 Jones noted, "The Republican Party, under the skillful leadership of McKinley and Hanna, produced a combination of votes which gave it the victory in 1896 and which promised Republican ascendency for many years in the future." The 1896 presidential race is often considered a realigning election, when there is a major shift in voting patterns, upsetting the political balance. McKinley was supported by middle-class and wealthy voters, urban laborers, and prosperous farmers; this coalition would keep the Republicans mostly in power until the 1930s. McKinley's wooing of the Midwest would pay ample dividends in the years to come, as it remained solidly Republican in most years until 1932.
