343 60.08% 1,464 37.54% 25 0.64% 64 1.64% 4 0.10% 879 22.54% 3,900
Chickasaw 1,967 48.20% 2,084 51.07% 17 0.42% 10 0.25% 3 0.07% -117 -2.87% 4,081
Clarke 1,646 51.53% 1,517 47.50% 11 0.34% 19 0.59% 1 0.03% 129 4.04% 3,194
Clay 1,880 65.99% 933 32.75% 14 0.49% 19 0.67% 3 0.11% 947 33.24% 2,849
Clayton 3,302 52.16% 2,910 45.96% 81 1.28% 32 0.51% 6 0.09% 392 6.19% 6,331
Clinton 5,584 54.02% 4,590 44.40% 83 0.80% 10 0.10% 70 0.68% 994 9.62% 10,337
Crawford 2,189 46.98% 2,396 51.43% 28 0.60% 38 0.82% 8 0.17% -207 -4.44% 4,659
Dallas 3,326 57.87% 2,316 40.30% 36 0.63% 55 0.96% 14 0.24% 1,010 17.57% 5,747
Davis 1,652 40.87% 2,367 58.56% 8 0.20% 15 0.37% 0 0.00% -715 -17.69% 4,042
Decatur 2,268 48.46% 2,362 50.47% 35 0.75% 9 0.19% 6 0.13% -94 -2.01% 4,680
Delaware 2,799 60.52% 1,778 38.44% 23 0.50% 24 0.52% 1 0.02% 1,021 22.08% 4,625
Des Moines 4,549 53.06% 3,741 43.63% 241 2.81% 31 0.36% 12 0.14% 808 9.42% 8,574
Dickinson 1,131 67.36% 517 30.79% 17 1.01% 14 0.83% 0 0.00% 614 36.57% 1,679
Dubuque 5,203 43.51% 6,570 54.94% 153 1.28% 18 0.15% 14 0.12% -1,367 -11.43% 11,958
Emmet 1,429 70.05% 559 27.40% 3 0.15% 47 2.30% 2 0.10% 870 42.65% 2,040
Fayette 3,522 54.69% 2,822 43.82% 38 0.59% 54 0.84% 4 0.06% 700 10.87% 6,440
Floyd 2,749 64.15% 1,461 34.10% 35 0.82% 30 0.70% 10 0.23% 1,288 30.06% 4,285
Franklin 2,439 72.57% 894 26.60% 17 0.51% 9 0.27% 2 0.06% 1,545 45.97% 3,361
Fremont 1,948 40.21% 2,857 58.97% 19 0.39% 11 0.23% 10 0.21% -909 -18.76% 4,845
Greene 2,606 60.80% 1,629 38.01% 26 0.61% 18 0.42% 7 0.16% 977 22.80% 4,286
Grundy 1,894 60.36% 1,206 38.43% 21 0.67% 13 0.41% 4 0.13% 688 21.92% 3,138
Guthrie 2,541 52.66% 2,220 46.01% 19 0.39% 41 0.85% 4 0.08% 321 6.65% 4,825
Hamilton 3,074 69.25% 1,300 29.29% 46 1.04% 15 0.34% 4 0.09% 1,774 39.96% 4,439
Hancock 1,975 65.64% 1,007 33.47% 12 0.40% 11 0.37% 4 0.13% 968 32.17% 3,009
Hardin 3,575 68.46% 1,568 30.03% 38 0.73% 37 0.71% 4 0.08% 2,007 38.43% 5,222
Harrison 2,839 46.48% 3,214 52.62% 24 0.39% 27 0.44% 4 0.07% -375 -6.14% 6,108
Henry 2,774 55.83% 2,092 42.10% 45 0.91% 52 1.05% 6 0.12% 682 13.73% 4,969
Howard 1,929 55.24% 1,507 43.16% 21 0.60% 29 0.83% 6 0.17% 422 12.08% 3,492
Humboldt 2,010 71.18% 783 27.73% 10 0.35% 17 0.60% 4 0.14% 1,227 43.45% 2,824
Ida 1,475 50.36% 1,421 48.51% 15 0.51% 15 0.51% 3 0.10% 54 1.84% 2,929
