The 1896 United States presidential election in Utah was held 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. This was the first time Utah participated in a presidential election, having been admitted as the 45th state on January 4 of that year.
DemocratWilliam Jennings Bryan carried Utah by an overwhelming margin of 65.43% over RepublicanWilliam McKinley—by far the strongest ever performance by any presidential nominee in the state—despite narrowly losing the national election. As such, this is the only time a Republican has won the presidency without winning Utah, starkly contrasting with the state's subsequent status as one of the most staunchly Republican states in the nation.
Utah had been established as a territory within five years of the earliest settlement by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but opposition by the Republican Party – dominant from 1860 – to Mormon polygamy meant that Utah was consistently refused statehood.[1] Consequently, Utah territorial politics until 1891 was dominated by the Mormon-hierarchy-controlled "People's Party" and the anti-Mormon "Liberal Party".[2] Those Mormons who did affiliate with national parties generally were Democrats, who lacked moral qualms associated with polygamy and slavery – although the Liberal Party did have allies within the GOP.[3] In order to achieve statehood, however, the LDS Church disbanded the "People's Party" in 1891 and most LDS members moved towards the Democratic Party.
The 1896 election in Utah was dominated by the influence of silver mine owners, who overwhelmingly supported Democrat/Populist William Jennings Bryan because he advocated coinage of free silver at a ratio of 16-to-1 with gold.[4] As a consequence, Utah voted overwhelmingly for Bryan, who won the state by 65.43 percentage points, in what remains by far the strongest-ever performance by any presidential nominee in the state. Even with Republicans overwhelmingly dominating Utah politics since the 1960s, this margin has not been approached by any party or candidate since. Bryan carried every county except Kane in the far south – where his margin of defeat remains the second-best ever by a Democrat, behind Woodrow Wilson's narrow 1916 victory – with greater than sixty-five percent of the vote, and exceeded seventy percent in all but one.
Bryan would later lose Utah to William McKinleyfour years later and would lose the state again to Republican William Howard Taft in 1908. 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 Utah 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.
^Two of the three electors voted for Arthur Sewall of Maine as Vice-President.
^One of the three electors voted for Thomas E. Watson of Georgia as Vice-President.
^ abOther figures have 64,607 votes for Bryan, but the county results from The Presidential Vote sum to 64,610.
Referencesedit
^Talbot, Christine; A Foreign Kingdom: Mormons and Polygamy in American Political Culture, 1852-1890, p. 113 ISBN0252095359
^May, Dean L. ; Utah: A People's History, pp. 120-121 ISBN0874802849
^Handy, Robert T.; Undermined Establishment: Church-State Relations in America, 1880-1920, p. 55 ISBN1400862361
^Rove, Karl; The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters, p. 148 ISBN1476752966
^"1896 Presidential General Election Results – Utah". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
^Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote, 1896-1932 (second edition); pp. 223-224 Published 1947 by Stanford University Press
December 14, 2023
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Main article 1896 United States presidential election The 1896 United States presidential election in Utah was held 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 This was the first time Utah participated in a presidential election having been admitted as the 45th state on January 4 of that year 1896 United States presidential election in UtahNovember 3 1896 1900 Nominee William Jennings Bryan William McKinleyParty Democratic RepublicanAlliance Populist Home state Nebraska OhioRunning mate Arthur Sewall Democratic a Thomas E Watson Populist b Garret HobartElectoral vote 3 0Popular vote 64 610 c 13 491Percentage 82 70 17 27 County Results Bryan 60 70 70 80 80 90 90 100 McKinley 50 60 President before electionGrover ClevelandDemocratic Elected President William McKinleyRepublicanDemocrat William Jennings Bryan carried Utah by an overwhelming margin of 65 43 over Republican William McKinley by far the strongest ever performance by any presidential nominee in the state despite narrowly losing the national election As such this is the only time a Republican has won the presidency without winning Utah starkly contrasting with the state s subsequent status as one