Campaign Trail Results: Game #1546590
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This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William McKinley
- Running Mate: Thomas B. Reed
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 277 | 7,222,153 | 52.05 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 170 | 6,511,936 | 46.93 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 140,443 | 1.01 |
Answers:
- Which of the following will be your primary campaign message?I am the candidate who brings the reasonable, tested ideas of sound money, protection, and prosperity. Bryan on the other hand will usher in radicalism and instability.
- What points do you wish to touch upon as you accept the Republican nomination? A written transcript will be transmitted to voters across the country.I appreciate the faith of the American people and consult always with the Lord before I make my decisions. I will run a moderate, sensible agenda that appeals to the broad majority.
- Bryan's nomination has electrified the western voter, and he is now planning to campaign on the rails, six days a week. Will you break precedent as well and make a speaking tour of the nation?There's no way I can compete with Bryan's oratorical talents. Instead, I will receive groups of visitors at my home in Canton, Ohio. We have the financing to pay for these visits, and anyone who shows up will receive a free sandwich while I deliver a speech.
- You have the support of the important newspapers, and they are willing to accept your guidance on the proper campaign message. What do you want them to print?I can't attack Bryan like the papers can without losing some of my luster. Let them publish the defamatory cartoons and opinion pieces.
- The "lily-white" faction of the Republican Party claims that they can make your ticket competitive in some Southern states. Are you willing to make a statement of support?We have already promised patronage jobs to the black-and-tans for their support of my nomination. It will look bad all around if I go back on my word.
- Your surrogates have taken to reminding some workers that factories and railroads will certainly be forced to close if a radical like Bryan takes office. Do you encourage such tactics?Well... all I can say is that they're correct. Bryan's policies would continue the disaster we have suffered under Grover Cleveland.
- What arguments will your campaign make to counterbalance the appeal of Democrats in the Plains?The free coinage of silver will lead to chaos in agriculture the same as in other areas. Crop prices will increase, but so too will land and seed prices.
- The West Coast is a very competitive region. Can you make the case for Republican policies there, particularly in those places such as San Francisco which rely on foreign trade?Bryan is the type of do-gooder politician who would attempt to impose his own morality on this independent region.
- Some of the border states (Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky) are very close this year. Do you have a strategy to make these states jump to the Republican side?There is a certain element of conservatism in the southern states. I don't think that their temperament aligns with that of Bryan. I will simply repeat the message that he is a radical.
- Will you send campaigners to Nebraska, in an attempt to deliver an embarrassing defeat to Bryan, or should those resources be focused on South Dakota, Wyoming, and Iowa?We are running a 45-state strategy. I want our victory and repudiation of the silver Democrats to be as large as possible.
- There is one week left until election day. Every state is important, but where will you give an extra push with what is left of your financial resources to educate the American voters?Let's continue to focus on the Midwest. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, etc.
- Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?I support a strict adherence to the gold standard, which is fundamental to American prosperity.
- What is your definitive position on the tariff issue?Where we have mature, stable industries, tariffs can be lower. They should be high on most products.
- The United States is in the midst of a financial calamity, with masses of unemployed men on the streets. What will you do to revive business in this country?We need to reaffirm our commitment to non-intervention in business affairs. Companies need stability before they will have the confidence to expand.
- Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Illinois to end the Pullman Strike without the request of Governor Altgeld. Was this an overreach on his part?It's not the job of government to regulate labor disputes, but the fact of the matter is that these strikers were allowing no rail traffic to pass through Chicago whatsoever. Something needed to be done.
- What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?Perhaps if our goal is to prevent drinking on Sunday, or public drunkenness, I am all for those measures. But a blanket temperance law is a different story.
- What do you say to the notion that high tariffs hurt farmers?High tariffs protect American industry and increase the purchasing power of the consumer. Free silver would throw this system into chaos and even hurt the farmer in the long-term.
- Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution allowing the people to vote for their Senators directly?I neither support, nor do I oppose this idea for an Amendment. My job as President will be to enforce the law as it stands.
- Some labor leaders have called for regulation standardizing a ten or even an eight hour workday. Do you support these calls?I am a strong supporter of labor, but I also think that working hour restrictions are more appropriate for women and children than for grown men.
- Some people have suggested implementing a minimum wage, under which people may not be employed. Do you think this would help increase wages or would it simply put more men out of work?This policy is economically unviable. It is also yet another "solution" to our problems which I deem to be unconstitutional.
- In general, is the Supreme Court too obstructionist in their rulings on economic issues? Would you appoint judges who would bring a new perspective to these issues?It is not my place as a politician, running for a position in the Executive Branch, to comment on the performance of the Court.
- Are you prepared to reaffirm our commitment to the Monroe Doctrine, should any new territories in Latin America gain independence from Spain?I support the Monroe Doctrine as established American policy.
- Should corporations be permitted to hire private detectives for security, and to infiltrate into labor movements?I don't see who has the authority to stop this. This is another example of regulation that would fall outside of the scope of the Commerce Clause in the Constitution.
- Are you pleased with the recent defeat in Congress of the Pacific Railroad Funding Bill, which would have provided federal support to the Southern and Central Pacific railroads.I was opposed to this bill. We might have provided land grants and funding for railroads in the past, but that practice will end under my Administration.
- Should the federal government make an effort to build a canal through Nicaragua to more efficiently link trade in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?I envision an American canal, built by American workers, property of the American government, supporting the actions of a robust American Navy. I fully support these plans.