"Although not a landslide shift comparable to election swings in the twentieth century, McKinley's victory ended the pattern of close popular margins that had characterized elections since the Civil War," notes a recap of the 1896 election posted by UVA’s Miller Center.  "McKinley received 7,218,491 votes (51.7%) to Bryan's 6,356,734 votes (45.5%) – a gain for the Republicans of 114,000 votes over their total in 1896."