# 1892 South Dakota gubernatorial election

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in South Dakota :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2016
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1889
1891
1894
1897
1901
1903
1903 sp
1907
1909
1913
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1938
1938 sp
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House elections
1889
1890
1891
AL sp
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
AL sp
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
AL sp
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
General elections
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1889
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2018
2022
Senate elections
2020
2022
House of Representatives elections
2020
2022 :
Ballot measures
2006
Amendment C
2008
Measure 9
Measure 10
2020
Amendment A
Measure 26
2024
Amendment E
Amendment G
Amendment H :
Sioux Falls
City elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Mayoral elections
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Rapid City
City elections
2020
2022
2024
2026
Mayoral elections
2022 :
Pierre
City elections
2020
2022
2024
2026
Mayoral elections
2022 :
vte :
The 1892 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1892. Incumbent Republican Governor Arthur C. Mellette declined to seek re-election to a third term. Former territorial legislator Charles H. Sheldon was nominated by the Republican Party as Mellette's replacement, and he faced former legislator Abraham Lincoln Van Osdel, a leader in the South Dakota Farmers' Alliance and the nominee of the Independent Party, along with Democratic nominee Peter Couchman, in the general election. The result was largely a replay of the 1890 election, with Sheldon winning by a large margin, but only a plurality, and Van Osdel taking second place over Couchman.

## Independent Party convention

Following the split vote in the 1890 election, some members of the Independent Party pushed for a fusion with the Democratic Party. However, in the lead-up to the June 1892 convention, Independent leaders and convention delegates made clear that they were strongly opposed to fusion and would nominate their own candidates. Their 1890 gubernatorial nominee, Henry L. Loucks, was initially seen as the frontrunner for the nomination, but former territorial delegate Abraham Lincoln Van Osdel, who was the Party's 1890 lieutenant-gubernatorial nominee, emerged as the nominee.

## Republican convention

At the Republican convention in July 1892, Governor Mellette declined to be a candidate for another term. To replace him, a crowded field developed:
* A. E. Clough, Chairman of the Republican Party of South Dakota
* John P. Davis, State Representative from Kingsbury County
* Robert Dollard, Attorney General
* George H. Hoffman, Lieutenant Governor
* Edward T. Sheldon, former State Representative from Hand County
* Charles H. Sheldon, former territorial legislator
* L. C. Taylor, State Auditor
* Seth T. Winslow, State Representative from Sanborn County
However, before a formal ballot could be taken, the delegates agreed on nominating Charles H. Sheldon for Governor, and he received the nomination by acclamation.

## Democratic convention

Just as the Independent Party rejected the idea of fusion, so too did the Democratic Party. At their September 1890 convention, the delegates overwhelmingly voted, 376–36, against forming a coalition and to instead nominate their own candidates for state offices. The convention nominated Peter Couchman, a former member of the New York State Assembly who moved to South Dakota in 1872 and ran as the 1890 Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, by acclamation.

## General election
### Results

1892 South Dakota gubernatorial special election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Charles H. Sheldon | 33,414 | 47.46% | +2.99% |
| | Independent Party | Abraham Lincoln Van Osdel | 22,524 | 31.99% | +0.28% |
| | Democratic | Peter Couchman | 14,472 | 20.55% | −3.28% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,890 | 15.47% | +2.71% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 70,410 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |