This was the third (and last) consecutive gubernatorial election in which the Republican-controlled state legislature elected the candidate who received fewer votes. It was also the last such election to be determined by the state legislature. The law at the time specified that if no candidate received a majority, the state legislature would decide the election. Coincidentally, this election ran concurrent with the US Presidential election, in which Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison was elected president by the Electoral College, despite receiving fewer votes than incumbent Democrat Grover Cleveland.