Territorial Timeline

Benjamin Harrison of Indiana elected President, facilitating Washington’s entry into the Union

In the elections of 1888 the Republican Party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives and increased its majority in the Senate. In addition, in 1888 the Indiana Republican, Benjamin Harrison, was elected President. With both houses of Congress and the Presidency in hand, the Republicans pushed through the Enabling Act in 1889, which “enabled” Republican-leaning Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana to join the Union. The Democrats strongly protested and tried to add New Mexico to the list, a state that would most likely vote Democrat, but their effort was blocked. The Enabling Act added four new states to the Union and eight new members to the U.S. Senate. All eight were Republicans.

In the first Presidential election which Washington State took part, it cast its four electoral votes for the Republican candidate Benjamin Harrison, returning him to the White House for a second term. During the first eight years of Statehood, every elected official in Washington was a Republican. It was not until 1923 that Washington sent its first Democrat to the U.S. Senate.