The 1888 United States presidential election in California was held on November 6, 1888, as part of the 1888 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. As was standard practice at the time, voters chose the electors directly on a general ticket.
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 County Results
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California narrowly voted for the Republican challenger, former Indiana Senator Benjamin Harrison, over the Democratic incumbent, Grover Cleveland.
Results
edit| Party | Pledged to | Elector | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | George A. Knight | 124,816 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | Henry M. Streeter | 124,809 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | Lansing B. Mizner | 124,802 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | Thomas L. Carothers | 124,789 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | Samuel M. Shortridge | 124,781 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | W. H. L. Barnes | 124,754 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | John F. Swift | 124,754 | |
| Republican Party | Benjamin Harrison | George W. Schell | 124,751 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | A. Caminetti | 117,729 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | C. P. Berry | 117,698 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | Frederick Berringer | 117,697 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | B. D. Murphy | 117,676 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | Byron Water | 117,675 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | N. Bowden | 117,640 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | P. J. Murphy | 117,634 | |
| Democratic Party | Grover Cleveland | Charles A. Jenkins | 117,626 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | John Bidwell | 5,761 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | R. H. McDonald | 5,760 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | J. F. Wilson | 5,748 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | C. W. Pedlar | 5,746 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | W. H. Briggs | 5,745 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | H. H. Luse | 5,744 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | A. J. Gregg | 5,737 | |
| Prohibition Party | Clinton B. Fisk | A. D. Boren | 5,736 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | F. M. Pixley | 1,591 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | Louis A. Garrett | 1,555 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | Alexander Duncan | 1,535 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | Daniel Inmann | 1,545 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | D. Lambert | 1,544 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | N. M. Orr | 1,539 | |
| American Party | James Curtis | J. D. Lyons | 1,340 | |
| Write-in | Alfred Dagget | 801[a] | ||
| American Party | James Curtis | C. N. Wilson | 696 | |
| Write-in | P. D. Wigginton | 161[b] | ||
| Write-in | Scattering | 480 | ||
| Votes cast[c] | 251,339 | |||
Results by county
edit| County | Benjamin Harrison Republican |
Stephen Grover Cleveland Democratic |
Clinton Bowen Fisk Prohibition |
James Curtis American |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast[d] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 8,840 | 57.18% | 5,693 | 36.82% | 359 | 2.32% | 300 | 1.94% | 269 | 1.74% | 3,147 | 20.35% | 15,461 |
