1888 United States presidential election in Virginia

The 1888 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 6, 1888, as part of the 1888 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate, incumbent President Grover Cleveland over the Republican candidate, former U.S. Senator Benjamin Harrison. The contest in Virginia was very close and Cleveland narrowly won the state by a margin of just 0.53 percentage points. This was the closest the Republican Party came to winning an ex-Confederate state between the Compromise of 1877 and Warren G. Harding’s 1920 win in Tennessee, and with Virginia voting 0.30 points more Republican than the nation at-large, would also prove the last time any former Confederate state voted more Republican than the nation until Virginia itself did so in 1952.

This election represented the height of the expanded Reconstruction Era electorate. So complete was to be the disfranchisement of Virginia's lower classes with the new Constitution of 1902Key, Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation, p. 15 Alfred A. Knopf (1949) that it wouldn't be until 1952, with a much larger population, before the electorate returned to the same numbers observed in 1888.Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results Comparison — Virginia

Results 1888 United States presidential election in VirginiaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Grover Cleveland (inc.) 152,004 49.99% 12 Republican Benjamin Harrison 150,399 49.46% 0 Prohibition Clinton B. Fisk 1,684 0.55% 0 Totals 304,087 100.0% 12

Results by county 1888 United States presidential election in Virginia by counties and independent citiesCounty/city Grover ClevelandDemocratic Benjamin HarrisonRepublican Clinton B. FiskProhibition Margin Total votescast # % # % # % # % Accomack County 3,184 59.70% 1,993 37.37% 156 2.93% 1,191 22.33% 5,333 Albemarle County 2,573 54.15% 2,166 45.58% 13 0.27% 407 8.56% 4,752 Alexandria County 255 35.12% 462 63.64% 9 1.24% -207 -28.51% 726 Alleghany County 759 43.13% 995 56.53% 6 0.34% -236 -13.41% 1,760 Amelia County 704 40.46% 1,036 59.54% 0 0.00% -332 -19.08% 1,740 Amherst County 1,777 55.74% 1,411 44.26% 0 0.00% 366 11.48% 3,188 Appomattox County 689 46.24% 787 52.82% 14 0.94% -98 -6.58% 1,490 Augusta County 3,370 56.36% 2,526 42.25% 83 1.39% 844 14.12% 5,979 Bath County 482 54.22% 405 45.56% 2 0.22% 77 8.66% 889 Bedford County 3,204 61.64% 1,991 38.30% 3 0.06% 1,213 23.34% 5,198 Bland County 537 51.34% 509 48.66% 0 0.00% 28 2.68% 1,046 Botetourt County 1,558 55.62% 1,217 43.45% 26 0.93% 341 12.17% 2,801 Brunswick County 1,289 45.79% 1,521 54.03% 5 0.18% -232 -8.24% 2,815 Buchanan County 492 53.54% 427 46.46% 0 0.00% 65 7.07% 919 Buckingham County 1,184 43.67% 1,520 56.07% 7 0.26% -336 -12.39% 2,711 Campbell County 2,089 57.00% 1,564 42.67% 12 0.33% 525 14.32% 3,665 Caroline County 1,442 47.56% 1,588 52.37% 2 0.07% -146 -4.82% 3,032 Carroll County 1,322 53.18% 1,147 46.14% 17 0.68% 175 7.04% 2,486 Charles City County 303 30.67% 684 69.23% 1 0.10% -381 -38.56% 988 Charlotte County 1,720 62.39% 1,036 37.58% 1 0.04% 684 24.81% 2,757 Chesterfield County 1,589 50.05% 1,576 49.64% 10 0.31% 13 0.41% 3,175 Clarke