1912 United States presidential election in Utah

none June 2025 September 2023 1912 United States presidential election 1912 United States presidential election in Utah Utah 1911 presidential no 1908 United States presidential election in Utah 1908 1916 United States presidential election in Utah 1916 November 5, 1912 x200px File:William Howard Taft Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg William Howard Taft Republican Party (United States) Ohio Nicholas Murray Butler 4 42,100 37.46% Woodrow Wilson-H&E.jpg Woodrow Wilson Democratic Party (United States) New Jersey Thomas R. Marshall 0 36,579 32.55% Unsuccessful 1912 2.jpg Theodore Roosevelt Progressive New York Hiram Johnson A2ED70 0 24,174 21.51% Eugene Debs portrait.jpeg Eugene V. Debs Socialist Party of America Indiana Emil Seidel 0 9,023 8.03% 1912 United States presidential election in Utah results map by county.svg 250px County results Taft #ffccd0 30–40% #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% Wilson #d3e7ff 30–40% #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% Roosevelt #c7ffaf 30–40% Tie #e3d7e8ff President William Howard Taft Republican Party (United States) Woodrow Wilson Democratic Party (United States) The 1912 United States presidential election in Utah was held on November 5, 1912 as part of the 1912 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. After being overwhelmingly carried by William Jennings Bryan in its first presidential election from its statehood year of 1896, Utah was to vote Republican by increasing margins in the following three elections, with only Washington County in the Dixie region voting Democratic in 1904 and 1908. By 1909, there were just two Democrats in the state legislature – a number fewer than any other state except Michigan during the middle 1900s and 1920s. However, during William Howard Taft's presidency, his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt became bitterly opposed to his policies on foreign affairs and the opening of public lands to private concerns.Wahlquist, C. Austin; ‘The 1912 Presidential Election in Utah’ (A Thesis Presented to the Department of History, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) and thus decided to run in Republican primaries. Roosevelt's personal popularity and a powerful speaking tour was sufficient for him to "steamroll" through primaries, but Taft was able to prevail as the Republican nominee through traditional machine and party tactics.Kraig, Robert Alexander; 'The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundations of the Liberal State', Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Fall 2000), pp.. 365-366 Reformers bolted the Republicans and formed the "Progressive" or "Bull Moose" Party with Roosevelt as standard-bearer. Taft – already unpopular with the public and not enjoying being PresidentConlin, Joseph R.; The American Past: A Survey of American History, Volume II: Since 1865, Volume 2, p. 607 113394664X – decided to run, not in expectation of being re-elected but rather to preserve the GOP apparatus for future conservative action.Craig; 'The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundation of the Liberal State', p. 368 Because Taft made little efforts to campaign, he lost easily in most states; however, in Utah, a powerful political machine under long-serving senator and Mormon Apostle Reed Smoot had been developed to counter the anti-Mormon "American Party", which had become the effective opposition to the Republicans in local elections and had elected mayors in Salt Lake City. Combined with a very prosperous rural economy in both the farming and mining sectors, this produced strong loyalty among local Mormon communities to Taft,See Sarasohn, David; 'The Election of 1916: Realigning the Rockies', Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (July 1980), pp. 285-305 who was also supported by the local Mormon and non-Mormon press. Those supporting Roosevelt were viewed as "insincere" and as "office-seekers", although latterly such press criticism was toned down. Taft was thus able to hold the state, with the maintenance of tariffs being critical for the 52 percent of Utahans who were farmers in 1912. Wilson and Roosevelt were most successful in the remote, less Mormon areas east of the Wasatch Mountains, and in some urban areas with more progressive tendencies. Socialist Eugene Debs, in the most successful of his five presidential campaigns, obtained eight percent of the vote but did much better than this in some mining areas. Utah became one of the only two states to vote for Taft in 1912, the other being Vermont, and with 37.46% of the popular vote made the state his strongest victory in the election.