1920 United States presidential election in California

none June 2025 September 2023 1920 United States presidential election in California California Flag of California (1911–1924).pngborder presidential no 1916 United States presidential election in California 1916 1924 United States presidential election in California 1924 71.87% (of registered voters) 7.70 pp 47.26% (of eligible voters) 10.65 ppHistorical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018 https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2018-general/sov/04-historical-voter-reg-participation.pdf California Secretary of State 2022-05-05 November 2, 1920 x160px Warren G Harding-Harris & Ewing crop.jpg Warren G. Harding Republican Party (United States) Ohio Calvin Coolidge 13 624,992 66.20% James M. Cox 1920.jpg James M. Cox Democratic Party (United States) Ohio Franklin D. Roosevelt 0 229,191 24.28% Eugene Debs portrait.jpeg Eugene V. Debs Socialist Party of America Indiana Seymour Stedman 0 64,076 6.79% 325px 300px County results Harding #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #800000 90–100% President Woodrow Wilson Democratic Party (United States) Warren G. Harding Republican Party (United States) 1920 United States presidential election The 1920 United States presidential election in California took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election in which all 48 states participated. California voters chose 13 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic nominee, Governor James M. Cox of Ohio and his running mate, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, against Republican challenger U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio and his running mate, Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts. By the beginning of 1920 skyrocketing inflation and President Woodrow Wilson's focus upon his proposed League of Nations at the expense of domestic policy had helped make the incumbent president very unpopularGoldberg, David Joseph; Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s, p. 44 0801860059 – besides which Wilson also had major health problems that had left First Lady Edith Wilson effectively running the nation. Political unrest observed in the Palmer Raids and the "Red Scare" further added to the unpopularity of the Democratic Party, since this global political turmoil produced considerable fear of alien revolutionaries invading the country.Leuchtenburg, William E.; The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, p. 75 0226473724 Demand in the West for exclusion of Asian immigrants became even stronger than it had been before.Vought, Hans P.; The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot: American Presidents And The Immigrant, 1897-1933, p. 167 0865548870 Another issue was the anti-Cox position taken by the Ku Klux Klan,Brake, Robert J.; 'The porch and the stump: Campaign strategies in the 1920 presidential election'; Quarterly Journal of Speech, 55(3), pp. 256-267 at the time a dominant force in Southern Democratic politics, and Cox's inconsistent stance on newly passed Prohibition – he had been a "wet" before, but announced he would support Prohibition enforcement in August. The West had been the chief presidential battleground ever since the "System of 1896" emerged following that election.Faykosh, Joseph D., Bowling Green State University; The Front Porch of the American People: James Cox and the Presidential Election of 1920 (thesis), p. 68 For this reason, Cox chose to tour the entire nationFaykosh, The Front Porch of the American People (thesis), p. 69 and after touring the Pacific Northwest Cox went to California to defend his proposed League of Nations. Cox argued that the League could have stopped the Asian conflicts – like the Japanese seizure of Shandong – but his apparent defence of Chinese immigrants in the Bay Area was very unpopular and large numbers of hecklers attacked the Democratic candidate.Faykosh, The Front Porch of the American People (thesis), p. 74 Moreover, the only attention Cox received in the Western press was severe criticism. Results + General Election ResultsStatement of Vote at General Election held on November 2, 1920 in the State of California 1968 Sacramento, California 8–15 https://archive.org/details/statementofvo19081922cali/page/n313/mode/2up?view=theater 15 July 2024Party Pledged to Elector Votes Republican Party Warren G. Harding John H. Rosseter624,992 Republican Party Warren G. Harding W. L. Hollingsworth624,291 Republican Party Warren G. Harding A. H. Hewitt624,067 Republican Party Warren G. Harding A. J. Mathews624,041 Republican Party Warren G. Harding George M. Francis623,964 Republican Party Warren G. Harding C. C. Young623,920 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Wylie