| Election Name: | 1891 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Flag Year: | 1891 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1890 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 1890 |
| Next Election: | 1892 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 1892 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Seats For Election: | 7 governorships |
| Election Date: | November 3, 1891; August 3, 1891 (KY); April 1, 1891 (RI) |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 27 |
| Seats After1: | 25 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| 1Data1: | 7 |
| 2Data1: | 5 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 17 |
| Seats After2: | 19 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| 1Data2: | 0 |
| 2Data2: | 2 |
| Map Size: | 324px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1891, in seven states.
Kentucky and Maryland held their gubernatorial elections in odd numbered years, every 4 years, preceding the United States presidential election year. Massachusetts and Rhode Island both elected their respective governors to a single-year term. They would abandon this practice in 1920 and 1912, respectively. Iowa and Ohio at this time held gubernatorial elections in every odd numbered year.
New York at this time elected its governors to a three-year term. This was the last election in which this was the case. The state switched to two-year terms from the 1894 elections.
In Kentucky, the gubernatorial election was held in August for the last time; the next gubernatorial election would be held on the same day as federal elections.
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing candidates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | Horace Boies | Democratic | Re-elected, 49.38% | Hiram C. Wheeler (Republican) 47.43% A. J. Westfall (Populist) 2.97% Isaac T. Gibson (Prohibition) 0.22% [1] [2] | |
| Kentucky (held, 3 August 1891) | Simon Bolivar Buckner | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | John Y. Brown (Democratic) 49.85% Andrew T. Wood (Republican) 40.14% S. B. Erwin (Populist) 8.86% Josiah Harris (Prohibition) 1.14% [3] | |
| Maryland | Elihu Emory Jackson | Democratic | Retired, Democratic victory | Frank Brown (Democratic) 56.52% William J. Vannort (Republican) 40.82% Edwin Higgins (Prohibition) 2.67% [4] [5] | |
| Massachusetts | William E. Russell | Democratic | Re-elected, 49.12% | Charles Herbert Allen (Republican) 47.11% Charles E. Kimball (Prohibition) 2.79% Henry Winn (Populist) 0.54% Harry W. Robinson (Socialist Labor) 0.44% [6] [7] | |
| New York | David B. Hill | Democratic | Retired to take up seat in the U.S. Senate, Democratic victory | Roswell P. Flower (Democratic) 50.13% Jacob Sloat Fassett (Republican) 46.00% Joseph W. Bruce[8] (Prohibition) 2.61% Daniel De Leon (Socialist Labor) 1.26% [9] [10] [11] | |
| Ohio | James E. Campbell | Democratic | Defeated, 45.90% | William McKinley (Republican) 48.61% John Seitz (Populist) 2.95% John J. Ashenhurst (Prohibition) 2.54% [12] [13] | |
| Rhode Island (held, 1 April 1891) | John W. Davis | Democratic | Defeated, 48.95% | Herbert W. Ladd (Republican) 46.19% John H. Larry (Prohibition) 4.02% Franklin E. Burton (National) 0.85% [14] [15] |