1896 United States presidential election in Georgia

The 1896 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1896, as part of the wider United States Presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1896 United States presidential election in Georgia

November 3, 1896 (1896-11-03)
 
Nominee William J. Bryan William McKinley
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Nebraska Ohio
Running mate Arthur Sewall Garret Hobart
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 93,885 59,395
Percentage 57.78% 36.56%

County Results

President before election

Grover Cleveland
Democratic

Elected President

William McKinley
Republican

Background

Following Reconstruction, Georgia would be the first former Confederate state to substantially disenfranchise its newly enfranchised freedmen and many poor whites, doing so in the early 1870s.[1] This largely limited the Republican Party to a few North Georgia counties with substantial Civil War Unionist sentiment – chiefly Fannin but also to a lesser extent Pickens, Gilmer and Towns[2] – and in presidential elections to a small number of counties elsewhere where blacks were not yet fully disenfranchised. The Democratic Party served as the guardian of white supremacy against a Republican Party historically associated with memories of Reconstruction, and the main competition became Democratic primaries, which were restricted to whites on the grounds of the Democratic Party being legally a private club.[3] This restriction was done by local county laws, but combined with the highly efficacious cumulative poll tax introduced in 1877 meant that turnout declined steadily throughout the 1880s,[4] unlike any other former Confederate state except South Carolina.

However, politics after the first demobilization was always chaotic. Third-party movements, chiefly the Populist Party, gained support amongst the remaining poor white and black voters in opposition to the planter elite.[5] Whereas the Republican Party had not contested a statewide election seriously since 1876,[6] the Populists made significant runs for governor in 1892, 1894 and 1896, which would have been stronger but for large scale Black Belt electoral fraud.[7] In the presidential race the state was hit by a dispute between state Populist leader Thomas E. Watson and Maine shipbuilder Arthur Sewall over the vice-presidential nomination, which led to Watson’s frustration and fury increasing and failed to gain either candidate local support.[8]

Vote

The Populist political manoeuvering, combined with past alliances of Republicans with the Populist movement, had the effect of increasing Georgia’s Republican vote to the highest level seen in any presidential election since 1872 at the height of Reconstruction.[9] Nonetheless, McKinley never campaigned in Georgia, and Bryan still carried the state by over twenty-one points.

Results

1896 United States presidential election in Georgia[10]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic William Jennings Bryan 93,885 57.78% 13
Republican William McKinley 59,395 36.56% 0
Prohibition Joshua Levering 5,483 3.37% 0
National Democratic John M. Palmer 3,670 2.26% 0
Write-ins Scattered 47[lower-alpha 1] 0.03% 0

