Distribution of votes in the 1896 US presidential election

The 1896 US Presidential election was contested between the Republican Party's William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan of the Democratic Party. The election was one of the most significant in US politics, as the economic depression, known as the Panic of 1893, led to a political realignment of the major parties, with the Republicans now becoming the more conservative of the two major parties. The period between 1896 and 1932 has become known as the Fourth Party System, and was dominated by the Republican Party.

Results

The election of 1896 was close, with McKinley taking 23 states to Bryan's 22, however this returned a roughly 61 percent share of the electoral votes. Additionally, McKinley took a 51 percent share of the popular vote, while Bryan received 47 percent. The remaining two percent was mostly split between the National Democratic Party's John M. Palmer, and the Prohibition Party's Joshua Levering. McKinley was then named as the 25th President of the United States, and he was re-elected four years later, although he was assassinated just six months into his second term.