The U.S. presidential election, 1896 reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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U.S. presidential election, 1896

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Presidential CandidateElectoral Vote Popular Vote Pct Party Running Mate
(Electoral Votes)
William McKinley of Ohio (W) 271 7,104,779 51.2 Republican Garret Augustus Hobart of New Jersey (271)
William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska 176 6,502,925 46.9 Democrat-Populist Arthur Sewall of Maine (149),
Thomas Edward Watson of Georgia (27)
Other
Total 100.0%
Other elections: 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908
Source: U.S. Office of the Federal Register

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Notes:

This is often considered a realigning election.

James Weaver of the People's Party, who had finished a respectable third 4 years before, threw his support to Bryan. John M. Palmer of the National Democratic Party received 133,435 votes (1.0%), and the Prohibition Party's Joshua Levering 125,072 votes (0.9%). Many of the Prohibition voters went to Bryan in this election, but this was insufficient to overcome McKinley.

McKinley's campaign manager, Mark Hanna, raised $3.5 million and McKinley outspent Bryan 20 to 1. Hanna's tactics are still in use in U.S. politics today.

Vice President Garret A. Hobart died on November 21, 1899.

See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1896, History of the United States (1865-1918)