1892 POTUS election
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were held in the
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on November 8, 1892. In the fourth rematch in American history, the Democratic nominee, former president
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
, defeated the incumbent Republican President
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
. Cleveland's victory made him the first president in American history to be elected to a nonconsecutive second term. Though some Republicans opposed Harrison's renomination, he defeated James G. Blaine and
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
on the first presidential ballot of the 1892 Republican National Convention. Cleveland defeated challenges by David B. Hill and Horace Boies on the first presidential ballot of the 1892 Democratic National Convention, becoming the fourth presidential candidate to be nominated for president in three elections, after
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,
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, and
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
. Groups from The Grange and the
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joined to form a new party called the Populist Party. It had a ticket led by former congressman James B. Weaver of Iowa. The campaign centered mainly on economic issues, especially the protectionist 1890
McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress framed by then-Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost 50% ...
. Cleveland ran on a platform of lowering the tariff and opposed the Republicans' 1890 voting rights proposal. He was also a proponent of the
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
, while the Republicans and Populists both supported
bimetallism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed Exchange rate, rate of ...
. Cleveland swept the
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and won several important swing states, taking a majority of the electoral vote and a plurality of the popular vote. Weaver won 8.6% of the popular vote and carried several Western states, while John Bidwell of the
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movemen ...
won 2.2% of the popular vote. Cleveland was the only president elected to a second nonconsecutive term until
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was reelected in
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. The 1892 election was third in a streak of four presidential elections (from 1884 to 1896) that saw the incumbent party defeated. Another such streak of four occurred from 1840 to 1852; the next-longest streak was the three elections from 2016 to 2024.


Nominations


Democratic Party nomination

By the beginning of 1892, many Americans were ready to return to Cleveland's policies. Although he was the clear front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, he was far from the universal choice of the party's supporters; many, such as the journalists
Henry Watterson Henry Watterson (February 16, 1840 – December 22, 1921), the son of a U.S. Congressman from Tennessee, became a prominent journalist in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as a Confederate soldier, author and partial term U.S. Congressman. A Demo ...
and
Charles Anderson Dana Charles Anderson Dana (August 8, 1819 – October 17, 1897) was an American journalist, author, and senior government official. He was a top aide to Horace Greeley as the managing editor of the powerful Republican newspaper '' New-York Tribune ...
, thought that if nominated, he would lose in November, but few could challenge him effectively. Though he had remained relatively quiet on the issue of silver versus gold, often deferring to bimetalism, Senate Democrats in January 1891 voted for free coinage of silver. Furious, he sent a letter to Ellery Anderson, who headed the New York Reform Club, to condemn the party's apparent drift towards inflation and agrarian control, the "dangerous and reckless experiment of free, unlimited coinage of silver at our mints." Advisors warned that such statements might alienate potential supporters in the South and West and risk his chances for the nomination, but Cleveland felt that being right on the issue was more important than the nomination. After making his position clear, he worked to focus his campaign on tariff reform, hoping that the silver issue would dissipate. A challenger emerged in the form of David B. Hill, former governor of and incumbent senator from New York. In favor of bimetalism and tariff reform, Hill hoped to make inroads with Cleveland's supporters while appealing to those in the South and Midwest who were not keen on nominating Cleveland for a third consecutive time. Hill had unofficially begun to run for president as early as 1890, and even offered former Postmaster General Donald M. Dickinson his support for the vice-presidential nomination. But he was not able to escape his past association with
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, and lack of confidence in his ability to defeat Cleveland for the nomination kept Hill from attaining the support he needed. By the time of the convention, Cleveland could count on the support of a majority of the state Democratic parties, though his native New York remained pledged to Hill. In a narrow first-ballot victory, Cleveland received 617.33 votes, barely 10 more than needed, to 114 for Hill, 103 for Governor Horace Boies of Iowa, a populist and former Republican, and the rest scattered. Although the Cleveland forces preferred Isaac P. Gray of Indiana for vice president, Cleveland directed his own support to the convention favorite, Adlai E. Stevenson I of Illinois. As a supporter of using paper greenbacks and free silver to inflate the currency and alleviate economic distress in rural districts, Stevenson balanced the ticket, as Cleveland supported hard money and the
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
. At the same time, it was hoped that his nomination represented a promise not to ignore regulars, and so potentially get Hill and Tammany Hall to support the Democratic ticket to their fullest in the election.


