| Election Name: | 1886 Delaware gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Delaware |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1882 Delaware gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1882 |
| Next Election: | 1890 Delaware gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1890 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 1886 |
| Image1: | BenjaminBiggs.png |
| Nominee1: | Benjamin T. Biggs |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 13,942 |
| Percentage1: | 63.50% |
| Nominee2: | John H. Hoffecker |
| Party2: | Prohibition Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 7,832 |
| Percentage2: | 35.67% |
| Map Size: | 210px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Charles C. Stockley |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Benjamin T. Biggs |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1886 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1886. Incumbent Democratic Governor Charles C. Stockley was barred from seeing a second consecutive term in office. Former Congressman Benjamin T. Biggs won the Democratic nomination to succeed Stockley. The Republican Party, which was weak and practically nonexistent in the state at the time,[1] did not run a candidate for Governor.[2] As a result, the Temperance Reform Party briefly supplanted the Republican Party as the primary opposition to the Democratic Party. Former State Representative and Smyrna Town Treasurer John H. Hoffecker, a former Democrat, emerged as the Temperance Reform nominee. However, the Democratic Party remained strong in the state; with no Republican opponent and only weak opposition, Biggs won in a landslide.
At the Temperance Reform convention in Dover in June 1886, John H. Hoffecker received the party's nomination by acclamation.[3]
At the Democratic convention in Dover in August 1886, former Congressman Benjamin T. Biggs entered as the frontrunner.[4] He faced a number of prospective candidates, including:[5]
Despite the fierce competition, however, Biggs was easily nominated, winning the convention vote on the first ballot.[9]