M. Giffen623,778 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Lawrence J. Flaherty623,686 Republican Party Warren G. Harding George R. Davis623,670 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. Edward F. Glaser623,393 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Ed Fletcher623,333 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. D. C. Stephens623,279 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. Charles C. Teague623,172 Democratic Party James M. Cox E. L. Doheny229,191 Democratic Party James M. Cox Robert M. Fitzgerald228,994 Democratic Party James M. Cox Francis J. Heney228,969 Democratic Party James M. Cox Thomas Rutledge228,792 Democratic Party James M. Cox John A. Livingston228,728 Democratic Party James M. Cox L. O. Stephens228,719 Democratic Party James M. Cox Arthur C. Huston228,693 Democratic Party James M. Cox James F. Peck228,579 Democratic Party James M. Cox E. S. Heller228,568 Democratic Party James M. Cox Mary E. Foy228,541 Democratic Party James M. Cox Sarah Hagan228,509 Democratic Party James M. Cox Peter F. Zabala228,477 Democratic Party James M. Cox William G. Irving228,458 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs R. W. Anderson64,076 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Isabel King63,829 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Joseph Lawrence63,813 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Mary Morgan63,784 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Fred Bergstrom63,778 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Frithiof Sundman63,761 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Karl Hellman63,750 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Bird E. Morehouse63,742 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Anna Macy63,739 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Abraham Levin63,713 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs A. T. Pruess63,693 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Clarissa Kneeland63,692 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Addie Benedict63,686 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins H. A. Johnson25,204 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins H. P. Stipp25,085 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Stella B. Irvine25,057 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Edward Beach25,047 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Elam Biggs25,033 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Wiley J. Phillips24,973 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Ada Ferris24,953 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins F. A. Densmore24,934 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins E. F. Van Vlear24,930 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins T. K. Beard24,929 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Anna M. De Yo24,895 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Joseph Fusch24,886 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins O. U. Hull24,864 Write-in Scattering587Votes castBased on totals for highest elector on each ticket 944,050 Results by county County Warren G. HardingRepublican James M. CoxDemocratic Eugene V. DebsSocialist Aaron S. WatkinsProhibition ScatteringWrite-in Margin Total votes castBased on the highest elector on each ticket # % # % # % # % # % # %Alameda73,17769.11%21,46820.27%9,2668.75%1,9781.87%00.00%51,70948.83%105,889Alpine6491.43%68.57%00.00%00.00%00.00%5882.86%70Amador1,35064.13%63930.36%632.99%532.52%00.00%71133.78%2,105Butte5,40965.69%2,26227.47%3394.12%2242.72%00.00%3,14738.22%8,234Calaveras1,48063.96%64127.70%1114.80%823.54%00.00%83936.26%2,314Colusa1,64561.24%90733.77%722.68%622.31%00.00%73827.48%2,686Contra Costa9,04163.75%3,48324.56%1,4109.94%2481.75%00.00%5,55839.19%14,182Del Norte59662.61%27929.31%495.15%282.94%00.00%31733.30%952El Dorado1,63664.36%72628.56%1154.52%652.56%00.00%91035.80%2,542Fresno14,62155.36%9,61336.39%1,4265.40%7532.85%00.00%5,00818.96%26,413Glenn1,91664.19%90230.22%892.98%782.61%00.00%1,01433.97%2,985Humboldt6,52869.89%1,77819.04%7638.17%2712.90%00.00%4,75050.86%9,340Imperial4,69964.51%2,02227.76%3745.13%1892.59%00.00%2,67736.75%7,284Inyo1,19557.20%68232.65%1808.62%321.53%00.00%51324.56%2,089Kern7,07949.01%6,09542.20%9336.46%3372.33%00.00%9846.81%14,444Kings2,80659.61%1,60434.08%1803.82%1172.49%00.00%1,20225.54%4,707Lake99357.23%57132.91%754.32%965.53%00.00%42224.32%1,735Lassen1,58266.22%64326.92%974.06%672.80%00.00%93939.31%2,389Los