Iowa 2,391 53.78% 1,956 43.99% 79 1.78% 15 0.34% 5 0.11% 435 9.78% 4,446
Jackson 2,768 47.21% 3,019 51.49% 60 1.02% 16 0.27% 0 0.00% -251 -4.28% 5,863
Jasper 3,713 52.49% 3,279 46.35% 40 0.57% 39 0.55% 3 0.04% 434 6.14% 7,074
Jefferson 2,478 57.24% 1,772 40.93% 36 0.83% 35 0.81% 8 0.18% 706 16.31% 4,329
Johnson 2,910 47.06% 3,170 51.26% 90 1.46% 8 0.13% 6 0.10% -260 -4.20% 6,184
Jones 3,057 57.84% 2,143 40.55% 54 1.02% 20 0.38% 11 0.21% 914 17.29% 5,285
Keokuk 3,166 50.72% 2,891 46.32% 118 1.89% 61 0.98% 6 0.10% 275 4.41% 6,242
Kossuth 2,930 60.30% 1,861 38.30% 50 1.03% 16 0.33% 2 0.04% 1,069 22.00% 4,859
Lee 4,847 47.70% 5,153 50.71% 120 1.18% 35 0.34% 7 0.07% -306 -3.01% 10,162
Linn 7,335 57.14% 5,283 41.16% 95 0.74% 99 0.77% 24 0.19% 2,052 15.99% 12,836
Louisa 2,035 59.12% 1,334 38.76% 37 1.07% 33 0.96% 3 0.09% 701 20.37% 3,442
Lucas 1,859 52.43% 1,621 45.71% 28 0.79% 33 0.93% 5 0.14% 238 6.71% 3,546
Lyon 1,568 51.33% 1,464 47.92% 5 0.16% 16 0.52% 2 0.07% 104 3.40% 3,055
Madison 2,313 50.28% 2,224 48.35% 28 0.61% 28 0.61% 7 0.15% 89 1.93% 4,600
Mahaska 4,256 50.69% 3,974 47.33% 56 0.67% 90 1.07% 20 0.24% 282 3.36% 8,396
Marion 2,741 46.05% 3,119 52.40% 33 0.55% 54 0.91% 5 0.08% -378 -6.35% 5,952
Marshall 4,541 61.85% 2,626 35.77% 66 0.90% 102 1.39% 7 0.10% 1,915 26.08% 7,342
Mills 2,153 51.93% 1,958 47.23% 18 0.43% 15 0.36% 2 0.05% 195 4.70% 4,146
Mitchell 2,498 69.80% 1,031 28.81% 31 0.87% 17 0.47% 2 0.06% 1,467 40.99% 3,579
Monona 1,526 36.86% 2,558 61.79% 13 0.31% 40 0.97% 3 0.07% -1,032 -24.93% 4,140
Monroe 1,836 45.69% 2,086 51.92% 35 0.87% 53 1.32% 8 0.20% -250 -6.22% 4,018
Montgomery 2,927 63.67% 1,634 35.54% 12 0.26% 19 0.41% 5 0.11% 1,293 28.13% 4,597
Muscatine 3,627 55.02% 2,863 43.43% 72 1.09% 21 0.32% 9 0.14% 764 11.59% 6,592
O'Brien 2,421 60.10% 1,562 38.78% 19 0.47% 25 0.62% 1 0.02% 859 21.33% 4,028
Osceola 1,094 57.91% 767 40.60% 12 0.64% 15 0.79% 1 0.05% 327 17.31% 1,889
Page 3,213 56.32% 2,390 41.89% 22 0.39% 53 0.93% 27 0.47% 823 14.43% 5,705
Palo Alto 1,595 50.00% 1,547 48.50% 12 0.38% 35 1.10% 1 0.03% 48 1.50% 3,190
Plymouth 2,623 51.40% 2,392 46.87% 47 0.92% 38 0.74% 3 0.06% 231 4.53% 5,103
Pocahontas 1,866 56.82% 1,377 41.93% 16 0.49% 24 0.73% 1 0.03% 489 14.89% 3,284
