1888 Illinois gubernatorial election

The 1888 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1888.

1888 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1884 November 6, 1888 (1888-11-06) 1892 →

Nominee Joseph W. Fifer John M. Palmer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 367,860 355,313 Percentage 49.15% 47.47%

Governor before election Richard J. Oglesby Republican Elected Governor Joseph W. Fifer Republican

Republican nominee Joseph W. Fifer defeated Democratic nominee John M. Palmer with 49.15% of the vote.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• John M. Palmer, former Governor
• William A. J. Sparks, former U.S. Land Office Commissioner
• Adlai Stevenson I, First Assistant United States Postmaster General
• Murray F. Tuley, judge

Results

The Democratic state convention was held on May 23, 1888, at Springfield.

Democratic gubernatorial nomination, 1st ballot, May 23, 1888^[1][2][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John M. Palmer	567	72.78
	Democratic	William A. J. Sparks	210	26.96
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson I	1	0.13
	Democratic	Murray F. Tuley	1	0.13
Total votes			779	100.00

Palmer's nomination was then made unanimous.

Republican nomination

Candidates

• Clark E. Carr, unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for Governor in 1880
• James A. Connolly former State Representative, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois
• Joseph W. Fifer, former State Senator
• John McNulta, former U.S. Congressman for Illinois's 13th congressional district
• Richard J. Oglesby, incumbent Governor (not formally nominated)
• John Irving Rinaker, chairman of the Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners of Illinois
• John C. Smith, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
• Francis M. Wright

Results

The Republican state convention was held on May 2, 1888, at Springfield.

The results of the balloting were as follows:^[4][5][6][7]

	Gubernatorial Ballot
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Joseph W. Fifer	288	349	398	606
John McNulta	136	133	144	111
Clark E. Carr	115	110	97	9
James A. Connolly	100	96	89	58
John I. Rinaker	98	77	62	32
John C. Smith	58	45	36	17
Francis M. Wright	48	33	21	14
Richard J. Oglesby	4	4	0	0

Republican gubernatorial nomination, 4th ballot, May 2, 1888

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph W. Fifer	606	71.55
	Republican	John McNulta	111	13.11
	Republican	James A. Connolly	58	6.85
	Republican	John I. Rinaker	32	3.78
	Republican	John C. Smith	17	2.01
	Republican	Francis M. Wright	14	1.65
	Republican	Clark E. Carr	9	1.06
Total votes			847	100.00

Fifer's nomination was then made unanimous.

General election

Candidates

• John M. Palmer, Democratic
• Joseph W. Fifer, Republican
• David H. Harts, Prohibition, Prohibition nominee for Illinois's 14th congressional district in 1882
• Willis W. Jones, Union Labor

Results

Illinois gubernatorial election, 1888^[8][9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joseph W. Fifer	367,860	49.15%
	Democratic	John M. Palmer	355,313	47.47%
	Prohibition	David H. Harts	18,874	2.52%
	Union Labor Party	Willis W. Jones	6,394	0.85%
	Scattering		6	0.00%
Majority			12,547	1.68%
Turnout			748,447
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "Palmer for Governor". St. Paul daily globe. Saint Paul, Minn. May 24, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
2. "For Governor of Illinois". Waterbury evening Democrat. Waterbury, Conn. May 24, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
3. "Ready for the Fray". The Elgin Advocate. Elgin, Ill. May 26, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
4. "All Shades of Politics". Rock Island daily Argus. Rock Island, Ill. May 3, 1888. p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
5. "State Politics". Elgin Daily Courier. Elgin, Illinois. May 3, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
6. "Illinois Republicans". Crawford avalanche. Grayling, Mich. May 10, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
7. Raum, Green B. (1900). History of Illinois Republicanism. Chicago: Rollins Publishing Company. p. 188.
8. Illinois Official Vote 1888, pp. 5–6.
9. "IL Governor, 1888". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
10. Journal of the Senate of the Thirty-Sixth General Assembly of the State of Illinois. Springfield, Ill.: Springfield Printing Co., State Printers. 1889. p. 33.

Notes

Bibliography

• Compiled and Printed by the Secretary of State (1889). Official vote of the State of Illinois cast at the General Election held November 6, 1888. Springfield, Ill.: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder.