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1888 Illinois Gubernatorial Election

Illinois · 2 candidates · See every 1888 Governor race

Who won the 1888 Illinois Gubernatorial Election?

Joseph W. Fifer won the 1888 Illinois Gubernatorial Election. Joseph W. Fifer received 367,860 popular votes (49.15%). The main challenger was John M Palmer (47.47%).

See the full head-to-head between Fifer and Palmer

Fifer +1.7 pts · won by 12,547 votes
Joseph W. FiferRepublicanWINNER49.15%
367,860 votes
John M PalmerDemocratic47.47%
355,313 votes
Other candidates received the remaining 3.4% of the popular vote; only the leading candidates are individually recorded for this election.
Popular-vote totals for governor elections are compiled from official state results (via Wikipedia); Louisiana shows the decisive round of its jungle primary.

Data last verified July 28, 2026.