Results by county

County William Jennings Bryan[11]
Democratic
William McKinley[11]
Republican
Joshua Levering[11]
Prohibition
John McAuley Palmer[11]
National Democratic
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Appling 996 66.89% 488 32.77% 0 0.00% 5 0.34% 508 34.12% 1,489
Baker 527 88.87% 62 10.46% 3 0.51% 1 0.17% 465 78.41% 593
Baldwin 516 52.98% 410 42.09% 38 3.90% 10 1.03% 106 10.88% 974
Banks 579 55.73% 389 37.44% 60 5.77% 11 1.06% 190 18.29% 1,039
Bartow 1,026 54.40% 808 42.84% 31 1.64% 21 1.11% 218 11.56% 1,886
Berrien 606 65.80% 250 27.14% 36 3.91% 29 3.15% 356 38.65% 921
Bibb 1,854 50.81% 670 18.36% 134 3.67% 991 27.16% 863[lower-alpha 2] 23.65% 3,649
Brooks 528 51.56% 423 41.31% 55 5.37% 18 1.76% 105 10.25% 1,024
Bryan 259 59.00% 171 38.95% 3 0.68% 6 1.37% 88 20.05% 439
Bulloch 1,042 65.04% 511 31.90% 40 2.50% 9 0.56% 531 33.15% 1,602
Burke 1,414 86.70% 193 11.83% 14 0.86% 10 0.61% 1,221 74.86% 1,631
Butts 586 59.92% 317 32.41% 75 7.67% 0 0.00% 269 27.51% 978
Calhoun 406 97.13% 5 1.20% 0 0.00% 7 1.67% 399[lower-alpha 2] 95.45% 418
Camden 190 44.08% 209 48.49% 5 1.16% 27 6.26% -19 -4.41% 431
Campbell 434 50.58% 377 43.94% 42 4.90% 5 0.58% 57 6.64% 858
Carroll 1,490 64.81% 733 31.88% 71 3.09% 5 0.22% 757 32.93% 2,299
Catoosa 557 74.17% 161 21.44% 25 3.33% 8 1.07% 396 52.73% 751
Chatham 2,506 52.64% 1,697 35.64% 42 0.88% 516 10.84% 809 16.99% 4,761
Chattahoochee 157 30.66% 349 68.16% 6 1.17% 0 0.00% -192 -37.50% 512
Chattooga 911 62.06% 500 34.06% 46 3.13% 11 0.75% 411 28.00% 1,468
Cherokee 712 47.91% 702 47.24% 72 4.85% 0 0.00% 10 0.67% 1,486
Clarke 707 60.17% 419 35.66% 19 1.62% 30 2.55% 288 24.51% 1,175
Clay 240 28.14% 534 62.60% 70 8.21% 9 1.06% -294 -34.47% 853
Clayton 516 50.74% 472 46.41% 24 2.36% 5 0.49% 44 4.33% 1,017
Clinch 257 53.10% 212 43.80% 5 1.03% 10 2.07% 45 9.30% 484
Cobb 1,387 61.97% 758 33.87% 79 3.53% 14 0.63% 629 28.11% 2,238
Coffee 428 31.96% 873 65.20% 38 2.84% 0 0.00% -445 -33.23% 1,339
Colquitt 361 60.47% 135 22.61% 62 10.39% 39 6.53% 226 37.86% 597
Columbia 192 31.68% 401 66.17% 10 1.65% 3 0.50% -209 -34.49% 606
Coweta 1,196 66.74% 571 31.86% 23 1.28% 2 0.11% 625 34.88% 1,792
Crawford 367 82.47% 62 13.93% 16 3.60% 0 0.00% 305 68.54% 445
Dade 325 62.02% 110 20.99% 17 3.24% 72 13.74% 215 41.03% 524
Dawson 324 51.67% 290 46.25% 13 2.07% 0 0.00% 34 5.42% 627
DeKalb 815 60.24% 439 32.45% 62 4.58% 37 2.73% 376 27.79% 1,353
Decatur 972 55.57% 700 40.02% 57 3.26% 20 1.14% 272 15.55% 1,749
Dodge 568 59.66% 315 33.09% 57 5.99% 12 1.26% 253 26.58% 952
Dooly 956 68.73% 365 26.24% 68 4.89% 2 0.14% 591 42.49% 1,391
Dougherty 404 76.23% 120 22.64% 1 0.19% 5 0.94% 284 53.58% 530
Douglas 463 41.30% 641 57.18% 17 1.52% 0 0.00% -178 -15.88% 1,121
Early 591 57.94% 336 32.94% 45 4.41% 48 4.71% 255 25.00% 1,020
Echols 174 76.65% 52 22.91% 1 0.44% 0 0.00% 122 53.74% 227
Effingham 372 60.29% 209 33.87% 22 3.57% 14 2.27% 163 26.42% 617
Elbert 134 33.50% 155 38.75% 96 24.00% 15 3.75% -21 -5.25% 400
Emanuel 690 51.69% 507 37.98% 112 8.39% 26 1.95% 183 13.71% 1,335