County 1,204 69.20% 529 30.40% 7 0.40% 675 38.79% 1,740 Craig County 550 75.24% 177 24.21% 4 0.55% 373 51.03% 731 Culpeper County 1,404 54.31% 1,181 45.69% 0 0.00% 223 8.63% 2,585 Cumberland County 578 35.61% 1,045 64.39% 0 0.00% -467 -28.77% 1,623 Dickenson County 451 53.95% 384 45.93% 1 0.12% 67 8.01% 836 Dinwiddie County 1,066 42.86% 1,411 56.74% 10 0.40% -345 -13.87% 2,487 Elizabeth City County 547 29.10% 1,316 70.00% 17 0.90% -769 -40.90% 1,880 Essex County 774 41.57% 1,088 58.43% 0 0.00% -314 -16.86% 1,862 Fairfax County 2,010 52.21% 1,824 47.38% 16 0.42% 186 4.83% 3,850 Fauquier County 2,661 59.95% 1,778 40.05% 0 0.00% 883 19.89% 4,439 Floyd County 952 38.78% 1,482 60.37% 21 0.86% -530 -21.59% 2,455 Fluvanna County 1,004 57.31% 739 42.18% 9 0.51% 265 15.13% 1,752 Franklin County 2,403 57.71% 1,757 42.20% 4 0.10% 646 15.51% 4,164 Frederick County 1,832 66.72% 871 31.72% 43 1.57% 961 35.00% 2,746 Giles County 977 59.36% 640 38.88% 29 1.76% 337 20.47% 1,646 Gloucester County 1,073 43.94% 1,368 56.02% 1 0.04% -295 -12.08% 2,442 Goochland County 674 40.63% 985 59.37% 0 0.00% -311 -18.75% 1,659 Grayson County 1,288 50.47% 1,259 49.33% 5 0.20% 29 1.14% 2,552 Greene County 532 50.57% 520 49.43% 0 0.00% 12 1.14% 1,052 Greensville County 714 44.35% 893 55.47% 3 0.19% -179 -11.12% 1,610 Halifax County 3,570 58.74% 2,473 40.69% 35 0.58% 1,097 18.05% 6,078 Hanover County 1,721 53.22% 1,511 46.72% 2 0.06% 210 6.49% 3,234 Henrico County 1,712 42.40% 2,326 57.60% 0 0.00% -614 -15.21% 4,038 Henry County 1,409 46.55% 1,608 53.12% 10 0.33% -199 -6.57% 3,027 Highland County 454 50.33% 440 48.78% 8 0.89% 14 1.55% 902 Isle of Wight County 1,200 51.81% 1,116 48.19% 0 0.00% 84 3.63% 2,316 James City County 219 26.51% 607 73.49% 0 0.00% -388 -46.97% 826 King and Queen County 958 53.61% 829 46.39% 0 0.00% 129 7.22% 1,787 King George County 542 42.95% 720 57.05% 0 0.00% -178 -14.10% 1,262 King William County 746 40.57% 1,093 59.43% 0 0.00% -347 -18.87% 1,839 Lancaster County 839 47.32% 928 52.34% 6 0.34% -89 -5.02% 1,773 Lee County 1,479 52.86% 1,295 46.28% 24 0.86% 184 6.58% 2,798 Loudoun County 2,842 55.83% 2,190 43.03% 58 1.14% 652 12.81% 5,090 Louisa County 1,157 40.70% 1,677 58.99% 9 0.32% -520 -18.29% 2,843 Lunenburg County 1,215 60.12% 806 39.88% 0 0.00% 409 20.24% 2,021 Madison County 961 51.45% 907 48.55% 0 0.00% 54 2.89% 1,868 Mathews County 1,023 61.92% 615 37.23% 14 0.85% 408 24.70% 1,652 Mecklenburg County 1,764 40.25% 2,607 59.48% 12 0.27% -843 -19.23% 4,383 Middlesex County 635 40.81% 909 58.42% 12 0.77% -274 -17.61% 1,556 Montgomery County 1,335 44.51% 1,516 50.55% 148 4.93% -181 -6.04% 2,999 Nansemond County 1,382 39.84% 2,087 60.16% 0 0.00% -705 -20.32% 3,469 Nelson County 1,554 55.94% 1,224 44.06% 0 0.00% 330 11.88% 2,778 New Kent County 375 34.92% 689 64.15% 10 0.93% -314 -29.24% 1,074 Norfolk County 1,969 34.41% 3,741 65.37% 13 0.23% -1,772 -30.96% 5,723 Northampton County 980 44.53% 1,221 55.47% 0 0.00% -241 -10.95% 2,201 Northumberland County 851 48.41% 905 51.48% 2 0.11% -54 -3.07% 1,758 Nottoway County 611 35.30% 1,116 64.47% 4 0.23% -505 -29.17% 1,731 Orange County 1,126 49.21% 1,153 50.39% 9 0.39% -27 -1.18% 2,288 Page County 1,195 47.05% 