The American Vote
Progressive EraCycle 29 / 60

1900

William McKinley and the 1900 map.
William McKinley (Republican) defeated William Jennings Bryan (Democratic), 51.6% to 45.5% of the popular vote.

The 1900 U.S. presidential election was won by William McKinley (Republican) with 292 of 447 electoral votes, defeating William Jennings Bryan (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 137 (292 to 155). Popular-vote margin: 6.1 percentage points. Turnout was 73.7%. The cycle falls in the Progressive Era of American electoral history.

McKinley
292 EV
Bryan
155 EV
0224 to win447
The map · 1900
28 states for Rep · 17 for Dem
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Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.

Narrative

William McKinley and the 1900 map

McKinley won re-election in a rematch against Bryan, running on prosperity and 'the full dinner pail.' The Spanish-American War of 1898 had made America a colonial power, and Bryan campaigned against imperialism in the Philippines. Theodore Roosevelt was selected as McKinley's running mate to sideline the reform-minded New York governor. McKinley's victory was decisive, but he was assassinated in September 1901, elevating the 42-year-old Roosevelt to the presidency.

Key issue

Imperialism and the Philippine-American War; prosperity and the gold standard

Notable

McKinley assassinated in 1901, making Theodore Roosevelt — at 42 — the youngest president

This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.

From the National Archives

William McKinley was shot September 6, 1901 and died September 14, 1901. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1900, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

States · 45 reporting

State results · 1900

Popular vote by state, with each state's electoral votes.
Closest states
  1. Kentucky Bryan by 7,975 · 1.7 pts
  2. Utah McKinley by 2,133 · 2.3 pts
  3. Nebraska McKinley by 7,822 · 3.2 pts
  4. Indiana McKinley by 26,479 · 4.0 pts
  5. Idaho Bryan by 2,448 · 4.2 pts
Tipping point

IllinoisMcKinley won it by 8.4 points; its electoral votes took the total to 225, past the 224 needed.

Line up the states the winner carried from widest margin to narrowest and add up their electoral votes: the tipping point is the state that takes the total past a majority.

Scroll the table sideways for every column.