Fannin 507 35.43% 920 64.29% 4 0.28% 0 0.00% -413 -28.86% 1,431
Fayette 562 58.06% 345 35.64% 59 6.10% 2 0.21% 217 22.42% 968
Floyd 2,150 64.68% 1,117 33.60% 23 0.69% 34 1.02% 1,033 31.08% 3,324
Forsyth 482 62.60% 259 33.64% 29 3.77% 0 0.00% 223 28.96% 770
Franklin 599 56.46% 392 36.95% 64 6.03% 6 0.57% 207 19.51% 1,061
Fulton 4,504 57.01% 3,005 38.04% 150 1.90% 241 3.05% 1,499 18.97% 7,900
Gilmer 706 58.40% 503 41.60% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 203 16.79% 1,209
Glascock 154 45.83% 122 36.31% 58 17.26% 2 0.60% 32 9.52% 336
Glynn 592 60.72% 353 36.21% 8 0.82% 22 2.26% 239 24.51% 975
Gordon 875 61.36% 523 36.68% 27 1.89% 1 0.07% 352 24.68% 1,426
Greene 575 37.03% 910 58.60% 59 3.80% 9 0.58% -335 -21.57% 1,553
Gwinnett 1,250 57.84% 773 35.77% 115 5.32% 23 1.06% 477 22.07% 2,161
Habersham 782 71.81% 242 22.22% 57 5.23% 8 0.73% 540 49.59% 1,089
Hall 1,134 61.36% 582 31.49% 107 5.79% 25 1.35% 552 29.87% 1,848
Hancock 952 85.69% 122 10.98% 37 3.33% 0 0.00% 830 74.71% 1,111
Haralson 469 39.48% 686 57.74% 32 2.69% 1 0.08% -217 -18.27% 1,188
Harris 919 67.57% 402 29.56% 39 2.87% 0 0.00% 517 38.01% 1,360
Hart 738 62.92% 339 28.90% 91 7.76% 5 0.43% 399 34.02% 1,173
Heard 620 80.42% 138 17.90% 11 1.43% 2 0.26% 482 62.52% 771
Henry 569 46.64% 568 46.56% 68 5.57% 15 1.23% 1 0.08% 1,220
Houston 875 80.35% 192 17.63% 0 0.00% 22 2.02% 683 62.72% 1,089
Irwin 626 55.15% 486 42.82% 15 1.32% 8 0.70% 140 12.33% 1,135
Jackson 1,205 56.36% 700 32.74% 206 9.64% 27 1.26% 505 23.62% 2,138
Jasper 628 83.96% 110 14.71% 2 0.27% 8 1.07% 518 69.25% 748
Jefferson 541 58.17% 223 23.98% 148 15.91% 18 1.94% 318 34.19% 930
Johnson 213 45.03% 239 50.53% 21 4.44% 0 0.00% -26 -5.50% 473
Jones 521 57.13% 377 41.34% 9 0.99% 5 0.55% 144 15.79% 912
Laurens 570 49.61% 514 44.73% 65 5.66% 0 0.00% 56 4.87% 1,149
Lee 285 63.62% 163 36.38% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 122 27.23% 448
Liberty 237 26.60% 646 72.50% 0 0.00% 8 0.90% -409 -45.90% 891
Lincoln 239 61.28% 73 18.72% 78 20.00% 0 0.00% 161[lower-alpha 3] 41.28% 390
Lowndes 586 49.87% 536 45.62% 0 0.00% 53 4.51% 50 4.26% 1,175
Lumpkin 436 48.39% 456 50.61% 5 0.55% 4 0.44% -20 -2.22% 901
Macon 511 58.87% 286 32.95% 52 5.99% 19 2.19% 225 25.92% 868
Madison 672 80.96% 141 16.99% 0 0.00% 17 2.05% 531 63.98% 830
Marion 223 33.28% 409 61.04% 32 4.78% 6 0.90% -186 -27.76% 670
McDuffie 138 23.35% 401 67.85% 31 5.25% 21 3.55% -263 -44.50% 591
McIntosh 234 29.25% 538 67.25% 9 1.13% 19 2.38% -304 -38.00% 800
Meriwether 991 48.60% 946 46.40% 91 4.46% 11 0.54% 45 2.21% 2,039
Miller 315 80.56% 55 14.07% 20 5.12% 1 0.26% 260 66.50% 391
Milton 428 62.48% 227 33.14% 26 3.80% 4 0.58% 201 29.34% 685
Mitchell 437 54.56% 268 33.46% 65 8.11% 31 3.87% 169 21.10% 801
Monroe 729 56.47% 419 32.46% 129 9.99% 14 1.08% 310 24.01% 1,291
Montgomery 503 51.22% 441 44.91% 28 2.85% 10 1.02% 62 6.31% 982
Morgan 629 42.13% 819 54.86% 41 2.75% 4 0.27% -190 -12.73% 1,493
Murray 557 62.44% 323 36.21% 12 1.35% 0 0.00% 234 26.23% 892
Muscogee 1,365 68.28% 501 25.06% 25 1.25% 108 5.40% 864 43.22% 1,999