Republican Party nomination

Harrison's administration was widely viewed as unsuccessful, and as a result, Thomas C. Platt (a
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in New York) and other disaffected party leaders mounted a dump-Harrison movement coalescing around veteran candidate James G. Blaine from Maine, a favorite of Republican party regulars. Blaine had been the Republican nominee in 1884, losing to Cleveland. Privately, Harrison did not want to be renominated for the presidency, but he remained opposed to the nomination of Blaine, who he was convinced intended to run, and thought himself the only candidate capable of preventing that. But Blaine did not want another fight for the nomination and rematch against Cleveland in the general election. His health had begun to fail, and three of his children had recently died ( Walker and Alice in 1890, and Emmons in 1892). Blaine refused to run actively, but the cryptic nature of his responses to a draft effort fueled speculation that he was not averse to such a movement. For his part, Harrison curtly demanded that he either renounce his supporters or resign as secretary of state, with Blaine doing the latter a scant three days before the National Convention. A boom began to build around the "draft Blaine" effort, with supporters hoping to cause a break toward their candidate. Senator John Sherman of Ohio, who had been the leading candidate for the nomination at the 1888 Republican Convention before Harrison won it, was also brought up as a possible challenger. But like Blaine, he was averse to another bitter battle for the nomination and "like the rebels down South, want to be let alone." This inevitably turned attention to Ohio Governor
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, who was indecisive about his intentions despite his ill feeling toward Harrison and popularity among the Republican base. Although not averse to receiving the nomination, he did not expect to win it either. But should Blaine and Harrison fail to win the nomination after a number of ballots, he felt he could be brought forth as a harmony candidate. Despite the urging of Republican power broker Mark Hanna, McKinley did not put himself forward as a candidate, afraid of offending Harrison's and Blaine's supporters, while also feeling that the coming election would not favor the Republicans. In any case, Harrison's forces had the nomination locked up by the time delegates met in
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, Minnesota, on June 7–10, 1892. Richard Thomas of Indiana delivered Harrison's nominating speech. Harrison was nominated on the first ballot with 535.17 votes to 182 for McKinley, 181.83 for Blaine, and the rest scattered. McKinley protested when the Ohio delegation threw its entire vote in his name, despite not being formally nominated, but
Joseph B. Foraker Joseph Benson Foraker (July 5, 1846 – May 10, 1917) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 37th governor of Ohio from 1886 to 1890 and as a United States senator from Ohio from 1897 until 1909. Foraker was ...
, who headed the delegation, managed to silence him on a point of order.History of American Presidential Elections, Volume II, Pgs 1716 With the ballots counted, many observers were surprised at the strength of the McKinley vote, which almost overtook Blaine's.
Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician, diplomat and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-Yo ...
of New York, editor of the ''
New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'' and recent
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, was nominated for vice president. The incumbent vice president,
Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United States ambassador to France, as a United States H ...
, was supported by many at the convention, including Reid himself, but Morton did not wish to serve another term, as he was more interested in positioning himself to run for
governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
in 1894. Harrison did not want Morton on the ticket either.


