it was an election year.
1896:
Electoral vote 271 to 176 (244 needed to win)
States carried 23 to 22
Popular vote 7,112,138 to 6,510,807
Percentage 51.1% to 47.7%
Since the onset of the Panic of 1893, the nation had been mired in a deep economic depression, marked by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent strikes. Economic issues, especially tariff policy and the question of whether the gold standard should be preserved for the money supply, were central issues.
