1896 United States presidential election in Montana

1896 United States presidential election in Montana

← 1892 November 3, 1896 (1896-11-03) 1900 →
 
Nominee William Jennings Bryan William McKinley
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Populist
Silver
Home state Nebraska Ohio
Running mate Arthur Sewall
(Democratic, Silver)
Thomas E. Watson
(Populist)
Garret Hobart
Electoral vote 3 0
Popular vote 42,628 10,509
Percentage 79.93% 19.71%

County Results

President before election

Grover Cleveland
Democratic

Elected President

William McKinley
Republican

The 1896 United States presidential election in Montana took place 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.

Montana overwhelmingly voted for the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Representative from Nebraska William Jennings Bryan over the Republican nominee, former governor of Ohio William McKinley. Bryan won the state by a landslide margin of 60.22 percentage points. To date this is the best performance ever by a presidential candidate in Montana.

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 Montana 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.

Bryan would later beat McKinley in the state again four years later but would lose the state to William Howard Taft in 1908. This is one of two elections where the Republican candidate won without the state, the other being in 1900. McKinley is the only Republican to win the White House without carrying Yellowstone County.