1,333 52.48% 12 0.47% -138 -5.43% 2,540 Patrick County 1,239 54.46% 1,022 44.92% 14 0.62% 217 9.54% 2,275 Pittsylvania County 4,261 52.36% 3,847 47.27% 30 0.37% 414 5.09% 8,138 Powhatan County 561 42.21% 767 57.71% 1 0.08% -206 -15.50% 1,329 Prince Edward County 1,130 42.63% 1,519 57.30% 2 0.08% -389 -14.67% 2,651 Prince George County 661 39.37% 1,018 60.63% 0 0.00% -357 -21.26% 1,679 Prince William County 1,313 63.83% 740 35.97% 4 0.19% 573 27.86% 2,057 Princess Anne County 844 45.52% 1,004 54.15% 6 0.32% -160 -8.63% 1,854 Pulaski County 1,070 51.47% 993 47.76% 16 0.77% 77 3.70% 2,079 Rappahannock County 1,034 65.15% 553 34.85% 0 0.00% 481 30.31% 1,587 Richmond County 553 42.60% 741 57.09% 4 0.31% -188 -14.48% 1,298 Roanoke County 935 42.58% 1,212 55.19% 49 2.23% -277 -12.61% 2,196 Rockbridge County 2,030 49.22% 2,074 50.29% 20 0.48% -44 -1.07% 4,124 Rockingham County 2,895 46.80% 3,175 51.33% 116 1.88% -280 -4.53% 6,186 Russell County 1,601 54.23% 1,333 45.16% 18 0.61% 268 9.08% 2,952 Scott County 1,550 46.27% 1,800 53.73% 0 0.00% -250 -7.46% 3,350 Shenandoah County 2,164 50.81% 2,063 48.44% 32 0.75% 101 2.37% 4,259 Smyth County 1,310 51.57% 1,228 48.35% 2 0.08% 82 3.23% 2,540 Southampton County 1,560 41.81% 2,117 56.74% 54 1.45% -557 -14.93% 3,731 Spotsylvania County 876 48.67% 922 51.22% 2 0.11% -46 -2.56% 1,800 Stafford County 595 40.26% 883 59.74% 0 0.00% -288 -19.49% 1,478 Surry County 661 37.39% 1,101 62.27% 6 0.34% -440 -24.89% 1,768 Sussex County 896 36.07% 1,582 63.69% 6 0.24% -686 -27.62% 2,484 Tazewell County 1,307 36.31% 2,245 62.36% 48 1.33% -938 -26.06% 3,600 Warren County 1,224 72.43% 440 26.04% 26 1.54% 784 46.39% 1,690 Warwick County 385 33.54% 763 66.46% 0 0.00% -378 -32.93% 1,148 Washington County 2,920 52.82% 2,548 46.09% 60 1.09% 372 6.73% 5,528 Westmoreland County 626 38.24% 1,009 61.64% 2 0.12% -383 -23.40% 1,637 Wise County 722 49.15% 742 50.51% 5 0.34% -20 -1.36% 1,469 Wythe County 1,462 46.84% 1,643 52.64% 16 0.51% -181 -5.80% 3,121 York County 495 33.13% 972 65.06% 27 1.81% -477 -31.93% 1,494 Alexandria City 1,665 51.95% 1,523 47.52% 17 0.53% 142 4.43% 3,205 Charlottesville City 674 61.89% 407 37.37% 8 0.73% 267 24.52% 1,089 Danville City 1,070 56.76% 812 43.08% 3 0.16% 258 13.69% 1,885 Fredericksburg City 595 59.26% 409 40.74% 0 0.00% 186 18.53% 1,004 Lynchburg City 2,054 53.20% 1,796 46.52% 11 0.28% 258 6.68% 3,861 Manchester City 896 54.63% 735 44.82% 9 0.55% 161 9.82% 1,640 Norfolk City 2,613 44.77% 3,198 54.80% 25 0.43% -585 -10.02% 5,836 North Danville City 337 60.07% 223 39.75% 1 0.18% 114 20.32% 561 Petersburg City 2,067 48.46% 2,198 51.54% 0 0.00% -131 -3.07% 4,265 Portsmouth City 1,439 55.99% 1,107 43.07% 24 0.93% 332 12.92% 2,570 Richmond City 8,211 56.69% 6,273 43.31% 0 0.00% 1,938 13.38% 14,484 Radford City 1,155 53.97% 976 45.61% 9 0.42% 179 8.36% 2,140 Roanoke City 719 54.43% 535 40.50% 67 5.07% 184 13.93% 1,321 Staunton City 101 37.83% 161 60.30% 5 1.87% -60 -22.47% 267 Winchester City 488 46.83% 540 51.82% 14 1.34% -52 -4.99% 1,042Totals152,00449.99%150,39949.46%1,6840.55%1,6050.53%304,087

See also United States presidential elections in Virginia

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