of the most staunchly Republican states in the nation Utah had been established as a territory within five years of the earliest settlement by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but opposition by the Republican Party dominant from 1860 to Mormon polygamy meant that Utah was consistently refused statehood 1 Consequently Utah territorial politics until 1891 was dominated by the Mormon hierarchy controlled People s Party and the anti Mormon Liberal Party 2 Those Mormons who did affiliate with national parties generally were Democrats who lacked moral qualms associated with polygamy and slavery although the Liberal Party did have allies within the GOP 3 In order to achieve statehood however the LDS Church disbanded the People s Party in 1891 and most LDS members moved towards the Democratic Party The 1896 election in Utah was dominated by the influence of silver mine owners who overwhelmingly supported Democrat Populist William Jennings Bryan because he advocated coinage of free silver at a ratio of 16 to 1 with gold 4 As a consequence Utah voted overwhelmingly for Bryan who won the state by 65 43 percentage points in what remains by far the strongest ever performance by any presidential nominee in the state Even with Republicans overwhelmingly dominating Utah politics since the 1960s this margin has not been approached by any party or candidate since Bryan carried every county except Kane in the far south where his margin of defeat remains the second best ever by a Democrat behind Woodrow Wilson s narrow 1916 victory with greater than sixty five percent of the vote and exceeded seventy percent in all but one Bryan would later lose Utah to William McKinley four years later and would lose the state again to Republican William Howard Taft in 1908 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 Utah 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 Contents 1 Results 1 1 Results by county 2 See also 3 Notes 4 ReferencesResults edit1896 United States presidential election in Utah 5 Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votesDemocratic William Jennings Bryan 64 610 c 82 70 3Republican William McKinley 13 491 17 27 0Write ins Others 21 0 03 0Totals 294 674 100 0 12Results by county edit County William Jennings BryanDemocratic Populist William McKinleyRepublican Various candidatesWrite ins Margin Total votes cast 6 Beaver 1 057 83 76 205 16 24 852 67 51 1 262Box Elder 1 879 71 88 735 28 12 1 144 43 76 2 614Cache 4 395 83 97 839 16 03 3 556 67 94 5 234Carbon 663 88 64 85 11 36 578 77 27 748Davis 1 753 79 57 450 20 43 1 303 59 15 2 203Emery 985 81 00 231 19 00 754 62 01 1 216Garfield 615 71 18 249 28 82 366 42 36 864Grand 264 90 41 28 9 59 236 80 82 292Iron 806 79 72 205 20 28 601 59 45 1 011Juab 2 363 84 33 439 15 67 1 924 68 67 2 802Kane 230 44 40 288 55 60 58 11 20 518Millard 1 384 89 29 166 10 71 1 218 78 58 1 550Morgan 582 80 83 138 19 17 444 61 67 720Piute 555 94 23 34 5 77 521 88 46 589Rich 408 71 58 162 28 42 246 43 16 570Salt Lake 18 617 87 75 2 577 12 15 21 0 10 16 040 75 61 21 215San Juan 167 95 43 8 4 57 159 90 86 175Sanpete 3 387 65 13 1 813 34 87 1 574 30 27 5 200Sevier 1 858 78 90 497 21 10 1 361 57 79 2 355Summit 3 402 93 28 245 6 72 3 157 86 56 3 647Tooele 1 684 86 01 274 13 99 1 410 72 01 1 958Uintah 890 88 82 112 11 18 778 77 64 1 002Utah 7 375 78 34 2 039 21 66 5 336 56 68 9 414Wasatch 1 333 96 32 51 3 68 1 282 92 63 1 384Washington 1 210 87 68 170 12 32 1 040 75 36 1 380Wayne 405 83 85 78 16 15 327 67 70 483Weber 6 343 82 21 1 373 17 79 4 970 64 41 7 716Totals 64 610 82 70 13 491 17 27 21 0 03 51 119 65 43 78 122See also editUnited States presidential elections in UtahNotes edit Two of the three electors voted for Arthur Sewall of Maine as Vice President One of the three electors voted for Thomas E Watson of Georgia as Vice President a b Other figures have 64 607 votes for Bryan but the county results from The Presidential Vote sum to 64 610 References edit Talbot Christine A Foreign Kingdom Mormons and Polygamy in American Political Culture 1852 1890 p 113 ISBN 0252095359 May Dean L Utah A People s History pp 120 121 ISBN 0874802849 Handy Robert T Undermined Establishment Church State Relations in America 1880 1920 p 55 ISBN 1400862361 Rove Karl The Triumph of William McKinley Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters p 148 ISBN 1476752966 1896 Presidential General Election Results Utah U S Election Atlas Retrieved April 12 2013 Robinson Edgar Eugene The Presidential Vote 1896 1932 second edition pp 223 224 Published 1947 by Stanford University Press Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1896 United States presidential election in Utah amp oldid 1185775330, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