People's Party nomination

Populist candidates: * James B. Weaver, former U.S. representative from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
* James H. Kyle, U.S. senator from
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
* Leonidas L. Polk, former representative from
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''(died)'' * Walter Q. Gresham, Appellate judge from
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On May 19, 1891, the National Union Conference was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, to discuss the formation of a new political party. The conference held another meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 22, 1892. Mary Elizabeth Lease, William A. Peffer, Jerry Simpson, and James B. Weaver toured the south in support of the agrarian third party. The Supreme Council of the Farmers' Alliance met in November and said it would support whatever the St. Louis convention did. 860 delegates, 246 from the Farmers' Alliance and 82 from the
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, attended the convention. It adopted a declaration of union and independence, but did not form a new party due to opposition from Leonidas F. Livingston and southern southerners. Another convention was held in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 4, with 1,366 in attendance despite initially planning for 1,776. Alva Adams,
Edward Bellamy Edward Bellamy (; March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel ''Looking Backward''. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numer ...
, Robert Beverly, Marion Cannon,
Ignatius L. Donnelly Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and pseudoscientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of ...
, James G. Field, Walter Q. Gresham, James H. Kyle, C. W. Macune, Mann Page, Leonidas L. Polk, Terence V. Powderly,
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, William M. Stewart, Alson Streeter, Ben Terrell, Thomas E. Watson, Weaver, and Charles Van Wyck were speculated as possible presidential candidates. Polk was the initial front-runner for the presidential nomination. He had been instrumental in the party's formation and greatly appealed to its agrarian base, but unexpectedly died in Washington, D.C., on June 11. Gresham, an appellate judge, had made a number of rulings against the railroads that made him a favorite of some farmer and labor groups, and it was felt that his rather dignified image would make the Populists appear as more than minor contenders. He had been considered for the Republican presidential nomination in 1884 and 1888. Both Democrats and Republicans feared his nomination for this reason, and while Gresham toyed with the idea, he ultimately was not ready to make a complete break with the two parties, declining petitions for his nomination up to and during the Populist Convention. Gresham later endorsed Grover Cleveland for president. Weaver, the
Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...
's 1880 presidential nominee, was nominated for president on the first ballot, now lacking any serious opposition. While his nomination brought with it significant campaigning experience from over several decades, he also had a longer track record that Republicans and Democrats could criticize, and alienated many potential supporters in the South, having participated in Sherman's March to the Sea. James G. Field of Virginia was nominated for vice president in an attempt to rectify this problem while also attaining the regional balance often seen in Republican and Democratic tickets. The Populist platform called for nationalization of the telegraph, telephone, and railroads, free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, and creation of postal savings banks.


Prohibition Party nomination

Prohibition candidates: * John Bidwell, former U.S. representative from
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
* Gideon T. Stewart, Prohibition Party Chairman from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
* William Jennings Demorest, magazine publisher from
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Candidates gallery

File:John Bidwell circa 1890 3x4.jpg, File:Gideon T. Stewart.png, File:WJenningsDemorest.jpg, The sixth Prohibition Party National Convention assembled in
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in
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, Ohio from June 29 to 30, 1892. There were 972 delegates present from all states except Louisiana and South Carolina. Two major stories about the convention loomed before it assembled. In the first place, some members of the national committee sought to merge the Prohibition and Populist parties. While there appeared a likelihood that the merger would materialize, it was clear that it was not going to happen by the time that the convention convened. Secondly, the southern states sent a number of black delegates. Cincinnati hotels refused to serve meals to blacks and whites at the same time, and several hotels refused service to the black delegates altogether. John Bidwell, Gideon T. Stewart, and William Jennings Demorest sought the party's presidential nomination and a poll of delegates by the ''
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'' showed Bidwell with the most support. John St. John, the party's 1884 nominee, nominated Bidwell. Bidwell won the nomination on the first ballot. Prior to the convention, the race was thought to be close between Bidwell and Demorest, but the New York delegation became irritated with Demorest and voted for Bidwell 73–7. James B. Cranfill from Texas was nominated for vice-president on the first ballot with 417 votes to 351 for Joshua Levering from Maryland and 45 for others.