| Alpine | 53 | 66.25% | 27 | 33.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 26 | 32.50% | 80 |
| Amador | 1,373 | 47.48% | 1,429 | 49.41% | 79 | 2.73% | 11 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -56 | -1.94% | 2,892 |
| Butte | 2,191 | 48.25% | 2,215 | 48.78% | 127 | 2.80% | 4 | 0.09% | 4 | 0.09% | -24 | -0.53% | 4,541 |
| Calaveras | 1,441 | 52.17% | 1,305 | 47.25% | 12 | 0.43% | 2 | 0.07% | 2 | 0.07% | 136 | 4.92% | 2,762 |
| Colusa | 1,116 | 35.14% | 2,010 | 63.29% | 41 | 1.29% | 9 | 0.28% | 0 | 0.00% | -894 | -28.15% | 3,176 |
| Contra Costa | 1,518 | 55.04% | 1,177 | 42.68% | 53 | 1.92% | 10 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 341 | 12.36% | 2,758 |
| Del Norte | 244 | 42.29% | 294 | 50.95% | 14 | 2.43% | 24 | 4,16% | 1 | 0.17% | -50 | -8.67% | 577 |
| El Dorado | 1,350 | 47.02% | 1,456 | 50.71% | 61 | 2.12% | 1 | 0.03% | 3 | 0.10% | -106 | -3.69% | 2,871 |
| Fresno | 2,461 | 44.81% | 2,822 | 51.38% | 173 | 3.15% | 18 | 0.33% | 18 | 0.33% | -361 | -6.57% | 5,492 |
| Humboldt | 2,772 | 55.93% | 2,014 | 40.64% | 75 | 1.51% | 53 | 1.07% | 42 | 0.85% | 758 | 15.29% | 4,956 |
| Inyo | 437 | 58.66% | 273 | 36.64% | 13 | 1.74% | 21 | 2.82% | 1 | 0.13% | 164 | 22.01% | 745 |
| Kern | 910 | 41.46% | 1,229 | 55.99% | 24 | 1.09% | 32 | 1.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -319 | -14.53% | 2,195 |
| Lake | 731 | 44.87% | 867 | 53.22% | 27 | 1.66% | 3 | 0.18% | 1 | 0.06% | -136 | -8.35% | 1,629 |
| Lassen | 488 | 46.79% | 535 | 51.29% | 16 | 1.53% | 2 | 0.19% | 2 | 0.19% | -47 | -4.51% | 1,043 |
| Los Angeles | 13,805 | 54.64% | 10,110 | 40.02% | 1,266 | 5.01% | 83 | 0.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,695 | 14.63% | 25,264 |
| Marin | 936 | 52.76% | 802 | 45.21% | 16 | 0.90% | 17 | 0.96% | 3 | 0.17% | 134 | 7.55% | 1,774 |
| Mariposa | 526 | 43.54% | 664 | 54.97% | 1 | 0.08% | 3 | 0.25% | 14 | 1.16% | -138 | -11.42% | 1,208 |
| Mendocino | 1,711 | 44.78% | 2,006 | 52.50% | 90 | 2.36% | 14 | 0.37% | 0 | 0.00% | -295 | -7.72% | 3,821 |
| Merced | 773 | 43.04% | 972 | 54.12% | 19 | 1.06% | 32 | 1.78% | 0 | 0.00% | -199 | -11.08% | 1,796 |
| Modoc | 552 | 43.19% | 679 | 53.13% | 46 | 3.60% | 1 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | -127 | -9.94% | 1,278 |
| Mono | 347 | 59.72% | 215 | 37.01% | 9 | 1.55% | 10 | 1.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 132 | 22.72% | 581 |
| Monterey | 1,875 | 48.55% | 1,866 | 48.32% | 113 | 2.93% | 8 | 0.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 9 | 0.23% | 3,862 |
| Napa | 1,763 | 53.20% | 1,496 | 45.14% | 42 | 1.27% | 13 | 0.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 267 | 8.06% | 3,314 |
| Nevada | 2,167 | 51.69% | 1,923 | 45.87% | 95 | 2.27% | 7 | 0.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 244 | 5.82% | 4,192 |
| Placer | 1,761 | 52.35% | 1,547 | 45.99% | 50 | 1.49% | 6 | 0.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 214 | 6.36% | 3,364 |
| Plumas | 648 | 52.55% | 570 | 46.23% | 9 | 0.73% | 3 | 0.24% | 3 | 0.24% | 78 | 6.33% | 1,233 |
| Sacramento | 4,769 | 56.37% | 3,447 | 40.74% | 108 | 1.28% | 76 | 0.90% | 60 | 0.71% | 1,322 | 15.63% | 8,460 |
| San Benito | 664 | 42.76% | 797 | 51.32% | 90 | 5.80% | 2 | 0.13% | 0 | 0.00% | -133 | -8.56% | 1,553 |
| San Bernardino | 3,059 | 53.50% | 2,388 | 41.76% | 263 | 4.60% | 8 | 0.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 671 | 11.73% | 5,718 |
| San Diego | 4,661 | 56.88% | 3,189 | 38.92% | 322 | 3.93% | 11 | 0.13% | 11 | 0.13% | 1,472 | 17.96% | 8,194 |
