1891 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1891, in seven states.

1891 United States gubernatorial elections

November 3, 1891 August 3, 1891 (KY) April 1, 1891 (RI)
7 state governorships
Party Democratic Republican Last election 28 governorships 16 governorships Seats before 27 17[lower-alpha 1] Seats after 25 19 Seat change 2 2

Kentucky and Maryland held their gubernatorial elections in odd numbered years, every 4 years, preceding the United States presidential election year. Massachusetts and Rhode Island both elected its governors to a single-year term, which they would abandon in 1920 and 1912, respectively. Iowa and Ohio at this time held gubernatorial elections in every odd numbered year.

New York at this time held elected its governors to a three-year term. This was the last election in which this was the case, switching to two-year terms from the 1894 elections.

In Kentucky, the gubernatorial election was held in August for the last time; the next gubernatorial election would be held on the same day as federal elections.

Results

State	Incumbent	Party	Status	Opposing Candidates
Iowa	Horace Boies	Democratic	Re-elected, 49.38%	Hiram C. Wheeler (Republican) 47.43% A. J. Westfall (Populist) 2.97% Isaac T. Gibson (Prohibition) 0.22% [1][2]
Kentucky (held, 3 August 1891)	Simon Bolivar Buckner	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	John Y. Brown (Democratic) 49.85% Andrew T. Wood (Republican) 40.14% S. B. Erwin (Populist) 8.86% Josiah Harris (Prohibition) 1.14% [3]
Maryland	Elihu Emory Jackson	Democratic	Retired, Democratic victory	Frank Brown (Democratic) 56.52% William J. Vannort (Republican) 40.82% Edwin Higgins (Prohibition) 2.67% [4][5]
Massachusetts	William E. Russell	Democratic	Re-elected, 49.12%	Charles Herbert Allen (Republican) 47.11% Charles E. Kimball (Prohibition) 2.79% Henry Winn (Populist) 0.54% Harry W. Robinson (Socialist Labor) 0.44% [6][7]
New York	David B. Hill	Democratic	Retired to take up seat in the U.S. Senate, Democratic victory	Roswell P. Flower (Democratic) 50.13% Jacob Sloat Fassett (Republican) 46.00% Joseph W. Bruce[8] (Prohibition) 2.61% Daniel De Leon (Socialist Labor) 1.26% [9][10][11]
Ohio	James E. Campbell	Democratic	Defeated, 45.90%	William McKinley (Republican) 48.61% John Seitz (Populist) 2.95% John J. Ashenhurst (Prohibition) 2.54% [12][13]
Rhode Island (held, 1 April 1891)	John W. Davis	Democratic	Defeated, 48.95%[lower-alpha 2]	Herbert W. Ladd (Republican) 46.19% John H. Larry (Prohibition) 4.02% Franklin E. Burton (National) 0.85% [14][15]

References

1. "IA Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
2. Journal of the Senate of the Twenty-Fourth General Assembly of the State of Iowa, which convened at the Capitol at Des Moines, January 11, 1892. Des Moines: G. H. Ragsdale, State Printer. 1892. p. 31.
3. "KY Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
4. "MD Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
5. Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of Maryland, January Session, 1892. Annapolis: Chas. H. Baughman & Co., State Printers. 1892. p. 21.
6. "MA Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
7. Coolidge, Henry D.; McLaughlin, Edward A. (1892). Manual for the use of the General Court, &c. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Company, State Printers. p. 360.
8. Makeley, Jonathan. "History of the Prohibition Party in New York". Retrieved 20 November 2020.
9. "NY Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
10. Eisenstadt, Peter, ed. (2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 674. ISBN 0-8156-0808-X.
11. Brown, Roscoe C. E. (1922). Smith, Ray B. (ed.). History of the State of New York, Political and Governmental. III. Syracuse, N.Y.: The Syracuse Press, Inc. p. 365.
12. "OH Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
13. The Journal of the Senate of the State of Ohio, for the Regular Session of the Seventieth General Assembly, commencing on Monday, January 4th, 1892. LXXXIX. Columbus, Ohio: The Westbote Co., State Printers. 1892. p. 20.
14. "RI Governor, 1891". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
15. Geo. H. Utter, Secretary of State (1891). Manual, with Rules and Orders, for the use of the General Assembly, of the State of Rhode Island. 1891-1892. Providence. R.I.: K. L. Freeman & Son, State Printers. p. 106.

Notes

1. John Milton Thayer (R) succeeded Nebraska Governor James E. Boyd (D) who was removed from office by the Nebraska Supreme Court in May 1891. Boyd's citizenship would be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and he would be restored to office in February 1892.
2. Since no candidate received 50% of the vote, the state legislature decided the election. Ladd was elected.

Bibliography

• Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Meckler Books. ISBN 0-930466-17-9.
• Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
• Dubin, Michael J. (2014). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1861-1911: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4722-0.
• The World Almanac, 1892. New York, NY: The Press Publishing Co. 1892.
• McPherson, Edward, ed. (1892). The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1892. New York, NY: The Tribune Association.