1896 South Dakota gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1896 South Dakota gubernatorial election South Dakota presidential no 1894 South Dakota gubernatorial election 1894 1898 South Dakota gubernatorial election 1898 November 3, 1896 x150px File:Andrew E. Lee.jpg Andrew E. Lee People's Party (United States) 41,187 49.76% 3x4.svg Amund O. Ringsrud Republican Party (United States) 40,868 49.37% 250px 1896 South Dakota gubernatorial election results map by county.svg County resultsLee: #AFE9AF 40–50% #73D873 50–60% #42CA42 60–70%Ringsrud: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90%Tie: #ae8bb1 50%No Vote: #cccccc Governor of South Dakota Charles H. Sheldon Republican Party (United States) Andrew E. Lee People's Party (United States) The 1896 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896. Incumbent Republican Governor Charles H. Sheldon declined to run for re-election to a third term. Former Secretary of State Amund O. Ringsrud was nominated as Sheldon's replacement at the Republican convention. Ringrud's main opponent was businessman Andrew E. Lee, who was nominated by a makeshift coalition of Populists, Free Silver Republicans, and Democrats. In the general election, Lee narrowly defeated Ringsrud, the first defeat for the Republican Party in a gubernatorial election since statehood. Republican convention In the lead-up to the Republican convention, which took place in Aberdeen on July 8, 1896, several candidates either announced their candidacies for Governor or were seen as likely candidates:July 8, 1896 Thoroughly Mixed: Such is the Condition of Affairs at Aberdeen—Some Guessing—The Governorship Daily Huronite Huron, S.D. 4 https://www.newspapers.com/image/30919160/ June 11, 2021 former Secretary of State Amund O. Ringsrud, Lieutenant Governor Charles N. Herreid, former State Representative Millard F. Greeley from Deuel County,https://sdlegislature.gov/Historical/Legislator/Profile/2754 Millard F. Greeley Historical Listing South Dakota Legislature Legislative Research Council June 11, 2021 and F. G. Hale, a member of the South Dakota Board of Regents.January 15, 1896 Their Favorite Son: Bon Homme County Is Out for F. G. Hale Argus Leader Sioux Falls, S.D. 8 https://www.newspapers.com/image/229025904 June 11, 2021 As the convention approached, Ringsrud emerged as the frontrunner,July 7, 1896 Republicans at Aberdeen: A Lively Contest—The War Waxes Warm—Moody for Senator—Gardner vs. Crawford Daily Huronite Huron, S.D. 4 https://www.newspapers.com/image/30919129/ June 11, 2021 and ultimately won the nomination.July 9, 1896 The State Convention: The Black Hills Get it in the Neck, as Usual, But That's Nothin' Lead Daily Call Lead, S.D. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/274603709/ June 11, 2021 People's Party convention After three straight elections in which the left-leaning vote in South Dakota was split, a fusion finally took place. The coalition was precipitated by the exodus of Free Silver Republicans from the Republican Party of South Dakota, led by U.S. Senator Richard F. Pettigrew. Pettigrew and the Silver Republicans joined forces with the Populist Party at its convention,Lindell Terrence J. 1993 Populists in Power: The Problems of the Andrew E. Lee Administration in South Dakota https://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-22-4/populists-in-power-the-problems-of-the-andrew-e-lee-administration-in-south-dakota/vol-22-no-4-populists-in-power.pdf South Dakota History 22 4 345–65 June 11, 2021 which started on July 15, 1896, in Huron.July 15, 1896 Grig Was Drowned: Pettigrew Threw Grigsby and Lee Was Nominated for Governor on the First Ballot Argus Leader Sioux Falls, S.D. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/229019071/ June 11, 2021 In the months preceding the convention, there was much speculation about whether prominent businessman Andrew E. Lee would be the Populist nominee for Governor,April 17, 1896 The Pop Ticket: A Vermillion Correspondent Says that Lee Will Head the Ticket—Other Names Argus Leader Sioux Falls, S.D. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/228989929/ June 11, 2021 or whether another candidate—like F. M. GoodykoontzMay 18, 1896 Goodykoontz for Governor: The Populists Said to Have Rearranged Their Slate Lead Daily Call Lead, S.D. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/274601351/ June 11, 2021 or former territorial legislator H. B. WynnJune 5, 1896 Wynn for Governor Lead Daily Tribune Lead, S.D. 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/274301318/ June 11, 2021—would replace him. But when Pettigrew's forces joined with the Populists, Pettigrew began negotiating with Henry A. Loucks, a prominent leader in the Farmers' Alliance. The tentative agreement between Pettigrew and Loucks was to name Wynn as their nominee for Governor, and if this failed, to name Lee for Governor and Wynn for Treasurer. But Wynn's refusal to accept a position other than Governor, and Lee's refusal to accept any deal with Wynn, ultimately led the convention to nominate Lee for Governor.July 17, 1896 Goodykoontz Turned Down Mitchell Capital Mitchell, S.D. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/465825658/ June 11, 2021 Shortly after the convention, the Democratic Party endorsed the Populist slate of candidates, declining to hold its own convention. As a result, the People's Party was formed to contest the 1896 election. Campaign Populist candidates John Edward Kelley and Freeman Knowles also won both of South Dakota's seats in the concurrent U.S. House election.Maier 2014 151 General election Results 1896 South Dakota gubernatorial electionNelson Nelson Heinrich Chad W. 2005 Chapter 8: Elections Legislative Manual: South Dakota, 2005 http://sdsdl-montage.auto-graphics.com/#/item-details/entities_1092?from=search-results Pierre, S.D. 616 People's Party (United States) Andrew E. Lee 41,187 49.76% +15.12% Republican Party (United States) Amund O. Ringsrud 40,868 49.37% -3.27% Prohibition Party (United States) J. F. Hanson 722 0.87% -0.45% 319 0.39% -17.62% 82,777 100.00% People's Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) References Works cited Maier Chris The Farmers' Fight for Representation: Third-Party Politics in South Dakota, 1889–1918 Great Plains Quarterly University of Nebraska Press 2014 34 2 143–62 10.2307/24468096 24468096 https://www.jstor.org/stable/24468096 South Dakota 1896 Gubernatorial Category:November 1896 in the United States