| Election Name: | 1888 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1877 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | No |
| Previous Election: | 1884 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1884 |
| Next Election: | 1892 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1892 |
| Nominee1: | Joseph W. Fifer |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 367,860 |
| Percentage1: | 49.15% |
| Nominee2: | John M. Palmer |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 355,313 |
| Percentage2: | 47.47% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Richard J. Oglesby |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Joseph W. Fifer |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1888 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1888.
Republican nominee Joseph W. Fifer defeated Democratic nominee John M. Palmer with 49.15% of the vote.
The Democratic state convention was held on May 23, 1888, at Springfield.
Palmer's nomination was then made unanimous.
The Republican state convention was held on May 2, 1888, at Springfield.
The results of the balloting were as follows:[1] [2] [3] [4]
| Gubernatorial Ballot | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | ||||||
| 288 | 349 | 398 | 606 | ||||||
| John McNulta | 136 | 133 | 144 | 111 | |||||
| Clark E. Carr | 115 | 110 | 97 | 9 | |||||
| James A. Connolly | 100 | 96 | 89 | 58 | |||||
| John I. Rinaker | 98 | 77 | 62 | 32 | |||||
| John C. Smith | 58 | 45 | 36 | 17 | |||||
| Francis M. Wright | 48 | 33 | 21 | 14 | |||||
| Richard J. Oglesby | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Fifer's nomination was then made unanimous.