1898 Tennessee gubernatorial election
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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.
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November 8, 1898
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 County results McMillin: 50â60% 60â70% 70â80% 80â90% >90% Fowler: 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% 70â80% 80â90% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
| 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 | ||||