Polk 11,127 60.24% 7,087 38.37% 111 0.60% 121 0.66% 25 0.14% 4,040 21.87% 18,471
Pottawattamie 5,810 51.00% 5,468 48.00% 86 0.75% 14 0.12% 14 0.12% 342 3.00% 11,392
Poweshiek 2,969 58.49% 2,013 39.66% 42 0.83% 49 0.97% 3 0.06% 956 18.83% 5,076
Ringgold 2,209 56.47% 1,651 42.20% 18 0.46% 25 0.64% 9 0.23% 558 14.26% 3,912
Sac 2,513 64.14% 1,346 34.35% 17 0.43% 36 0.92% 6 0.15% 1,167 29.79% 3,918
Scott 6,449 58.84% 4,032 36.79% 278 2.54% 29 0.26% 172 1.57% 2,417 22.05% 10,960
Shelby 2,019 47.85% 2,175 51.55% 11 0.26% 7 0.17% 7 0.17% -156 -3.70% 4,219
Sioux 2,841 59.00% 1,898 39.42% 50 1.04% 24 0.50% 2 0.04% 943 19.58% 4,815
Story 3,630 68.72% 1,589 30.08% 22 0.42% 41 0.78% 0 0.00% 2,041 38.64% 5,282
Tama 3,054 53.28% 2,596 45.29% 37 0.65% 41 0.72% 4 0.07% 458 7.99% 5,732
Taylor 2,468 51.56% 2,293 47.90% 7 0.15% 16 0.33% 3 0.06% 175 3.66% 4,787
Union 2,196 46.85% 2,425 51.74% 32 0.68% 31 0.66% 3 0.06% -229 -4.89% 4,687
Van Buren 2,478 53.54% 2,076 44.86% 45 0.97% 28 0.61% 1 0.02% 402 8.69% 4,628
Wapello 4,319 50.76% 4,041 47.49% 112 1.32% 24 0.28% 13 0.15% 278 3.27% 8,509
Warren 2,826 55.28% 2,214 43.31% 20 0.39% 50 0.98% 2 0.04% 612 11.97% 5,112
Washington 2,882 54.42% 2,292 43.28% 51 0.96% 54 1.02% 17 0.32% 590 11.14% 5,296
Wayne 2,101 48.93% 2,115 49.25% 29 0.68% 45 1.05% 4 0.09% -14 -0.33% 4,294
Webster 3,691 58.09% 2,557 40.24% 45 0.71% 60 0.94% 1 0.02% 1,134 17.85% 6,354
Winnebago 1,912 72.12% 714 26.93% 10 0.38% 15 0.57% 0 0.00% 1,198 45.19% 2,651
Winneshiek 3,422 61.75% 2,033 36.68% 50 0.90% 25 0.45% 12 0.22% 1,389 25.06% 5,542
Woodbury 6,204 54.86% 4,876 43.12% 117 1.03% 97 0.86% 15 0.13% 1,328 11.74% 11,309
Worth 1,696 73.74% 584 25.39% 15 0.65% 5 0.22% 0 0.00% 1,112 48.35% 2,300
Wright 2,992 71.39% 1,138 27.15% 20 0.48% 38 0.91% 3 0.07% 1,854 44.24% 4,191
Totals 289,293 55.47% 223,741 42.90% 4,516 0.87% 3,192 0.61% 799 0.15% 65,552 12.57% 521,541

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Although Bryan ran under the Democratic Party nationally, he ran in Iowa under the endorsement of the Populist Party.

References

  1. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – Iowa
  2. ^ Géoelections; Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1896 (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)
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