1900 presidential election results by state: popular vote, margin and electoral votes
StateElectoral votes
William McKinley
Rep
William Jennings Bryan
Dem
John G. Woolley
Proh
Also namedMarginLeader
Alabama
11 EV
55,512
34.8%
97,131
60.9%
2,762
1.7%
Wharton Barker 4,178 · 2.6%
41,619
26.1 pts
Bryan Dem
Arkansas
8 EV
44,800
35.0%
81,142
63.5%
Not namedNone
36,342
28.4 pts
Bryan Dem
California1
9 EV
164,7551
54.2%
124,9851
41.1%
5,0241
1.7%
Eugene V. Debs 7,554 · 2.5%1
39,770
13.1 pts
McKinley Rep
Colorado
4 EV
93,072
42.1%
122,733
55.5%
3,790
1.7%
None
29,661
13.4 pts
Bryan Dem
Connecticut
6 EV
102,567
56.9%
73,997
41.1%
Not namedNone
28,570
15.9 pts
McKinley Rep
Delaware
3 EV
22,529
53.7%
18,858
44.9%
538
1.3%
None
3,671
8.7 pts
McKinley Rep
Florida
4 EV
7,314
19.2%
28,007
73.6%
1,039
2.7%
Wharton Barker 1,070 · 2.8%
Eugene V. Debs 601 · 1.6%
20,693
54.4 pts
Bryan Dem
Georgia
13 EV
35,035
28.5%
81,700
66.6%
1,396
1.1%
Wharton Barker 4,584 · 3.7%
46,665
38.0 pts
Bryan Dem
Idaho
3 EV
27,198
47.0%
29,646
51.2%
857
1.5%
None
2,448
4.2 pts
Bryan Dem
Illinois
24 EV
597,985
52.8%
503,061
44.4%
17,626
1.6%
None
94,924
8.4 pts
McKinley Rep
Indiana
15 EV
336,063
50.6%
309,584
46.6%
13,718
2.1%
None
26,479
4.0 pts
McKinley Rep
Iowa
13 EV
307,818
58.1%
209,466
39.5%
9,502
1.8%
None
98,352
18.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Kansas
10 EV
185,955
52.6%
162,601
46.0%
3,605
1.0%
None
23,354
6.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Kentucky2
13 EV
227,1282
48.4%
235,1032
50.1%
Not namedNone
7,975
1.7 pts
Bryan Dem
Louisiana3
8 EV
14,2333
20.4%
53,6713
76.8%
Not namedNone
39,438
56.4 pts
Bryan Dem
Maine
6 EV
65,435
61.9%
36,822
34.8%
2,585
2.4%
None
28,613
27.1 pts
McKinley Rep
Maryland
8 EV
136,212
51.5%
122,271
46.2%
4,582
1.7%
None
13,941
5.3 pts
McKinley Rep
Massachusetts4
15 EV
238,8664
57.7%
156,9994
37.9%
6,2024
1.5%
Eugene V. Debs 9,607 · 2.3%4
81,867
19.8 pts
McKinley Rep
Michigan
14 EV
316,269
58.1%
211,685
38.9%
11,859
2.2%
None
104,584
19.2 pts
McKinley Rep
Minnesota
9 EV
188,915
60.3%
111,409
35.6%
8,467
2.7%
None
77,506
24.8 pts
McKinley Rep
Mississippi5
9 EV
5,7535
9.7%
51,7065
87.4%
Not named
Wharton Barker 1,644 · 2.8%5
45,953
77.7 pts
Bryan Dem
Missouri6
17 EV
314,0916
45.9%
351,9126
51.5%
Not namedNone
37,821
5.5 pts
Bryan Dem
Montana7
3 EV
25,3737
39.9%
37,1467
58.4%
Not named
Eugene V. Debs 708 · 1.1%7
11,773
18.5 pts
Bryan Dem
Nebraska8
8 EV
121,8358
50.5%
114,0138
47.2%
3,6558
1.5%
None
7,822
3.2 pts
McKinley Rep
Nevada
3 EV
3,860
37.7%
6,376
62.3%
Not namedNone
2,516
24.6 pts
Bryan Dem
New Hampshire
4 EV
54,803
59.3%
35,489
38.4%
1,270
1.4%
None
19,314
20.9 pts
McKinley Rep
New Jersey
10 EV
221,707
55.3%
164,808
41.1%
7,183
1.8%
Eugene V. Debs 4,609 · 1.1%
56,899
14.2 pts
McKinley Rep
New York
36 EV
821,992
53.1%
678,386
43.8%
22,043
1.4%
None
143,606
9.3 pts
McKinley Rep
North Carolina
11 EV
133,081
45.5%
157,752
53.9%
Not namedNone
24,671
8.4 pts
Bryan Dem
North Dakota
3 EV
35,891
62.1%
20,519
35.5%
731
1.3%
None
15,372
26.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Ohio
23 EV
543,918
52.3%
474,882
45.7%
Not namedNone
69,036
6.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Oregon
4 EV
46,526
55.3%
33,385
39.7%
2,536
3.0%
Eugene V. Debs 1,466 · 1.7%
13,141
15.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Pennsylvania
32 EV
712,665
60.7%
424,232
36.2%
27,908
2.4%
None
288,433
24.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Rhode Island9
4 EV
33,7849
59.7%
19,8129
35.0%
1,5299
2.7%
Joseph F. Malloney 1,423 · 2.5%9
13,972
24.7 pts
McKinley Rep
South Carolina
9 EV
3,579
7.0%
47,236
93.0%
Not namedNone
43,657
85.9 pts
Bryan Dem
South Dakota
4 EV
54,530
56.7%
39,544
41.1%
1,542
1.6%
None
14,986
15.6 pts
McKinley Rep
Tennessee
12 EV
121,194
44.6%
144,751
53.3%
3,900
1.4%
None
23,557
8.7 pts
Bryan Dem
Texas10
15 EV
121,17310
29.4%
267,33710
64.8%
Not named
Wharton Barker 20,976 · 5.1%10
146,164
35.5 pts
Bryan Dem
Utah11
3 EV
47,13911
50.6%
45,00611
48.3%
Not namedNone
2,133
2.3 pts
McKinley Rep
Vermont12
4 EV
42,56812
75.7%
12,84912
22.9%
Not namedNone
29,719
52.9 pts
McKinley Rep
Virginia
12 EV
115,865
43.9%
146,080
55.3%
Not namedNone
30,215
11.4 pts
Bryan Dem
Washington
4 EV
57,456
53.4%
44,833
41.7%
2,363
2.2%
Eugene V. Debs 2,006 · 1.9%
12,623
11.7 pts
McKinley Rep
West Virginia13
6 EV
119,85113
54.3%
98,79113
44.7%
Not namedNone
21,060
9.5 pts
McKinley Rep
Wisconsin
12 EV
265,866
60.0%
159,285
36.0%
10,124
2.3%
Joseph F. Malloney 7,095 · 1.6%
106,581
24.1 pts
McKinley Rep
Wyoming
3 EV
14,517
58.5%
10,298
41.5%
Not namedNone
4,219
17.0 pts
McKinley Rep

Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.

Notes on the figures

  1. California The official table's state total (303,793) is 1,475 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  2. Kentucky The official table prints a state total of 468,888, which does not agree with its own figures (they add up to 468,908); their sum is used.
  3. Louisiana The official table's state total (69,904) is 2,000 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  4. Massachusetts The official table prints a state total of 414,266, which does not agree with its own figures (they add up to 414,273); their sum is used.
  5. Mississippi The official table's state total (59,150) is 47 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  6. Missouri The official table prints a state total of 683,534, which does not agree with its own figures (they add up to 683,634); their sum is used.
  7. Montana The official table's state total (63,641) is 116 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  8. Nebraska The official table's state total (241,433) is 3 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  9. Rhode Island The official table's state total (56,568) is 20 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  10. Texas The official table's state total (412,290) is 159 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  11. Utah The official table's state total (93,180) is 1,035 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  12. Vermont The official table's state total (56,216) is 64 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
  13. West Virginia The official table's state total (220,788) is 1 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.

SourceThe World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1901 (Public domain in the United States: published before 1931, retrieved 2026-10-03). How these figures were compiled