The 1896 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 3, 1896. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1896 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
Nevada was won by the Silver and Democratic nominees, former U.S. Representative William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate Arthur Sewall of Maine. They defeated the Republican nominees, former Governor of Ohio William McKinley and his running mate Garret Hobart of New Jersey. Bryan won the state by a margin of 62.42%, which to date remains the strongest of any presidential nominee in the history of Nevada.
With 81.21% of the popular vote, Nevada would prove to be Bryan's fifth strongest state in the 1896 presidential election only after Mississippi, South Carolina, Colorado and neighboring Utah.
Bryan would later defeat McKinley in the state four years later and would also later defeat William Howard Taft in the state in 1908. This election was the first time ever that the presidential candidate that won Nevada carried all counties in Nevada. This was also the first time that Ormsby County backed a Democratic candidate.
Results + General Election ResultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party & Silver Party William Jennings Bryan Benjamin F. Leete7,802 Democratic Party & Silver Party William Jennings Bryan George Russell7,758 Democratic Party & Silver Party William Jennings Bryan Joseph R. Ryan7,722 Republican Party William McKinley Allen C. Bragg1,938 Republican Party William McKinley J. A. Lewis1,917 Republican Party William McKinley Z. Pierce1,906 People's Party William Jennings Bryan Charles H. Steele574 People's Party William Jennings Bryan George E. Peckham549 People's Party William Jennings Bryan H. C. Dangberg546Votes cast 10,314
Results by county William J. BryanDemocratic-Silver William J. BryanPopulist William J. BryanTotal William McKinleyRepublican Margin Total County # % # % # % # % # %Churchill15375.36%31.47%15676.85%4723.15%10953.69%203Douglas18040.90%8519.31%26560.23%17539.77%9020.45%440Elko94282.77%696.06%1,01188.84%12711.16%88477.68%1,138Esmeralda38482.40%132.79%39785.19%6914.81%32870.39%466Eureka53392.69%203.48%55396.17%223.83%53192.35%575Humboldt71584.41%344.01%74988.43%9811.57%65176.86%847Lander47990.38%152.83%49493.21%366.79%45886.42%530Lincoln81392.70%343.88%84796.58%303.42%81793.16%877Lyon45075.63%325.38%48281.01%11318.99%36962.02%595Nye21589.58%135.42%22895.00%125.00%21690.00%240Ormsby55064.71%161.88%56666.59%28433.41%28233.18%850Storey1,07570.67%744.87%1,14975.54%37224.46%77751.08%1,521Washoe1,01060.08%1589.40%1,16869.48%51330.52%65538.96%1,681White Pine30386.32%82.28%31188.60%4011.40%27177.21%351Totals7,80275.64%5745.57%8,37681.21%1,93818.79%6,43862.42%10,314
Counties that flipped from Populist to Democratic Churchill Elko Esmeralda Eureka Humboldt Lander Lincoln Lyon Nye Storey Washoe White Pine
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Douglas Ormsby
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