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 County results Tunnell: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1896 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896. Shortly after his victory in the1894 gubernatorial election, Republican GovernorJoshua H. Marvil died. State Senate SpeakerWilliam T. Watson, a Democrat, became Governor and a new election for a full four-year term was scheduled in 1896. Though Watson was considered a potential candidate for re-election,[1] the Democratic convention instead nominatedEbe W. Tunnell, the 1894 nominee for Governor; despite his protests that he would decline the nomination,[2] Tunnell ultimately accepted it.[3]
The Republican Party, meanwhile, split in the election and nominated two separate candidates for Governor: the faction of the Republican Party affiliated with wealthy industrialistJ. Edward Addicks split off from the main Party and nominatedJohn H. Hoffecker the President of theSmyrna Town Council.[4] The anti-Addicks faction, which held the official Republican banner, nominated former State RepresentativeJohn C. Higgins.[5] The fragmentation continued throughout the campaign, and despite rumors that the fractions would reunite and nominate a single candidate, they did not do so.[6]
The split ended up destroying the Republican Party's chances of regaining the governorship; Tunnell defeated Hoffecker and Higgins by a 12.81% margin, though he fell far short of a majority. This ended up being the final election that occurred under the1831 Constitution; the1897 Constitution was drafted the following year and ratified prior to the1900 gubernatorial election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ebe W. Tunnell | 15,507 | 44.20% | −3.48% | |
| Union Republican | John H. Hoffecker | 11,014 | 31.40% | — | |
| Republican | John C. Higgins | 7,154 | 20.39% | −30.41% | |
| Single Tax | Louis N. Slaughter | 855 | 2.44% | +0.93% | |
| Prohibition | Daniel Green | 548 | 1.56% | — | |
| Write-ins | 3 | 0.01% | — | ||
| Majority | 4,493 | 12.81% | 9.69% | ||
| Turnout | 35,081 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