Newton 973 60.47% 580 36.05% 29 1.80% 27 1.68% 393 24.43% 1,609
Oconee 330 47.90% 358 51.96% 1 0.15% 0 0.00% -28 -4.06% 689
Oglethorpe 1,242 88.21% 106 7.53% 53 3.76% 7 0.50% 1,136 80.68% 1,408
Paulding 627 50.56% 552 44.52% 58 4.68% 3 0.24% 75 6.05% 1,240
Pickens 458 39.79% 693 60.21% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -235 -20.42% 1,151
Pierce 329 52.98% 215 34.62% 35 5.64% 42 6.76% 114 18.36% 621
Pike 890 52.05% 724 42.34% 69 4.04% 27 1.58% 166 9.71% 1,710
Polk 567 39.79% 810 56.84% 13 0.91% 35 2.46% -243 -17.05% 1,425
Pulaski 755 82.60% 132 14.44% 16 1.75% 11 1.20% 623 68.16% 914
Putnam 438 92.41% 2 0.42% 19 4.01% 15 3.16% 419[lower-alpha 3] 88.40% 474
Quitman 181 37.32% 280 57.73% 19 3.92% 5 1.03% -99 -20.41% 485
Rabun 404 78.14% 101 19.54% 5 0.97% 7 1.35% 303 58.61% 517
Randolph 627 58.00% 384 35.52% 49 4.53% 21 1.94% 243 22.48% 1,081
Richmond 3,716 65.78% 1,698 30.06% 96 1.70% 139 2.46% 2,018 35.72% 5,649
Rockdale 473 48.96% 483 50.00% 0 0.00% 10 1.04% -10 -1.04% 966
Schley 266 44.11% 327 54.23% 10 1.66% 0 0.00% -61 -10.12% 603
Screven 585 48.67% 542 45.09% 75 6.24% 0 0.00% 43 3.58% 1,202
Spalding 612 68.76% 239 26.85% 13 1.46% 26 2.92% 373 41.91% 890
Stewart 635 72.82% 213 24.43% 13 1.49% 11 1.26% 422 48.39% 872
Sumter 1,094 72.07% 371 24.44% 28 1.84% 25 1.65% 723 47.63% 1,518
Talbot 472 72.84% 156 24.07% 14 2.16% 6 0.93% 316 48.77% 648
Taliaferro 221 41.23% 261 48.69% 52 9.70% 2 0.37% -40 -7.46% 536
Tattnall 517 40.71% 600 47.24% 85 6.69% 68 5.35% -83 -6.54% 1,270
Taylor 237 41.00% 309 53.46% 30 5.19% 2 0.35% -72 -12.46% 578
Telfair 580 58.88% 350 35.53% 54 5.48% 1 0.10% 230 23.35% 985
Terrell 809 60.42% 467 34.88% 54 4.03% 9 0.67% 342 25.54% 1,339
Thomas 600 42.13% 620 43.54% 75 5.27% 129 9.06% -20 -1.40% 1,424
Towns 340 53.21% 299 46.79% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 41 6.42% 639
Troup 878 79.67% 199 18.06% 22 2.00% 3 0.27% 679 61.62% 1,102
Twiggs 397 75.62% 128 24.38% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 269 51.24% 525
Union 560 56.06% 419 41.94% 20 2.00% 0 0.00% 141 14.11% 999
Upson 591 52.53% 498 44.27% 35 3.11% 1 0.09% 93 8.27% 1,125
Walker 1,045 62.99% 569 34.30% 26 1.57% 19 1.15% 476 28.69% 1,659
Walton 1,001 56.24% 726 40.79% 34 1.91% 19 1.07% 275 15.45% 1,780
Ware 545 59.63% 330 36.11% 15 1.64% 24 2.63% 215 23.52% 914
Warren 279 32.33% 458 53.07% 126 14.60% 0 0.00% -179 -20.74% 863
Washington 925 45.72% 1,023 50.57% 64 3.16% 11 0.54% -98 -4.84% 2,023
Wayne 477 61.79% 266 34.46% 29 3.76% 0 0.00% 211 27.33% 772
Webster 246 55.91% 191 43.41% 0 0.00% 3 0.68% 55 12.50% 440
White 274 59.05% 159 34.27% 26 5.60% 5 1.08% 115 24.78% 464
Whitfield 857 59.51% 494 34.31% 56 3.89% 33 2.29% 363 25.21% 1,440
Wilcox 623 79.87% 145 18.59% 5 0.64% 7 0.90% 478 61.28% 780
Wilkes 1,063 81.64% 104 7.99% 100 7.68% 35 2.69% 959 73.66% 1,302
Wilkinson 610 55.61% 476 43.39% 9 0.82% 2 0.18% 134 12.22% 1,097
Worth 528 48.93% 447 41.43% 91 8.43% 13 1.20% 81 7.51% 1,079
Totals93,44557.68%59,39536.67%5,4833.38%3,6702.27%34,05021.02%161,993

