1896 Louisiana gubernatorial election

The 1896 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on April 21, 1896. Like most Southern states between Reconstruction and the civil rights era, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. As Louisiana had not yet adopted party primaries, this meant that the Democratic Party convention nomination vote was supposed to be the real contest over who would be governor. However, the Republicans and Populists put forward a joint candidate, John N. Pharr. With combined Republican and Populist support Pharr garnered 43% of the vote, although the Democratic nominee, Murphy J. Foster was elected with 57% of the vote.

1896 Louisiana gubernatorial election

← 1892 April 21, 1896 1900 →

Nominee Murphy J. Foster John N. Pharr Party Democratic Republican Alliance - Lily-White Populist Popular vote 116,116 87,698 Percentage 56.92% 42.99%

County results Foster:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Pharr:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Results

General Election, April 17^[1]

Party	Candidate	Votes received	Percent
Democratic	Murphy J. Foster	116,116	56.92%
Populist/Republican	John N. Pharr	87,698	42.99%
Independent	A. B. Booth	176	0.09%