1896 United States presidential election in Idaho

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

1896 United States presidential election in Idaho

November 3, 1896

Nominee William J. Bryan William McKinley Party Democratic Republican Home state Nebraska Ohio Running mate Arthur Sewall Garret Hobart Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 23,135 6,314 Percentage 78.10% 21.32%

County Results Bryan   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100%

President before election Grover Cleveland Democratic Elected President William McKinley Republican

Background

Idaho, upon its organization as a territory overwhelmingly Democratic,[1] had been increasingly dominated by the Republican Party in the years leading up to statehood, as ex-Southern and Mormon mining settlers were increasingly outweighed by those from the Midwest.[2] The state Democratic Party would regroup and its pro-silver, anti-Mormon faction under Marshal Fred T. Dubois would bring the state into the Union in the late 1880s.[1]

Upon statehood, Idaho was shaken by a wave of strikes in the silver-mining regions[3] and even deeper conflict whereby an idled ore concentrator was destroyed in Gem.[4] This, alongside opposition to Republican Governor Norman Bushnell Willey’s declaration of martial law upon the miners, and against the absentee ownership of Idaho's land and water,[5] would turn the state's electorate strongly towards the Populist leader James B. Weaver, who carried the state in 1892 in an election where Gold Democrat and former President Grover Cleveland was not even on the ballot.

As the 1896 election approached, it was clear that silver politics would be the determining factor in Idaho's vote,[6] and that the state would not vote for any candidate opposing free silver. Senator Fred T. Dubois, who had been a critical player in giving Idaho statehood,[1] confirmed this in June. When William Jennings Bryan gained the Democratic nomination on a platform favouring the coinage of silver at 16:1 relative to gold, the Populist Party supported him throughout the country.[7] To absolutely squash any doubts as to where Idaho's electoral votes would go, Dubois, realizing the vital importance, of silver, crossed lines to make Bryan the “Republican”[lower-alpha 1] candidate,[8] although the Republican State Convention was to endorse and place on the ballot national nominees William McKinley and Garrett Hobart.[9]

Vote

Idaho was won by the Democratic/Populist nominees, William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate Arthur Sewall of Maine. Bryan won every county, and only in three of twenty-one did McKinley crack a quarter of the vote. Despite half a century of overwhelming Republican dominance, no presidential nominee has equalled Bryan's performance in the state.

Bryan would later defeat McKinley again in Idaho four year later but would later lose the state to William Howard Taft in 1908.

Results

1896 United States presidential election in Idaho[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	William Jennings Bryan	23,135	78.10%	3
	Republican	William McKinley	6,314	21.32%	0
	Prohibition	Joshua Levering	172	0.58%	0
Totals			29,621	100.00%	3
Voter turnout					—

Results by county

County	William Jennings Bryan Democratic		William McKinley Republican		Joshua Levering Prohibition		Margin		Total votes cast[11]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Ada	1,531	63.55%	851	35.33%	27	1.12%	680	28.23%	2,409
Bannock	1,363	85.29%	228	14.27%	7	0.44%	1,135	71.03%	1,598
Bear Lake	851	77.29%	249	22.62%	1	0.09%	602	54.68%	1,101
Bingham	1,232	85.56%	194	13.47%	14	0.97%	1,038	72.08%	1,440
Blaine	1,228	95.19%	59	4.57%	3	0.23%	1,169	90.62%	1,290
Boise	862	78.87%	226	20.68%	5	0.46%	636	58.19%	1,093
Canyon	1,178	78.38%	303	20.16%	22	1.46%	875	58.22%	1,503
Cassia	579	81.43%	129	18.14%	3	0.42%	450	63.29%	711
Custer	599	95.08%	29	4.60%	2	0.32%	570	90.48%	630
Elmore	535	81.06%	124	18.79%	1	0.15%	411	62.27%	660
Fremont	1,526	92.21%	121	7.31%	8	0.48%	1,405	84.89%	1,655
Idaho	1,127	74.59%	377	24.95%	7	0.46%	750	49.64%	1,511
Kootenai	1,432	80.49%	334	18.77%	13	0.73%	1,098	61.72%	1,779
Latah	1,870	64.00%	1,036	35.46%	16	0.55%	834	28.54%	2,922
Lemhi	1,065	83.92%	202	15.92%	2	0.16%	863	68.01%	1,269
Lincoln	305	80.26%	74	19.47%	1	0.26%	231	60.79%	380
Nez Perce	1,089	60.97%	675	37.79%	22	1.23%	414	23.18%	1,786
Oneida	1,092	77.23%	315	22.28%	7	0.50%	777	54.95%	1,414
Owyhee	1,140	92.16%	97	7.84%	0	0.00%	1,043	84.32%	1,237
Shoshone	1,760	77.84%	497	21.98%	4	0.18%	1,263	55.86%	2,261
Washington	828	79.62%	204	19.62%	8	0.77%	624	60.00%	1,040
Totals	23,192	78.12%	6,324	21.30%	173	0.58%	16,868	56.82%	29,689

Notes

1. More formally the “Silver Republican” nominee, as Idaho’s state convention did endorse McKinley.

References

1. Owens, Kenneth N.; ‘Pattern and Structure in Western Territorial Politics’; Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 4 (October 1970), pp. 373-392
2. Weatherby, James B. and Stapilus, Randy; Governing Idaho: Politics, People and Power, pp. 35-36 ISBN 0870045210
3. Kennedy, David M. and Cohen, Lizabeth; American Pageant, Volume 2, p. 506 ISBN 1305537416
4. Schwantes, Carlos A.; The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History, p. 343
5. Larson, Robert W.; ‘Populism in the Mountain West: A Mainstream Movement’; Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 13, no. 2 (April 1982), pp. 143-164
6. Johnson, Claudius O.; ‘The Story of Silver Politics in Idaho, 1892-1902’; The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 3 (July 1942), pp. 283-296
7. Case, Matthew H. and Sprague, Alan F. (1982); Northwest Frontier, p. 257
8. The Society (1974); State Historic Preservation Plan, Idaho, Volume 1, p. 72
9. Beal, Merrill D. and Wells; Merle W. (1959); History of Idaho - Volume 2, p. 438
10. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1896 Presidential General Election Results – Idaho
11. Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 174-177 ISBN 9780804716963