Socialist Labor Party nomination

The Socialist Labor national convention was held in New York City on August 28, 1892. Despite running on a platform that called for the abolition of the positions of president and vice-president, the party decided to nominate candidates for those positions. Simon Wing and Charles Matchett were selected as the party's presidential and vice presidential nominees. They were on the ballot in five states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.


Woman suffrage

Wyoming had become a state in 1890 and had included woman suffrage in its state constitution. Thus, Wyoming women were able to vote in the 1892 presidential election, the first time that any American women were able to do so. A "national nominating convention of woman suffragists" met on September 21, 1892, and nominated notorious suffrage and former free-love advocate (at the time, "free love" meant the freedom to marry, divorce and bear children without social restriction or government interference) Victoria Woodhull for president and Marietta Stow for vice president.''Daily Public Ledger.'' (Maysville, Ky.)
23 Sept. 1892
''Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers''. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069117/1892-09-23/ed-1/seq-3/
Both had been nominated for these positions before, Woodhull in 1872 and Stow in 1884. Both had been nominated by the National Equal Rights Party, which did not nominate a ballot in 1892; instead, the woman suffrage nominating convention, headed by Anna M. Parker and consisting of 50 delegates from 29 states, stepped in. Women in most states were not yet allowed to vote in 1892, but the convention's platform urged "election officers throughout the country to allow them to cast a ballot this fall." They were not successful in this, and it was almost 30 more years until the Nineteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination in voting on the basis of sex.


General election


Campaign

On July 27, James S. Clarkson, who opposed Harrison's renomination, was replaced as chair of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
by William James Campbell. Campbell resigned on July 6, and Thomas H. Carter was selected to replace him on July 16. It was believed that Calvin S. Brice, the current chair of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, would seek reelection, but he declined and William F. Harrity was selected without opposition. Donald M. Dickinson was selected to chair the DNC's campaign committee. Campbell, J.N. Huston, E. Rosewater, R.G. Evans, and Henry Clay Payne managed Harrison's campaign in the west. William Brookfield and Charles W. Hacket led his campaign in New York. Edward Murphy and William F. Sheehan were selected to lead Cleveland's campaign in New York despite Cleveland's opposition. Murphy and Sheehan were opponents of Cleveland, but William Collins Whitney argued that they should be given the positions for party unity. The Republicans launched their national campaign on June 21, in New York City at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
. The Democrats launched their campaign at two meetings. Tammany Hall held one on July 4, and the Democrats held another one at
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on July 20. The Prohibitionists launched their campaign in San Francisco on August 4. The tariff issue dominated this rather lackluster campaign. Harrison defended the protectionist
McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress framed by then-Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost 50% ...
passed during his term. For his part, Cleveland assured voters that he opposed absolute free trade and would continue his campaign for a reduction in the tariff. He also denounced the Lodge Bill, a
voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...
bill that sought to protect the rights of African American voters in the South. Harrison initially planned on conducting a speaking tour in New York, but chose to care for his ill wife Caroline Harrison. Reid conducted tours of Illinois, Ohio, and New York. McKinley extensively campaigned for Harrison from Iowa to Maine. Stevenson launched his campaign activities in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, and traveled across Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia for sixteen days. Weaver started campaigning in July and conducted a tour of the western and southern United States. The campaign took a somber turn when, in October, Caroline died. Despite the ill health that had plagued Mrs. Harrison since her youth and had worsened in the last decade, she often accompanied Mr. Harrison on official travels. On one such trip, to California in the spring of 1891, she caught a cold. It quickly deepened into her chest, and she was eventually diagnosed with
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. A summer in the
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failed to restore her to health. An invalid the last six months of her life, she died in the White House on October 25, 1892, just two weeks before the national election. As a result, all of the candidates ceased campaigning.