Angeles178,11769.10%55,66121.59%14,6745.69%8,8123.42%5060.20%122,45647.51%257,770Madera1,77955.46%1,14535.69%1815.64%1033.21%00.00%63419.76%3,208Marin5,37568.80%1,68821.61%6328.09%1181.51%00.00%3,68747.19%7,813Mariposa48455.38%32036.61%536.06%171.95%00.00%16418.76%874Mendocino4,44365.83%1,78926.51%4015.94%1161.72%00.00%2,65439.32%6,749Merced3,45762.99%1,53728.01%3316.03%1632.97%00.00%1,92034.99%5,488Modoc99262.59%53533.75%362.27%221.39%00.00%45728.83%1,585Mono17067.73%5622.31%228.76%31.20%00.00%11445.42%251Monterey4,81767.76%1,77124.91%2633.70%2583.63%00.00%3,04642.85%7,109Napa4,44870.99%1,44423.05%2744.37%1001.60%00.00%3,00447.94%6,266Nevada2,05564.97%74723.62%2798.82%822.59%00.00%1,30841.35%3,163Orange12,79771.52%3,50219.57%6323.53%9625.38%00.00%9,29551.95%17,893Placer2,89459.44%1,55932.02%2885.91%1282.63%00.00%1,33527.42%4,869Plumas99963.96%40325.80%1147.30%462.94%00.00%59638.16%1,562Riverside9,12469.55%2,79821.33%6905.26%5063.86%00.00%6,32648.22%13,118Sacramento15,63464.87%7,15029.67%9443.92%3721.54%00.00%8,48435.20%24,100San Benito1,96565.00%90029.77%742.45%842.78%00.00%1,06535.23%3,023San Bernardino12,51862.84%5,62028.21%8904.47%8934.48%00.00%6,89834.63%19,921San Diego19,28663.78%8,47827.27%1,8125.83%9713.12%00.00%11,34836.50%31,087San Francisco96,10565.18%32,63722.13%17,04911.56%1,6301.11%290.02%63,46843.04%147,450San Joaquin12,00360.94%6,48732.93%6953.53%5132.60%00.00%5,51628.00%19,698San Luis Obispo4,12361.31%1,60623.88%6439.56%3014.48%520.77%2,51737.43%6,725San Mateo7,20570.52%1,95819.16%9569.36%980.96%00.00%5,24751.36%10,217Santa Barbara6,97067.48%2,58625.04%4964.80%2772.68%00.00%4,38442.44%10,329Santa Clara19,56568.09%6,48522.57%1,6675.80%1,0153.53%00.00%13,08045.52%28,732Santa Cruz5,28566.28%1,95724.54%4125.17%3204.01%00.00%3,32841.74%7,974Shasta2,10862.07%1,02830.27%2056.04%551.62%00.00%1,08031.80%3,396Sierra50672.18%15822.54%243.42%131.85%00.00%34849.64%701Siskiyou2,90960.05%1,50231.01%3376.96%961.98%00.00%1,40729.05%4,844Solano7,10264.77%2,95426.94%7436.78%1661.51%00.00%4,14837.83%10,965Sonoma10,37766.90%4,07026.24%6804.38%3852.48%00.00%6,30740.66%15,512Stanislaus7,03861.61%3,05526.74%5825.09%7486.55%00.00%3,98334.87%11,423Sutter1,86270.32%63624.02%692.61%813.06%00.00%1,22646.30%2,648Tehama2,46261.81%1,07927.09%2315.80%2115.30%00.00%1,38334.72%3,983Trinity62262.89%28528.82%757.58%70.71%00.00%33734.07%989Tulare9,13661.26%4,83732.43%5273.53%4142.78%00.00%4,29928.83%14,914Tuolumne1,28559.38%65930.45%1577.26%632.91%00.00%62628.93%2,164Ventura5,23176.00%1,30518.96%1812.63%1662.41%00.00%3,92657.04%6,883Yolo3,37561.95%1,78732.80%1332.44%1532.81%00.00%1,58829.15%5,448Yuba2,01270.70%69624.46%822.88%561.97%00.00%1,31646.24%2,846Total 624,99266.20%229,19124.28%64,0766.79%25,2042.67%5870.06%395,80141.93%944,050 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican 20em Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa El Dorado Fresno Glenn Imperial Inyo Kern Kings Lake Lassen Madera Mariposa Merced Modoc Mono Monterey Nevada Placer Plumas Sacramento San Benito San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Santa Cruz Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Yolo Yuba Analysis In September, several opinion polls were conducted, all predicting that Harding would carry California, which had been extremely close in the two preceding elections, by over one hundred thousand votes.'Predict Republican Victory in California: Senator Harding Pleases Delegation; Majority of 100,000 Forecast'; Los Angeles Times, September 16, 1920, p. 12 By the end of October, although no more opinion polls had been published, most observers were even more convinced that the Republicans would take complete control of all branches of government.'Republicans Going to Win: Prospects of a Complete Victory'; The Observer, October 31, 1920, p. 13 On election day, Warren Harding carried California by a margin much larger than early polls predicted, winning with 66.20 percent of the vote to James Cox's 24.28 percent. Harding became the first of only two presidential nominees to sweep all of California's counties; the only other one was Franklin D. Roosevelt, the losing 1920 vice-presidential candidate, sixteen years later. Harding's 66.20 percent of the vote was the largest fraction for any presidential candidate in California until Roosevelt won with 66.95 percent in 1936, though his 41.92-percentage-point margin of victory is the largest for any candidate in the state. This was the first time Colusa County, the one of only two counties in the Pacific States to support Democratic nominee Alton B. Parker in 1904, ever voted Republican. The other such county, Mariposa County, backed a Republican for the first time since 1872.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 153-155 0786422173 Plumas County would never vote Republican again until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and Amador, El Dorado and Placer Counties would not vote Republican again until Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Notes References 2 Presidential election in California California 1920