1894 Tennessee gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1894 United States gubernatorial elections.

1894 Tennessee gubernatorial election

November 6, 1894

Nominee Peter Turney Henry Clay Evans A. L. Mims Party Democratic Republican Populist Popular vote 94,620 92,266 23,092 Percentage 45.06% 43.94% 11.00%

County results Turney:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Evans:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election Peter Turney Democratic Elected Governor Peter Turney Democratic

The 1894 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1894. Incumbent Democratic governor Peter Turney defeated former congressman and Republican nominee Henry Clay Evans with 45.06% of the vote.

Henry Clay Evans had been gerrymandered out of office for supporting the Lodge Bill. Though Turney painted Evans as a "carpetbagger," Evans ran an effective campaign, and the initial vote tally on election day indicated Evans had won with 105,104 votes to 104,356 for Turney, and 23,088 for Populist candidate A.J. Mims. The Democratic-controlled legislature, however, declared voter fraud had occurred and negated over 23,000 votes, allowing Turney to win the election by 2,000 votes.^[1]

General election

Candidates

• H. Clay Evans, former U.S. representative and mayor of Chattanooga (Republican)

• A. L. Mims (People's)
• Peter Turney, Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court (Democratic)

Results

1894 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Turney (incumbent)	94,620	45.06%
	Republican	Henry Clay Evans	92,266	43.94%
	Populist	A. L. Mims	23,092	11.00%
Majority			2,354
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 223-227.
2. Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved September 14, 2020.