1888 United States presidential election
26th quadrennial U.S. presidential election
The 1888 United States presidential election was the 26th election in the history of the United States. It occurred on November 6, 1888. This election was between Incumbent President Grover Cleveland of New York and former U.S Senator from Indiana and grandson of former President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison. Harrison won the election with 233 electoral votes. Cleveland got only 168 electoral votes.
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401 members of the Electoral College 201 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 80.5%[1] ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Presidential election results map. Red denotes those won by Harrison/Morton, blue denotes states won by Cleveland/Thurman. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Candidates
changeRepublican Party
changePresidential
change- Benjamin Harrison, former Senator from Indiana (1881-1887) (Nominee)
- John Sherman, Senator of Ohio (1861-1877; 1881-1897)
- Russell A. Alger, former Governor of Michigan (1885-1887)
- Walter Q. Gresham, Former Secretary of the Treasury from Indiana (1884)
- William B. Allison, Senator of Iowa (1873-1904) (Withdrew after 7th Ballot)
- Chauncey Depew, President of the New York Central Railroad from New York (1885-1898) (Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)
- Jeremiah M. Rusk, Governor of Wisconsin (1882-1889) (Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)
- Edwin H. Fitler, Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1887-1891) (Withdrew after 1st Ballot)
- Joseph R. Hawley, Senator of Connecticut (1881-1905) (Withdrew after 1st Ballot)
Not nominated
change- James G. Blaine, Former United States Secretary of State from Maine (1881; 1889-1892) (Recommended Harrison)
- John J. Ingalls, Senator of Kansas (1873-1891)
- William W. Phelps, Congressman of New Jersey (1873-1875; 1883-1889)
- William McKinley, Congressman of Ohio (1877-1884; 1885-1891)
- Frederick Douglass, Suffragist (1844-1895) and former abolitionist of Washington D.C. (1844-1865)[a]
Vice-presidential
change- Levi P. Morton, former Minister to France from New York (1881-1885) (Vice-Presidential Nominee)
- William W. Phelps, Congressman of New Jersey (1873-1875; 1883-1889)
- William O'Connell Bradley, Republican gubernatorial candidate in the 1887 Kentucky gubernatorial election
Democratic Party
change- Grover Cleveland, 22nd President of the United States (1885-1889) (Nominee)
Vice-presidential nominee
changeNotes
change- ↑ Due to the passing of the 13th Amendment in December 1865, Douglas (along with other abolitionists across the nation) had achieved his goal of the abolition (or illegalization) of slavery in its entirety from the United States.
References
change- ↑ "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.