1894 South Dakota gubernatorial election
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County results Sheldon: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Howe: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% No Vote: | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in South Dakota |
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The 1894 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1894. Incumbent Republican Governor Charles H. Sheldon ran for re-election to a second term. Despite facing a thread of defeat at the Republican convention, Sheldon was renominated unanimously. In the general election, he faced Populist nominee Isaac Howe, a Spink County Judge; James A. Ward, the former state chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party; and Prohibition nominee M. D. Alexander. The election was largely a replay of the gubernatorial elections of 1890 and 1892, with the Farmers' Alliance candidate placing second and the Democratic nominee placing a distant third. This time, however, Sheldon won an outright majority and the Democratic Party's vote share shrank to just 11%, its worst performance in state history.