1897 Contingent Election (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

No candidate won a majority of the electoral vote in the Election of 1896, throwing the race to the House of Representatives for the first time in sixty years. Per Constitutional procedure, members of the House will choose between President Grover Cleveland, Senator William J. Bryan, and Governor Thomas B. Reed, the three top finishers in the electoral vote. The Senate, meanwhile, has been delegated the task of selecting the vice president.

Results of the 1896 Presidential Election

Senator William J. Bryan (People's-Nebraska)/ Governor Horace Boies (People's-Iowa): 205 Electoral Votes; 33.3% popular votes
President Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)/ Senator John Palmer (Democratic-Illinois): 193 Electoral Votes; 30.0% popular votes
Governor Thomas B. Reed (Fusion-Maine)/ Mayor Charles Bentley (Fusion-Nebraska): 49 Electoral Votes; 20.0% popular votes
Minister Joshua Levering ("National" Prohibition-Maryland)/ Mayor Hale Johnson ("National" Prohibition-Illinois): 0 Electoral Votes; 10.0% popular votes
Fmr. Chairman Mark Hana ("Anti-Fusion" Republican-Ohio)/ Attorney Garret Hobart ("Anti-Fusion-New Jersey): 0 Electoral Votes; 6.7% popular votes

[Antonio the Sixth]

Reed/Boies.

C'mon guys, wouldn't it be fun if the House ended up choosing the candidate who came third?

[ElectionsGuy]

Cleveland/Palmer

[Miles]

Bryan/Boies.

[Mr. Smith]

Bryan/Boies.

[Zioneer]

Bryan/Boies.

This, we've got to beat Cleveland and his ridiculous number of forum voters. Seriously, do they just show up for Cleveland and never again? They sure as heck didn't show up for the Dems before Cleveland.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Bryan/Boies.

This, we've got to beat Cleveland and his ridiculous number of forum voters. Seriously, do they just show up for Cleveland and never again? They sure as heck didn't show up for the Dems before Cleveland.

libertarians love grover cleveland.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Bryan/Boies.

[Antonio the Sixth]

C'mon guys, wouldn't it be fun if the House ended up choosing the candidate who came third?

[Dr. Cynic]

Bryan/Boies.

[Sumner 1868]

Bryan/Boies.

[Zioneer]

You know, I think this may end up like OTL Cleveland; a one-term president is defeated, but comes back to win a second, non-consecutive term.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Since no Presidential candidate seems set to win a majority, does that mean we have to vote again?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Since no Presidential candidate seems set to win a majority, does that mean we have to vote again?

I don't see why it would.  Bryan has a pretty solid lead.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Since no Presidential candidate seems set to win a majority, does that mean we have to vote again?

Like X said, Bryan has a pretty solid lead at this point, so I don't think that's necessary. If it comes down to it, the Fusionist Congressmen will probably switch their votes to Bryan, seeing as he's an outspoken advocate of Prohibition.

[Boston Bread]

We might get a democratic VP, Palmer is one vote away from 50% right now.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, at least let us have Palmer as Veep! Conflicts between President and VP are fun.

Sadly, I myself voted for Boies, because I didn't foresee this scenario. I'd love to change my vote if I could.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Reed for second place! National Prohibition for 1900!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Bryan and Boies both have a clear lead now

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

1897 Contingent Election

William J. Bryan (People's-Nebraska): 26 States
Governor Thomas B. Reed (Fusion-Maine): 10 States
President Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York): 9 States

Thanks to the support of Western Prohibitionists, who realized they had no chance of swinging their delegations for Reed and admired Bryan's defense of the Temperance Movement, Nebraska's "Boy Orator" was elected president in one of the most contentious elections in history. In a moment of humiliation for the Democrats, President Cleveland came in third in the House of Representatives, having lost out to Fusionist Thomas B. Reed by a single state. In the Senate, Governor Boies was easily elected vice president with the support of Populists, Fusionists, and silverite Democrats. Thus, the People's Party was returned to power just four years after loosing it, and Grover Cleveland would leave the national stage, as he thought, for good.