1896 United States presidential election in Montana explained

See main article: 1896 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1896 United States presidential election in Montana
Type:presidential
Country:Montana
Flag Year:1889
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1892 United States presidential election in Montana
Previous Year:1892
Next Election:1900 United States presidential election in Montana
Next Year:1900
Image1:William Jennings Bryan 2 (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:William Jennings Bryan
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Alliance1:Populist
Silver
Home State1:Nebraska
Running Mate1:Arthur Sewall
(Democratic, Silver)
Thomas E. Watson
(Populist)
Electoral Vote1:3
Popular Vote1:42,628
Percentage1:79.93%
Nominee2:William McKinley
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:Ohio
Running Mate2:Garret Hobart
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:10,509
Percentage2:19.71%
Map Size:350px
President
Before Election:Grover Cleveland
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:William McKinley
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1896 United States presidential election in Montana took place on November 3, 1896, as part of the 1896 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Montana overwhelmingly voted for the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Representative from Nebraska William Jennings Bryan over the Republican nominee, former governor of Ohio William McKinley. Bryan won the state by a landslide margin of 60.22 percentage points. To date this is the best performance ever by a presidential candidate in Montana.

Bryan's support for many Populist goals resulted in him being nominated by both the Democratic Party and the People's Party (Populists), though with different running mates. One electoral vote from Montana was cast for the Populist Bryan-Watson ticket with Thomas E. Watson as vice-president and two votes were cast for the Bryan-Sewall ticket.

Bryan would later beat McKinley in the state again four years later but would lose the state to William Howard Taft in 1908. This is one of two elections where the Republican candidate won without the state, the other being in 1900. McKinley is the only Republican to win the White House without carrying Yellowstone County.

Results

1896 United States presidential election in Montana[1]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic/SilverWilliam Jennings Bryan42,62879.93%2
PopulistWilliam Jennings Bryan00.00%1
TotalWilliam Jennings Bryan42,62879.93%3
RepublicanWilliam McKinley10,50919.71%0
ProhibitionistJoshua Levering1930.36%0
Totals53,330100.00%3

Results by county

CountyWilliam Jennings Bryan
Democratic
William McKinley
Republican
Joshua Levering
Prohibitionist
MarginTotal votes cast[2]
%%%%
Beaverhead1,24688.56%15410.95%70.50%1,09277.61%1,407
Carbon73966.94%36533.06%00.00%37433.88%1,104
Cascade2,92075.10%95324.51%150.39%1,96750.59%3,888
Chouteau70152.67%62446.88%60.45%775.79%1,331
Custer67648.15%72351.50%50.36%-47-3.35%1,404
Dawson17731.33%38568.14%30.53%-208-36.81%565
Deer Lodge4,91691.55%4468.31%80.15%4,47083.24%5,370
Fergus83453.39%72546.41%30.19%1096.98%1,562
Flathead1,36076.45%41323.22%60.34%94753.23%1,779
Gallatin1,64978.23%42320.07%361.71%1,22658.16%2,108
Granite1,74696.25%613.36%70.39%1,68592.89%1,814
Jefferson2,18593.42%1536.54%10.04%2,03286.87%2,339
Lewis and Clark3,93978.53%1,05721.07%200.40%2,88257.46%5,016
Madison1,63383.40%31516.09%100.51%1,31867.31%1,958
Meagher1,30579.62%33320.32%10.06%97259.30%1,639
Missoula2,25985.89%36513.88%60.23%1,89472.02%2,630
Park1,25278.69%32820.62%110.69%92458.08%1,591
Ravalli1,54287.91%20711.80%50.29%1,33576.11%1,754
Silver Bow9,99288.46%1,27511.29%290.26%8,71777.17%11,296
Sweet Grass29850.42%29249.41%10.17%61.02%591
Teton32152.20%29347.64%10.16%284.55%615
Valley20453.83%17546.17%00.00%297.65%379
Yellowstone57556.99%42942.52%50.50%14614.47%1,009
Totals42,46979.91%10,49419.74%1860.35%31,97560.16%53,149

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: David Leip. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. 1896 Presidential General Election Results – Montana. 2018-03-21.
  2. Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 256-261