VA, 1888

[Bo]

How come it was so close? Cleveland won it by only 0.5% despite VA being an ex-Confederate state. Were Jim Crow laws banning blacks from voting not in effect yet? Or was it something else?  Also, I noticed that VA was very close in 1884 as well (but not in 1880 or 1876), and some other states in the upper South (KY, TN, and NC) were pretty close in the 1880s and 1890s as well before becoming solidly Democratic after 1900.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Virginia Constitution firmly establishing Jim Crow policies wasn't until 1902. During the late 1870s-1880s, the Readjuster coalition gained some control, backed by most Republicans and a significant number of Democrats. Blacks still had the vote, and the Readjusters managed to get rid of the poll tax. By the end of the 1880s, most of the Readjuster Party had been absorbed into the Republicans. Even so, the amount of Republican votes in 1884 and 1888 was quite impressive.  Eastern VA (where blacks were/are more numerous) went to the Republicans and the western part went to the Democrats, with the exact opposite trend by 1904.