Fusion

The Democrats and Populists conducted a partial fusion campaign in Oregon by having Democratic elector Robert A. Miller drop out, while the Democratic Party of Oregon endorsed Populist elector I. Nathan Pierce in his place. The Democrats believed that the Populists would do the same for two electors, but the Populists refused. The Minnesota Democratic Party initially announced that it would not conduct a fusion campaign, but later withdrew four of its electors in favor of Populist electors. The
Nevada Democratic Party The Nevada State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Nevada. It has been chaired by Daniele Monroe-Moreno since March 2023. It is currently the state's favored party, co ...
passed a resolution at its convention stating that it would not support the party's presidential nominee if they did not support free silver. A majority of the party supported Weaver while a minority ran electors pledged to Cleveland. The
Silver Party The Silver Party was a political party in the United States active from 1892 until 1911 and most successful in Nevada which supported a platform of bimetallism and free silver. In 1892, several Silver Party candidates were elected to Nevada pu ...
voted to have its Nevada presidential electors support the Populists. The
Nevada Republican Party The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's Governor of Nevada, governorship, Nevad ...
held a convention to select its presidential electors, but party chair Enoch Strother and 49 delegates left the convention after a caucus showed free silver delegates held a majority. These delegates nominated electors pledged to Harrison while the 85 silver delegates endorsed the Silver Party's electors. The Wyoming Democratic Party endorsed the Populist electors in exchange for the Populists supporting the Democratic state candidates. The North Dakota Democratic Party endorsed the Independent Party's electors, who were pledged to Weaver, in exchange for the Independent Party supporting its state candidates. The Kansas Democratic Party made an agreement with the Populists in which the Democrats would run candidates for some state and federal offices while leaving the rest, including presidential electors, to the Populists. The Republican Party of Louisiana agreed to divide the electors between five for Harrison and three for Weaver. The Republican Party of Florida did not nominate any electors and its members supported Weaver.


