| Presidential Candidate | Electoral Vote | Popular Vote | Pct | Party | Running Mate (Electoral Votes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William McKinley of Ohio (W) | 271 | 7,104,779 | 51.2 | Republican | Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey (271) |
| William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska | 176 | 6,502,925 | 46.9 | Democrat-Populist | Arthur Sewall of Maine (149), Thomas E. Watson of Georgia (27) |
| Other | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | ||||
| Other elections: 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908 | |||||
| Source: U.S. Office of the Federal Register | |||||
Notes:
James Weaver of the People's Party, who had finished a respectable third 4 years before, threw his support to Bryan. John M. Palmer of the National Democratic Party received 133,435 votes (1.0%), and the Prohibition Party's Joshua Levering 125,072 votes (0.9%). Many of the Prohibition voters went to Bryan in this election, but this was insufficient to overcome McKinley.
McKinley's campaign manager, Mark Hanna, raised $3.5 million and McKinley outspent Bryan 20 to 1. Hanna's tactics are still in use in U.S. politics today.
Vice President Garret A. Hobart died on November 21, 1899.
See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1896, History of the United States (1865-1918)