| San Francisco | 25,708 | 46.14% | 28,699 | 51.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 437 | 0.78% | 873 | 1.57% | -2,991 | -5.37% | 55,717 |
| San Joaquin | 2,829 | 47.30% | 2,822 | 47.18% | 286 | 4.78% | 44 | 0.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.12% | 5,981 |
| San Luis Obispo | 1,689 | 49.68% | 1,585 | 46.62% | 121 | 3.56% | 5 | 0.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 104 | 3.06% | 3,400 |
| San Mateo | 1,121 | 52.95% | 980 | 46.29% | 14 | 0.66% | 1 | 0.05% | 1 | 0.05% | 141 | 6.66% | 2,117 |
| Santa Barbara | 1,684 | 49.20% | 1,565 | 45.72% | 161 | 4.70% | 8 | 0.23% | 5 | 0.15% | 119 | 3.48% | 3,423 |
| Santa Clara | 4,457 | 49.94% | 3,972 | 44.51% | 402 | 4.50% | 93 | 1.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 485 | 5.43% | 8,924 |
| Santa Cruz | 1,996 | 50.66% | 1,750 | 44.42% | 193 | 4.90% | 1 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 246 | 6.24% | 3,940 |
| Shasta | 1,490 | 50.70% | 1,394 | 47.43% | 51 | 1.74% | 2 | 0.07% | 2 | 0.07% | 96 | 3.27% | 2,939 |
| Sierra | 1,004 | 59.23% | 689 | 40.65% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 315 | 18.58% | 1,695 |
| Siskiyou | 1,361 | 47.84% | 1,459 | 51.28% | 20 | 0.70% | 5 | 0.18% | 0 | 0.00% | -98 | -3.44% | 2,845 |
| Solano | 2,231 | 49.67% | 2,158 | 48.04% | 94 | 2.09% | 9 | 0.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 73 | 1.63% | 4,492 |
| Sonoma | 3,293 | 46.97% | 3,394 | 48.41% | 154 | 2.20% | 93 | 1.33% | 77 | 1.10% | -101 | -1.44% | 7,011 |
| Stanislaus | 903 | 39.02% | 1,315 | 56.83% | 91 | 3.93% | 5 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | -412 | -17.80% | 2,314 |
| Sutter | 722 | 48.95% | 698 | 47.32% | 53 | 3.59% | 1 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.07% | 24 | 1.63% | 1,475 |
| Tehama | 1,181 | 47.09% | 1,290 | 51.44% | 34 | 1.36% | 2 | 0.08% | 1 | 0.04% | -109 | -4.35% | 2,508 |
| Trinity | 489[e] | 49.64% | 490 | 49.75% | 2 | 0.20% | 4 | 0.41% | 0 | 0.00% | -1[f] | -0.10% | 985 |
| Tulare | 2,275 | 43.82% | 2,637 | 50.79% | 244 | 4.70% | 36 | 0.69% | 0 | 0.00% | -362 | -6.97% | 5,192 |
| Tuolumne | 854 | 41.16% | 1,159 | 55.86% | 55 | 2.65% | 7 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -305 | -14.70% | 2,075 |
| Ventura | 1,107 | 53.84% | 906 | 44.07% | 41 | 1.99% | 2 | 0.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 201 | 9.78% | 2,056 |
| Yolo | 1,350 | 44.66% | 1,580 | 52.27% | 91 | 3.01% | 2 | 0.07% | 0 | 0.00% | -230 | -7.61% | 3,023 |
| Yuba | 1,130 | 46.37% | 1,170 | 48.01% | 41 | 1.68% | 48 | 1.97% | 48 | 1.97% | -40 | -1.64% | 2,437 |
| Total | 124,816 | 49.66% | 117,729 | 46.84% | 5,761 | 2.29% | 1,591 | 0.63% | 1,442 | 0.57% | 7,087 | 2.82% | 251,339 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
edit- Butte (largest city: Chico)
- Del Norte (largest city: Crescent City)
- San Francisco (largest city: San Francisco)
- Sonoma (largest city: Santa Rosa)
- Trinity (largest community: Weaverville)
- Tuolumne (largest city: Sonora)
- Yuba (largest city: Marysville)
Notes
edit- ^ Appears to have replaced C. N. Wilson on some American ballots
- ^ Appears to have replaced J. D. Lyons on some American ballots
- ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
- ^ Based on the highest elector on each ticket
- ^ The electors on the Republican ticket received 490 votes each except for the highest statewide elector, Knight, who only received 489 votes
- ^ Using the highest statewide elector on each ticket results in Cleveland carrying Trinity County
References
edit- ^ Original Manuscript Returns, California State Archives