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1912&f=1&off=0&elect=0 1912 Presidential Election Statistics Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 2018-03-05 This was the last presidential election until 1960 in which Utah did not back the national winner, and remains the last time the state voted differently than neighboring Idaho. Results + General Election ResultsUtah State Archives, Abstract of the Returns of an Election held in the State of Utah, Tuesday, November 5th, A.D. 1912 for Presidential Electors, for Representatives in the Sixty-third Congress of the United States, for State Officers, and for District Officers in Districts comprising more than one county, and for the Adoption of Rejection of Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of this State.Tingey Charles S. Report of the Secretary of State 1911-1912 1913 Tribune-Reporter Printing Company Salt Lake City 176-177 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3456082&view=1up&seq=182 29 December 2025Official State Vote for President, Congressmen, and Governor https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86091022/1912-12-05/ed-1/?sp=7 29 December 2025 The Eastern Utah Advocate 5 December 1912 Price 7Sample Ballot https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85058246/1912-10-29/ed-1/?sp=7 29 December 2025 The Logan Republican 29 October 1912 Logan 7Party Pledged to Elector Votes Republican Party William Howard Taft M. H. Walker42,100 Republican Party William Howard Taft John N. Davis42,067 Republican Party William Howard Taft Margaret Zane Witcher42,015 Republican Party William Howard Taft Ephraim Homer41,939 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Jesse Knight36,579 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson O. W. Powers36,459 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson James Andrus36,350 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson T. H. Fitzgerald36,329 Progressive Party Theodore Roosevelt Myra M. De Wolfe24,174 Progressive Party Theodore Roosevelt Mary G. Coulter23,981 Progressive Party Theodore Roosevelt G. J. Carpenter23,975 Progressive Party Theodore Roosevelt Hugo Deprezin23,934 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs A. L. Mitchell9,023 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs W. E. Warner8,999 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs George Huscher8,983 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs J. E. Gease8,981 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer James P. Erskine510 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Marie L. Petersen505 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Roy F. Southwick503 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer J. E. Guernsey501Votes cast"highest" Based on highest elector on each ticket 112,386 Results by county County William Howard TaftRepublican Woodrow WilsonDemocratic Theodore RooseveltProgressive Eugene V. DebsSocialist Arthur E. ReimerSocialist LaborMarginTotal votescast"highest" # % # % # % # % # % # % Beaver 671 39.75% 602 35.66% 307 18.19% 106 6.28% 2 0.12% 69 4.09% 1,688 Box Elder 1,650 40.61% 1,402 34.51% 936 23.04% 75 1.85% 0 0.00% 248 6.10% 4,063Cache2,82537.92%3,29644.25%1,17315.75%1351.81%200.27%-471-6.33%7,449Carbon77135.42%51423.61%54124.85%34415.80%70.32%230"RooseveltdWilson" In the county where Roosevelt ran second ahead of Wilson, margin given is Taft vote minus Roosevelt vote and percentage margin Taft percentage minus Roosevelt percentage.10.57%2,177 Davis 1,295 44.36% 1,142 39.12% 460 15.76% 21 0.72% 1 0.03% 153 5.24% 2,919 Emery 760 37.04% 760 37.04% 336 16.37% 190 9.26% 6 0.29% 0 0.00% 2,052 Garfield 673 62.60% 249 23.16% 128 11.91% 23 2.14% 2 0.19% 424 39.44% 1,075 Grand 191 33.75% 212 37.46% 118 20.85% 45 7.95% 0 0.00% -21 -3.71% 566 Iron 695 49.71% 544 38.91% 63 4.51% 95 6.80% 1 0.07% 151 10.80% 1,398 Juab 1,171 35.38% 985 29.76% 344 10.39% 800 24.17% 10 0.30% 186 5.62% 3,310 Kane 426 75.27% 115 20.32% 20 3.53% 5 0.88% 0 0.00% 311 54.95% 566 Millard 970 41.10% 865 36.65% 397 16.82% 123 5.21% 5 0.21% 105 4.45% 2,360 Morgan 318 36.59% 233 26.81% 273 31.42% 45 5.18% 0 0.00% 45"RooseveltdWilson" 5.17% 869 Piute 205 37.41% 110 20.07% 146 26.64% 87 15.88% 0 0.00% 59"RooseveltdWilson" 10.77% 548 Rich 329 48.89% 238 35.36% 100 14.86% 6 0.89% 0 0.00% 91 13.53% 673 Salt Lake 12,719 35.14% 10,468 28.92% 8,899 24.59% 3,798 10.49% 308 0.85% 2,251 6.22% 36,192 San Juan 146 37.24% 146 37.24% 96 24.49% 4 1.02% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 392 Sanpete 2,488 41.98% 1,984 33.47% 1,272 21.46% 173 2.92% 10 0.17% 504 8.51% 5,927 Sevier 1,452 41.90% 915 26.41% 807 23.29% 287 8.28% 4 0.12% 537 15.49% 3,465 Summit 1,290 44.06% 983 33.57% 425 14.52% 226 7.72% 4 0.14% 307 10.49% 2,928 Tooele 950 44.21% 646 30.06% 261 12.15% 284 13.22% 8 0.37% 304 14.15% 2,149 Uintah 545 28.40% 566 29.49% 641 33.40% 165 8.60% 2 0.10% -75In this county where Taft ran third behind both Wilson and Roosevelt, margin given is Wilson vote minus Roosevelt vote and percentage margin Wilson percentage minus Roosevelt percentage. -3.91% 1,919 Utah 4,185 35.45% 4,636 39.26% 2,295 19.44% 664 5.62% 27 0.23% -451 -3.81% 11,807 Wasatch 1,210 41.71% 957 32.99% 432 14.89% 294 10.13% 8 0.28% 253 8.72% 2,901 Washington 712 43.60% 842 51.56% 72 4.41% 6 0.37% 1 0.06% -130 -7.96% 1,633 Wayne 282 52.03% 183 33.76% 24 4.43% 53 9.78% 0 0.00% 99 18.27% 542 Weber 3,171 29.31% 2,986 27.60% 3,608 33.35% 969 8.96% 84 0.78% -437"RooseveltdWilson" -4.04% 10,818Totals42,10037.46%36,57932.55%24,17421.51%9,0238.03%5100.45%5,5214.91%112,386 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Cache Grand Utah Counties that flipped from Republican to Progressive Uintah Weber See also United States presidential elections in Utah 1912 United States presidential election in Vermont - President William Howard Taft's sole other win in 1912 Notes References expanded Category:1912 Utah elections Utah 1912