Notes

  1. These scattered write-in votes were not separated by county but given only as a state-wide total.[11]
  2. In this county where Palmer ran second ahead of McKinley, margin given is Bryan vote minus Palmer vote and percentage margin Bryan percentage minus Palmer percentage.
  3. In this county where Levering ran second ahead of McKinley, margin given is Bryan vote minus Levering vote and percentage margin Bryan percentage minus Levering percentage.

References

  1. Mickey, Robert W.; Paths Out of Dixie: The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944-1972, p. 76 ISBN 1400838789
  2. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 ISBN 9780691163246
  3. Springer, Melanie Jean; How the States Shaped the Nation: American Electoral Institutions and Voter Turnout, 1920-2000, p. 155 ISBN 022611435X
  4. Kousser, J. Morgan; The Shaping of Southern Politics Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910, p. 213 ISBN 0-300-01973-4
  5. Mickey, Robert W.; ‘The Beginning of the End for Authoritarian Rule in America: Smith v. Allwright and the Abolition of the White Primary in the Deep South, 1944-1948’; Studies in American Political Development, Vol. 22 (Fall 2008), pp. 143-182.
  6. Kousser; The Shaping of Southern Politics, p. 211
  7. Kousser; The Shaping of Southern Politics, p. 214
  8. Durden, Robert F.; The Climax of Populism: The Election of 1896, pp. 52-56 ISBN 0813162653
  9. Lindeen, James W.; ‘Longitudinal Analysis of Republican Presidential Electoral Trends, 1896-1968’; Midwest Journal of Political Science, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Feb., 1972), pp. 102-122
  10. "1896 Presidential General Election Results – Georgia". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  11. Géoelections; Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1896 (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)
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