The 1898 Wyoming gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1898. Incumbent Republican Governor

William A. Richards William Alford Richards (March 9, 1849July 25, 1912) was an American surveyor, rancher and politician. He was the fourth Governor of Wyoming from January 7, 1895 until January 2, 1899; and also served as the 30th Commissioner of the General La ...

was a candidate for re-election, but he was defeated for renomination at the Republican convention, which instead nominated

DeForest Richards DeForest Richards (August 6, 1846April 28, 1903) was an American banker, farmer, and politician. He was the fifth Governor of the state of Wyoming, and the first to die while still in office. Biography Born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, Rich ...

. The Democratic Party joined forces with the Free Silver Republicans to jointly nominate former State Representative Horace C. Alger for Governor. The Populist Party, though reduced in influence from earlier elections, nominated E. B. Viall as its candidate. Though the election was closer than

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

, owing in large part to a dramatic reduction in the share of vote received by the Populist nominee, Roberts defeated Alger by a wide margin.

Party conventions

Governor Richards announced that he would seek re-election, and prior to the Republican convention, he was seen as one of three frontrunners, along with banker

and State Senator John McGill of Albany County. However, Governor Richards was ultimately not re-nominated by the Republican Party; instead, DeForest Richards was nominated by acclamation. The Republican platform repudiated its 1894 support for

free silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...

, instead adopting the national Republican platform from the

1896 Republican National Convention The 1896 Republican National Convention was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley of Ohio was nominated for president on the firs ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The Democratic convention occurred as a joint affair with Free Silver Republicans, and the coalition split up the statewide candidates among the two members of the coalition; the Democrats nominated candidates for Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer, and Free Silver Republicans chose candidates for State Auditor and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Former State Representative Horace C. Alger was nominated by acclamation.

General election

Results

Results by county

References

{{1898 United States elections 1898 Wyoming elections

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...