Founded on this date in 1854, the Republican Party quickly became a political force. Throughout the 1850s, Republicans and Democrats voiced strong disagreements about new states. Republicans believed the Dakota and Washington territories would support their policies. Democrats were counting on the Montana and New Mexico territories. Each party sought to admit only states that would support its policies.
In the presidential election of 1888, Grover Cleveland won the popular vote, but Republican Benjamin Harrison ended up in the White House thanks to the Electoral College. With Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, Democrats realized they had to capitulate if they were going to get any concessions at all. The statehood plan cut New Mexico out of the mix while admitting Montana. Republicans got Washington as a new state and split Dakota Territory into two states that were both expected to lean Republican, leaving them feeling smug for getting three states while Democrats got only one.
The new states altered national politics. Each new state received one new representative. But the Senate was the big prize. Each state would get two new senators. With six Republican senators and two Democratic senators expected from the new states, Republicans were confident of maintaining power.
Republicans also had their eyes on another reward. They were well aware of Harrison’s elevation to the presidency, despite losing the popular vote, because of the Electoral College. Each state gets a number of electors equal to its senators and representatives. The new states would alter the makeup of the Electoral College in favor of Republicans, assuring the party’s success in the future.
The scheme did not go quite as planned. Americans were unhappy with a downturn in the economy that they blamed on Harrison’s tariff. Republicans said Americans were to blame for their own troubles and were ungrateful. Democrats delivered a stinging defeat to Republicans in the 1890 midterms, regaining Congress with a significant majority. In the 1892 election, Cleveland won both the popular vote and the Electoral College, in large part because of his economic policies.
As for the prediction that North Dakota would be reliably Republican, the state has voted for the Republican candidate in twenty-eight of the last thirty-four presidential elections.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Heather Cox Richardson. “February 26, 2026.” https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardsonAccessed 2/24/2026.
- Mapping History. “The Political Revolution of the 1890s.” https://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US29-00.htmlAccessed 2/24/2026.
- Fascinating Politics. “The 1890 Midterm – A Most Bitter Repudiation of the GOP.” https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2024/05/12/the-1890-midterm-a-most-bitter-repudiation-of-the-gop/ Accessed 2/24/2026.
