California — 1896 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1896 presidential electionCalifornia · PresidentMcKinleyR+0.6
How it voted
Share of the 1896 vote
| William McKinley ✓Republican | 49.2% | 146,688 |
|---|---|---|
| William J. BryanDemocratic | 48.5% | 144,766 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.3% | 6,965 |
1896presidential margin
D+60R+60
57 counties, each filled by 1896 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Gold marks a county an independent or third-party candidate carried.
California cast 9 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (57 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | Republican | R+22.7 |
| Alpine County, CA | Republican | R+1.2 |
| Amador County, CA | Democratic | D+9.9 |
| Butte County, CA | Democratic | D+1.0 |
| Calaveras County, CA | Republican | R+0.7 |
| Colusa County, CA | Democratic | D+35.5 |
| Contra Costa County, CA | Republican | R+13.9 |
| Del Norte County, CA | Republican | R+1.6 |
| El Dorado County, CA | Democratic | D+19.0 |
| Fresno County, CA | Democratic | D+16.5 |
| Glenn County, CA | Democratic | D+26.4 |
| Humboldt County, CA | Republican | R+11.9 |
| Inyo County, CA | Democratic | D+29.3 |
| Kern County, CA | Democratic | D+10.2 |
| Kings County, CA | Democratic | D+12.1 |
| Lake County, CA | Democratic | D+21.4 |
| Lassen County, CA | Democratic | D+11.2 |
| Los Angeles County, CA | Republican | R+2.5 |
| Madera County, CA | Democratic | D+23.7 |
| Marin County, CA | Republican | R+24.3 |
| Mariposa County, CA | Democratic | D+18.7 |
| Mendocino County, CA | Democratic | D+0.6 |
| Merced County, CA | Democratic | D+25.7 |
| Modoc County, CA | Democratic | D+31.7 |
| Mono County, CA | Democratic | D+9.6 |
| Monterey County, CA | Democratic | D+6.6 |
| Napa County, CA | Republican | R+15.7 |
| Nevada County, CA | Democratic | D+8.5 |
| Orange County, CA | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Placer County, CA | Republican | R+4.6 |
| Plumas County, CA | Republican | R+8.1 |
| Riverside County, CA | Republican | R+9.7 |
| Sacramento County, CA | Democratic | D+2.4 |
| San Benito County, CA | Democratic | D+13.2 |
| San Bernardino County, CA | Republican | R+1.3 |
| San Diego County, CA | Democratic | D+3.6 |
| San Francisco County, CA | Republican | R+0.6 |
| San Joaquin County, CA | Other / independent | Tied |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | Democratic | D+10.1 |
| San Mateo County, CA | Republican | R+23.6 |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | Republican | R+2.2 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | Republican | R+9.5 |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | Republican | R+0.2 |
| Shasta County, CA | Democratic | D+22.5 |
| Sierra County, CA | Republican | R+14.4 |
| Siskiyou County, CA | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Solano County, CA | Republican | R+8.2 |
| Sonoma County, CA | Republican | R+5.9 |
| Stanislaus County, CA | Democratic | D+15.9 |
| Sutter County, CA | Republican | R+5.4 |
| Tehama County, CA | Democratic | D+7.8 |
| Trinity County, CA | Democratic | D+4.0 |
| Tulare County, CA | Democratic | D+30.3 |
| Tuolumne County, CA | Democratic | D+21.6 |
| Ventura County, CA | Republican | R+2.9 |
| Yolo County, CA | Democratic | D+8.1 |
| Yuba County, CA | Republican | R+9.5 |
California results by county
57 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | William McKinley+5,035 | 13,42960.4% | 8,39437.8% | 4001.8% | 22,223 |
| Alpine County | William McKinley+1 | 4049.4% | 3948.1% | 22.5% | 81 |
| Amador County | William J. Bryan+254 | 1,14444.4% | 1,39854.2% | 351.4% | 2,577 |
| Butte County | William J. Bryan+45 | 2,07548.3% | 2,12049.4% | 1002.3% | 4,295 |
| Calaveras County | William McKinley+23 | 1,54149.9% | 1,51849.2% | 280.9% | 3,087 |
| Colusa County | William J. Bryan+669 | 58130.9% | 1,25066.4% | 522.8% | 1,883 |
| Contra Costa County | William McKinley+453 | 1,83456.1% | 1,38142.2% | 541.7% | 3,269 |
| Del Norte County | William McKinley+11 | 34549.5% | 33447.9% | 182.6% | 697 |
| El Dorado County | William J. Bryan+544 | 1,13039.5% | 1,67458.6% | 541.9% | 2,858 |
| Fresno County | William J. Bryan+1,104 | 2,68640.2% | 3,79056.7% | 2033.0% | 6,679 |
| Glenn County | William J. Bryan+346 | 47936.5% | 82562.9% | 70.5% | 1,311 |
| Humboldt County | William McKinley+677 | 3,14255.4% | 2,46543.4% | 681.2% | 5,675 |
| Inyo County | William J. Bryan+246 | 28634.0% | 53263.3% | 232.7% | 841 |
