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 County results Biggs: 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1886 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1886. Incumbent Democratic GovernorCharles C. Stockley was barred from seeing a second consecutive term in office. Former CongressmanBenjamin T. Biggs won the Democratic nomination to succeed Stockley. The Republican Party, which was weak and practically nonexistent in the state at the time,[1] did not run a candidate for Governor.[2] As a result, theTemperance Reform Party briefly supplanted the Republican Party as the primary opposition to the Democratic Party. Former State Representative andSmyrna Town TreasurerJohn H. Hoffecker, a former Democrat, emerged as the Temperance Reform nominee. However, the Democratic Party remained strong in the state; with no Republican opponent and only weak opposition, Biggs won in a landslide.
At the Temperance Reform convention inDover in June 1886,John H. Hoffecker received the party's nomination by acclamation.[3]
At the Democratic convention inDover in August 1886, former CongressmanBenjamin T. Biggs entered as the frontrunner.[4] He faced a number of prospective candidates, including:[5]
Despite the fierce competition, however, Biggs was easily nominated, winning the convention vote on the first ballot.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Benjamin T. Biggs | 13,942 | 63.50% | +10.47% | |
| Prohibition | John H. Hoffecker | 7,832 | 35.67% | — | |
| Independent Republican | Joseph Pyle | 151 | 0.69% | — | |
| Write-ins | 30 | 0.14% | — | ||
| Majority | 6,110 | 27.83% | +21.62% | ||
| Turnout | 21,955 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