Results

34.9% of the voting age population and 78.3% of eligible voters participated in the election. The margin in the popular vote for Cleveland was 400,000, the largest since Grant's re-election in
1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...
. The Democrats won the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since
1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...
. President Harrison's re-election bid was a decisive loss in both the popular and electoral count, unlike President Cleveland's re-election bid four years earlier, in which he won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote. This was the second time that a party lost re-election after a single four-year term, which would not occur again until 1980, and for Republicans until 2020. At the county level, Cleveland fared much better than Harrison. The Republicans' vote was not nearly as widespread as the Democrats'. In 1892, it was still a sectionally based party mainly situated in the East, Midwest, and West and was barely visible south of the
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...
. In the South, the party was holding on in only a few counties. In
East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
and tidewater Virginia, the vote at the county level showed some strength, but it barely existed in Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas.Presidential Elections, 1789–2008: County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data, Donald R. Deskins, Jr., Hanes Walton, Jr., and Sherman C. Puckett, pg. 250 Additionally, Cleveland was the third of only five presidents to win re-election with a smaller percentage of the popular vote than in prior elections. The other four are
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
in
1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
,
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
in
1812 Events January–March * January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire. * January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege ...
, Franklin Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944, and Barack Obama in 2012. Cleveland became the fourth presidential nominees to win a significant number of electoral votes in at least three elections. In a continuation of its collapse there during the 1890 congressional elections, the Republican Party even struggled in its Midwestern strongholds, where general electoral troubles from economic woes were acutely exacerbated by the promotion of temperance laws and, in Wisconsin and Illinois, the aggressive support of state politicians for English-only compulsory education laws. Such policies, which particularly in the case of the latter were associated with an upwelling of nativist and
anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
attitudes amongst their supporters, resulted in the defection of large sections of immigrant communities, especially Germans, to the Democratic Party. Cleveland carried Wisconsin and Illinois with their 36 combined electoral votes, a Democratic victory not seen in those states since 1852Counting the Votes
Wisconsin
and
1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...
Counting the Votes
Illinois
respectively, and which would not be repeated until Woodrow Wilson's election in
1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
. While not as dramatic a loss as in 1890, it would take until the next election cycle for more moderate Republican leaders to pick up the pieces left by the reformist crusaders and bring alienated immigrants back to the fold. Of the 2,683 counties making returns, Cleveland won in 1,389 (51.77%), Harrison carried 1,017 (37.91%), while Weaver placed first in 276 (10.29%). One county (0.04%) split evenly between Cleveland and Harrison. Populist James B. Weaver, calling for free coinage of silver and an inflationary monetary policy, received such strong support in the West that he became the only third-party nominee between 1860 and 1912 to carry a single state. The Democratic Party did not have a presidential ticket on the ballot in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, or Wyoming, and Weaver won the first four of these states.Nathan Fine, ''Farmer and Labor Parties in the United States, 1828–1928.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1928; pg. 79. Weaver also performed well in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
as he won counties in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas. Populists did best in Alabama, where electoral chicanery probably carried the day for the Democrats. Charles W. Calhoun (ed.), ''The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America.'' Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006; pg. 295. The Prohibition ticket received 270,879 votes, or 2.2% nationwide. It was the largest total vote and the highest percentage of the vote received by any Prohibition presidential candidate. Wyoming, having attained statehood two years earlier, became the first state to allow women to vote in a presidential election since
1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * February 14 – The First Serbian uprising begins th ...
. (Propertied unmarried women in New Jersey had the right to vote under the state's original constitution, but this was rescinded in 1807.) Wyoming was also one of six states (along with North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Idaho) participating in their first presidential election. This was the most new states voting since the first election. The 0.09% difference between the tipping point state (Illinois) and the national popular vote is tied with
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
for the smallest in history. The election witnessed many states splitting their electoral votes. Electors from the state of Michigan were selected using the congressional district method (the winner in each congressional district wins one electoral vote, the winner of the state wins two electoral votes). This resulted in a split between the Republican and Democratic electors: nine for Harrison and five for Cleveland.1892 Presidential Election Results
/ref> In California, the direct election of presidential electors combined with the close race resulted in a split between the Republican and Democratic electors: eight for Cleveland and one for Harrison. In Ohio, the direct election of presidential electors combined with the close race resulted in a split between the Republican and Democratic electors: 22 for Harrison and one for Cleveland. Cleveland was the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Illinois since 1856 and Wisconsin since 1852. 10.45% of Harrison's votes came from the 11 states of the former Confederacy. He took 25.34% of the vote in that region to Weaver's 15.87%. 61 of 67 counties in New England, where Connecticut was the only state won by Cleveland, supported Harrison. Weaver placed fourth, behind the Prohibitionists, in every New England state. 3% of the vote in New England went to third parties, with the Prohibitionists accounting for 70% of it. 343 of the counties in the upper south supported Cleveland, 165 supported Harrison, and 2 supported Weaver. 619 counties in the deep south supported Cleveland, 47 supported Weaver, 32 supported Harrison, and 8 supported fusion electors. Harrison won 226 counties, Cleveland won 206, and Weaver won 1 in the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote):


Geography of results

File:1892 United States presidential election results map by county.svg, Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote


Cartographic gallery

File:PresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.gif, Map of presidential election results by county File:DemocraticPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.gif, Map of Democratic presidential election results by county File:RepublicanPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.gif, Map of Republican presidential election results by county File:PopulistPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.gif, Map of Populist presidential election results by county File:OtherPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.gif, Map of "Other" presidential election results by county File:CartogramPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.png,
Cartogram A cartogram (also called a value-area map or an anamorphic map, the latter common among German-speakers) is a thematic map of a set of features (countries, provinces, etc.), in which their geographic size is altered to be Proportionality (math ...
of presidential election results by county File:CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.png, Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county File:CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.png, Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county File:CartogramPopulistPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.png, Cartogram of Populist presidential election results by county File:CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1892Colorbrewer.png, Cartogram of "other" presidential election results by county


Results by state

Source: Data from
Walter Dean Burnham Walter Dean Burnham (June 15, 1930 – October 4, 2022) was an American political scientist who was an expert on elections and voting patterns. He was known for his quantitative analysis of national trends and patterns in voting behavior, t ...
, ''Presidential ballots, 1836–1892'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955) pp 247–57.


