1898 Tennessee gubernatorial election

1898 Tennessee gubernatorial election
	County results; McMillin: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Fowler: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Governor before election; Robert Love Taylor; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Benton McMillin; Democratic

The 1898 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1898. Incumbent Democratic governor Robert Love Taylor did not seek re-election. Democratic nominee Benton McMillin defeated Republican nominee James Alexander Fowler with 57.92% of the vote.

Background

In 1897, McMillin sought the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Isham G. Harris. Failing to garner any support, he then sought and successfully obtained the Democratic nomination for governor the following year in the race to succeed the popular governor Robert Love Taylor. McMillin won by a large margin on election day, with 105,640 votes to 72,611 for Republican candidate James Alexander Fowler, 2,428 for Populist candidate W.D. Turley, and 1,722 for Prohibition candidate R.N. Richardson.^[1]^[2]

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

Benton McMillin, Democratic
James Alexander Fowler, Republican

Other candidates

W. D. Turnley, People's
R. N. Richardson, Prohibition

Results

1898 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benton McMillin	105,640	57.92%
	Republican	James Alexander Fowler	72,611	39.81%
	Populist	W. D. Turnley	2,428	1.33%
	Prohibition	R. N. Richardson	1,722	0.94%
Majority			33,029
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 232–237.
^ Our Campaigns - TN Governor, 1898. Retrieved: 27 November 2012.
^ Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved September 13, 2020.

[langsdon-1] Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 232–237.

[2] Our Campaigns - TN Governor, 1898. Retrieved: 27 November 2012.

[google1-3] Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved September 13, 2020.

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