Who won Colorado in the 1896 presidential election?

Bryan (Democratic) carried Colorado in 1896, winning its 4 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Colorado have in 1896?

Colorado cast 4 electoral votes in the 1896 presidential election.

Did Colorado vote for the national winner in 1896?

No. Colorado backed Bryan, while William McKinley won the presidency nationally.

Progressive EraCO · 4 EV

1896

Colorado: Bryan carries 4 EV.

Colorado cast its 4 electoral votes for Bryan (Democratic). National winner: William McKinley (Republican) — Colorado voted against the national winner this cycle.

Reading the 1896 result in Colorado

Colorado backed Bryan (Democratic) in the 1896 presidential election, casting 4 electoral votes for the ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — William McKinley (Republican) won the presidency, leaving Colorado among the states he did not carry.

The result flipped Colorado away from the Populist it had supported in 1892. Colorado did not move alone — neighboring Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Utah broke the same way in 1896. Across the 37 presidential elections Colorado has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Republican party (19 times). The vote fell within the Progressive Era — Trust-busting, suffrage, and World War I.

In the national count, William McKinley took 271 of the 447 electoral votes, against William Jennings Bryan's 176. William McKinley led the national popular vote with 51.02% of the ballots cast.

The 1896 national map

Colorado full history →