The 1886 California lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on 2 November 1886 in order to elect the lieutenant governor of California. Republican nominee Robert Waterman defeated Democratic nominee M. F. Tarpey, Prohibition nominee A. D. Boren and Independent candidate Horace Bell.
General election.
On election day, 2 November 1886, Republican nominee Robert Waterman won the election by a margin of 2,493 votes against his foremost opponent Democratic nominee M. F. Tarpey, thereby gaining Republican control over the office of lieutenant governor. Waterman was sworn in as the 17th lieutenant governor of California on 3 January 1887.
Results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em" |Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em" |%
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" | Total votes
References.
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