States that flipped from Republican to Democratic

*
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
*
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
*
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
*
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
*
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...


States that flipped from Republican to Populist

*
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
*
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
*
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...


Close states

Margin of victory less than 1% (35 electoral votes): # California, 0.05% (147 votes) # Ohio, 0.13% (1,072 votes) # North Dakota, 0.50% (181 votes) Margin of victory between 1% and 5% (158 electoral votes): # Indiana, 1.29% (7,125 votes) # Delaware, 1.35% (504 votes) # Wisconsin, 1.68% (6,224 votes) # Kansas, 1.81% (5,870 votes) # Nebraska, 2.04% (4,079 votes) # West Virginia, 2.44% (4,175 votes) # Montana, 2.66% (1,181 votes) # Illinois, 3.09% (26,993 votes) (tipping point state) # Connecticut, 3.26% (5,363 votes) # New York, 3.41% (45,518 votes) # New Hampshire, 4.00% (3,577 votes) # Wyoming, 4.37% (732 votes) (margin over James Weaver) # New Jersey, 4.43% (14,965 votes) # Michigan, 4.52% (21,084 votes) # Rhode Island, 4.96% (2,639 votes) Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (101 electoral votes): # Iowa, 5.29% (23,428 votes) # Pennsylvania, 6.36% (63,747 votes) # Massachusetts, 6.65% (26,001 votes) # Missouri, 7.52% (40,754 votes) # Washington, 7.57% (6,658 votes) # Minnesota, 8.20% (21,903 votes) # Idaho, 9.90% (1,921 votes) # Maryland, 9.91% (21,130 votes)


See also

* 1892 United States House of Representatives elections * 1892–1893 United States Senate elections * American election campaigns in the 19th century * History of the United States (1865–1917) *
History of the United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties of the United States political system and the oldest active political party in the country. Founded in 1828, the Democratic Party is the oldest active voter-based political party ...
*
History of the United States Republican Party The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of the two major political parties in the United States. It is the second-oldest extant political party in the United States after its mai ...
*
Second inauguration of Grover Cleveland The inauguration of Grover Cleveland as the 24th president of the United States took place on Saturday, March 4, 1893, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 27th inauguration and marked the commencement ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* * *


Further reading

* Ander, O. Fritiof. "The Swedish-American Press and the Election of 1892." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 23.4 (1937): 533–554
online
* Blaine, James G. "The Presidential Election of 1892." ''The North American Review'' 155#432 (1892): 513–525
online
a primary source * * * * * * Knoles, George Harmon. "Populism and Socialism, with Special Reference to the Election of 1892." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 12.3 (1943): 295–304
online
* * Nevins, Allan. ''Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage'' (1932) Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, the major resource on Cleveland. * Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. ''A History of the United States since the Civil War. Volume V, 1888–1901'' (1937). pp 169–244. * Sievers, Harry J. "The Catholic Indian school issue and the presidential election of 1892." ''Catholic Historical Review'' 38.2 (1952): 129–155
online
* Steelman, Joseph F. "Vicissitudes of Republican Party Politics: The Campaign of 1892 in North Carolina." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 43.4 (1966): 430–442
online
*


Primary sources

* Chester, Edward W ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977
online
* Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. ''National party platforms, 1840–1964'' (1965
online 1840–1956


External links



from the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

1892 popular vote by counties



Election of 1892 in Counting the Votes
{{1892 United States elections Presidencies of Grover Cleveland Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison Adlai Stevenson I November 1892 1892 in American politics