| Kern County | William J. Bryan+333 | 1,43043.8% | 1,76354.0% | 722.2% | 3,265 |
| Kings County | William J. Bryan+189 | 67343.1% | 86255.2% | 281.8% | 1,563 |
| Lake County | William J. Bryan+308 | 54638.0% | 85459.4% | 372.6% | 1,437 |
| Lassen County | William J. Bryan+108 | 42043.7% | 52854.9% | 141.5% | 962 |
| Los Angeles County | William McKinley+848 | 16,89149.6% | 16,04347.1% | 1,1083.3% | 34,042 |
| Madera County | William J. Bryan+287 | 45237.3% | 73961.0% | 201.7% | 1,211 |
| Marin County | William McKinley+574 | 1,44861.4% | 87437.1% | 361.5% | 2,358 |
| Mariposa County | William J. Bryan+266 | 56339.7% | 82958.4% | 271.9% | 1,419 |
| Mendocino County | William J. Bryan+27 | 2,09348.9% | 2,12049.6% | 651.5% | 4,278 |
| Merced County | William J. Bryan+464 | 65336.2% | 1,11762.0% | 321.8% | 1,802 |
| Modoc County | William J. Bryan+288 | 30033.0% | 58864.7% | 212.3% | 909 |
| Mono County | William J. Bryan+56 | 25944.3% | 31553.8% | 111.9% | 585 |
| Monterey County | William J. Bryan+271 | 1,87845.8% | 2,14952.4% | 721.8% | 4,099 |
| Napa County | William McKinley+560 | 2,03257.0% | 1,47241.3% | 591.7% | 3,563 |
| Nevada County | William J. Bryan+375 | 1,98544.8% | 2,36053.2% | 902.0% | 4,435 |
| Orange County | William McKinley+220 | 1,93251.1% | 1,71245.2% | 1403.7% | 3,784 |
| Placer County | William McKinley+169 | 1,89051.4% | 1,72146.8% | 651.8% | 3,676 |
| Plumas County | William McKinley+103 | 67853.5% | 57545.3% | 151.2% | 1,268 |
| Riverside County | William McKinley+379 | 2,06353.1% | 1,68443.3% | 1413.6% | 3,888 |
| Sacramento County | William J. Bryan+231 | 4,60047.7% | 4,83150.1% | 2172.2% | 9,648 |
| San Benito County | William J. Bryan+227 | 72942.5% | 95655.7% | 311.8% | 1,716 |
| San Bernardino County | William McKinley+78 | 2,81848.5% | 2,74047.2% | 2474.3% | 5,805 |
| San Diego County | William J. Bryan+277 | 3,63146.9% | 3,90850.4% | 2092.7% | 7,748 |
| San Francisco County | William McKinley+392 | 31,04149.2% | 30,64948.6% | 1,3962.2% | 63,086 |
| San Joaquin County | William J. Bryan+0 | 3,50048.8% | 3,50048.8% | 1672.3% | 7,167 |
| San Luis Obispo County | William J. Bryan+385 | 1,67143.7% | 2,05653.8% | 932.4% | 3,820 |
| San Mateo County | William McKinley+620 | 1,60761.1% | 98737.5% | 361.4% | 2,630 |
| Santa Barbara County | William McKinley+88 | 2,00449.5% | 1,91647.3% | 1303.2% | 4,050 |
| Santa Clara County | William McKinley+1,124 | 6,31553.5% | 5,19144.0% | 2952.5% | 11,801 |
| Santa Cruz County | William McKinley+9 | 1,96948.2% | 1,96048.0% | 1533.7% | 4,082 |
| Shasta County | William J. Bryan+726 | 1,21037.6% | 1,93660.1% | 762.4% | 3,222 |
| Sierra County | William McKinley+180 | 70756.6% | 52742.2% | 151.2% | 1,249 |
| Siskiyou County | William J. Bryan+251 | 1,47345.0% | 1,72452.6% | 782.4% | 3,275 |
| Solano County | William McKinley+418 | 2,70253.2% | 2,28445.0% | 941.9% | 5,080 |
| Sonoma County | William McKinley+458 | 4,05351.9% | 3,59546.0% | 1682.1% | 7,816 |
| Stanislaus County | William J. Bryan+391 | 1,00740.9% | 1,39856.8% | 562.3% | 2,461 |
| Sutter County | William McKinley+83 | 79651.9% | 71346.5% | 251.6% | 1,534 |
| Tehama County | William J. Bryan+166 | 96945.4% | 1,13553.2% | 311.5% | 2,135 |
| Trinity County | William J. Bryan+43 | 50246.4% | 54550.4% | 343.1% | 1,081 |
| Tulare County | William J. Bryan+1,263 | 1,41033.8% | 2,67364.1% | 892.1% | 4,172 |
| Tuolumne County | William J. Bryan+474 | 83438.1% | 1,30859.7% | 492.2% | 2,191 |
| Ventura County | William McKinley+88 | 1,55350.4% | 1,46547.5% | 632.0% | 3,081 |
| Yolo County | William J. Bryan+268 | 1,48544.8% | 1,75352.9% | 742.2% | 3,312 |
| Yuba County | William McKinley+213 | 1,20453.8% | 99144.3% | 421.9% | 2,237 |
Nominees: William Jennings Bryan (D) · William McKinley (R)
California's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1896 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +1.2% |
| 1896 | −0.6% |
| 1900 | −13.1% |
| 1904 | −34.9% |
| 1908 | −22.5% |
| 1912 | +41.8% |
| 1916 | +0.4% |
| 1920 | −41.9% |
| 1924 | −49.0% |
| 1928 | −30.5% |
| 1932 | +21.0% |
| 1936 | +35.3% |
| 1940 | +16.1% |
| 1944 | +13.5% |
| 1948 | +0.4% |
| 1952 | −13.6% |
| 1956 | −11.1% |
| 1960 | −0.5% |
| 1964 | +18.3% |
| 1968 | −3.1% |
| 1972 | −13.5% |
| 1976 | −1.8% |
| 1980 | −16.8% |
| 1984 | −16.2% |
| 1988 | −3.6% |
| 1992 | +13.4% |
| 1996 | +12.9% |
| 2000 | +11.8% |
| 2004 | +9.9% |
| 2008 | +24.0% |
| 2012 | +23.1% |
| 2016 | +30.0% |
| 2020 | +29.1% |
| 2024 | +20.1% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1896 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.