Who won Virginia in the 1888 presidential election?

Cleveland (Democratic) carried Virginia in 1888, winning its 12 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Virginia have in 1888?

Virginia cast 12 electoral votes in the 1888 presidential election.

Did Virginia vote for the national winner in 1888?

No. Virginia backed Cleveland, while Benjamin Harrison won the presidency nationally.

Gilded AgeVA · 12 EV

1888

Virginia: Cleveland carries 12 EV.

Virginia cast its 12 electoral votes for Cleveland (Democratic). National winner: Benjamin Harrison (Republican) — Virginia voted against the national winner this cycle.

What happened in Virginia, 1888

In 1888, Virginia awarded its 12 electoral votes to Cleveland of the Democratic party. Nationally the result broke the other way — Benjamin Harrison (Republican) won the presidency, leaving Virginia among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 5th consecutive election in which Virginia backed the Democratic party, a streak reaching back to 1872. The region divided — North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Maryland joined Virginia for the Democratic ticket, while West Virginia did not. Across the 58 presidential elections Virginia has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (33 times). The vote fell within the Gilded Age — Industrialization, narrow margins, and patronage politics.

In the national count, Benjamin Harrison took 233 of the 401 electoral votes, against Grover Cleveland's 168. Though Benjamin Harrison won the Electoral College, Grover Cleveland drew more of the national popular vote — 48.63% to 47.8%.

The 1888 national map

Virginia full history →