 To break up the coalition, white Democrats used intimidation and outright violence to reduce black Republican voting and regained control of the state legislature in 1896.Intimidation and violence against blacks increased prior to the 1898 election throughout the state, especially in black-majority counties.On November 4, 1898, the "Raleigh News & Observer" noted,

In Wilmington, a biracial coalition of Republicans won the offices of mayor and aldermen in 1898.