1896 United States presidential election in California

The 1896 United States presidential election in California took place on November 3, 1896, as part of the 1896 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California narrowly voted for the Republican nominee, Ohio Governor William McKinley, over the Democratic nominee, former Nebraska representative William Jennings Bryan. McKinley won the state by a narrow margin of 0.65%.

Eight of the state's electoral votes were awarded to McKinley, while one was awarded to Bryan. This was the third occasion in which California's electoral vote was split, rather than being awarded to a single candidate. The previous two occasions were in 1880 and 1892. Such a split would only subsequently occur in California one more time (in 1912).

Bryan would lose California to McKinley again four years later and would later lose the state again in 1908 to William Howard Taft.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Butte
 * Inyo
 * Lassen
 * Mono
 * Monterey
 * Nevada
 * Sacramento
 * San Diego
 * San Luis Obispo
 * Shasta
 * Trinity

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Del Norte
 * San Francisco
 * San Joaquin (became tied)
 * Sonoma
 * Yuba