1920 United States presidential election

Election of Warren G. Harding related races 1920 United States elections January 2026 November 2013 1920 United States presidential election United States 1912 presidential no 1916 United States presidential election 1916 November 2, 1920 1924 United States presidential election 1924 531 members of the Electoral College 266 electoral 49.2%https://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present United States Election Project CQ Press 12.6 pp x200px File:Warren G Harding portrait as senator June 1920.jpg Warren G. Harding Republican Party (United States) Ohio Calvin Coolidge 404 37 16,166,126 60.3% File:James M. Cox 1920 (cropped2).jpg James M. Cox Democratic Party (United States) Ohio Franklin D. Roosevelt 127 11 9,140,256 34.1% 350px Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Harding/Coolidge, blue denotes those won by Cox/Roosevelt. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. President Woodrow Wilson Democratic Party (United States) Warren G Harding Republican Party (United States) thumb|200x200px|Woodrow Wilson, the incumbent president in 1920, whose second term expired on March 4, 1921 Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 1920. The Republican ticket of senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio and governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts defeated the Democratic ticket of governor James M. Cox of Ohio and assistant secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York. It was the first election held after the end of the First World War, and the first election after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment gave nationwide suffrage to women. thumb|270x270px|Women cast votes in Cincinnati in the first presidential election after the Nineteenth Amendment extended suffrage to womenNov 02, 1920, page 1 - The Cincinnati Post at Newspapers.com™ https://www.newspapers.com/image/761809820/?match=1 2026-04-23 Newspapers.com en-US Incumbent President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat who had served since 1913, privately hoped for a third term despite severe physical and mental disabilities from a stroke, but he had very little support. Former president Theodore Roosevelt had been the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, but he died in 1919 without leaving an obvious heir to his progressive legacy. The major parties turned to little-known dark horse candidates from the state of Ohio, a populous swing state with many electoral votes. Cox won on the 44th ballot at the 1920 Democratic National Convention, defeating William Gibbs McAdoo (Wilson's son-in-law), A. Mitchell Palmer, and several other candidates. Harding emerged as a compromise candidate between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican party, and he clinched his nomination on the tenth ballot at the 1920 Republican National Convention. The election was dominated by the American social and political environment in the aftermath of World War I, which was marked by a hostile response to certain aspects of Wilson's foreign policy and a massive reaction against the reformist zeal of the Progressive Era. The wartime economic boom had collapsed and the country was deep in a recession. Wilson's advocacy for America's entry into the League of Nations, in the face of a return to non-interventionist opinion, challenged his effectiveness as president, and there were wars and revolutions overseas. At home, the year 1919 was marked by major strikes in the meatpacking and steel industries and large-scale race riots in Chicago and other cities. Additionally, the September 16, 1920, Wall Street bombing aroused fears of radicals and terrorists. The Irish Catholic and German communities were outraged at Wilson's perceived support of their traditional enemy, Great Britain. Harding all but ignored Cox in the race, and essentially campaigned against Wilson by calling for a "return to normalcy". Harding won a landslide victory, sweeping every state outside of the South and becoming the first Republican since the end of Reconstruction to win a former state of the Confederacy: Tennessee. Harding's victory margin of 26.2 percent in the popular vote remains the largest popular-vote percentage margin ever since widespread popular elections began in the 1820s.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?type=national&year=2020&f=0&off=0&elect=0 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Compare DataSubsequent winning candidates in 1936, 1964, and 1972 exceeded his share of the popular vote. Cox won just 34.1 percent of the popular vote, and Socialist Eugene V. Debs won 3.4 percent, despite being in prison at the time. It was the first election in which women had the right to vote in all 48 states, which caused the total popular vote to increase dramatically, from 18.5 million in 1916 to 26.8 million in 1920.Leip David Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ Uselectionatlas.org 2016-08-18 It was the third presidential election in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state (the others have been in 1860, 1904, 1940, 1944, and 2016). Coincidentally, the election was held on Harding's 55th birthday. Both major-party vice-presidential nominees would later succeed to the presidency: Calvin Coolidge (Republican) upon Harding's death in 1923 and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) after defeating Republican president Herbert Hoover in 1932. In contrast, the incumbent vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, entered his name for the Democratic nomination in this election but ultimately did not receive it, making this election the last time where the incumbent vice president ran for his party's nomination for president and lost. Nominations Republican Party nomination 1920 Republican National Convention Endorsements in the 1920 Republican Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)1920 Republican Party ticket white Warren G. Harding white Calvin Coolidgefor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px United States Senator from Ohio(1915–1921) 48thGovernor of Massachusetts(1919–1921)ID Instructed Delegates: 39 votesStatus Of Republican Delegates https://www.newspapers.com/image/687478475 November 17, 2022 The Chicago Tribune May 23, 1920HCV Highest Convention Vote: 692.2 votes144,762 votes Other candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by their highest vote count on the nominating ballotsLeonard WoodFrank Orren LowdenHiram JohnsonWilliam Cameron SproulNicholas Murray ButlerCalvin Coolidgecenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxChief of Staff of the Armyfrom New Hampshire(1910–1914)Governorof Illinois(1917–1921)U.S. Senatorfrom California(1917–1945)Governorof Pennsylvania(1919–1923)Columbia University Presidentfrom New York(1902–1945)Governorof Massachusetts(1919–1921)ID Instructed Delegates: 145 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 314.5 votes710,863 votesID Instructed Delegates: 78 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 311.5 votes389,127 votesID Instructed Delegates: 110 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 148 votes965,651 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 84 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 69.5 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 34 votes0 votesRobert M. La FolletteJeter PritchardMiles PoindexterHoward SutherlandHerbert Hoovercenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxU.S. Senatorfrom Wisconsin(1906–1925)Court of Appeals Judgefrom North Carolina(1904–1921)U.S. Senatorfrom Washington(1911–1923)U.S. Senatorfrom West Virginia(1917–1923)Director of the U.S. Food Administrationfrom California(1917–1918)ID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesNFN Not Formally NominatedHCV Highest Convention Vote: 24 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 17 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 21 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 14 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 20 votes3,806 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 17 votes33,849 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 10.5 votes303,815 votes Following the return of former president Theodore Roosevelt to the Republican Party after the previous election, speculation quickly grew as to whether he would make another run for the presidency. Roosevelt's health declined seriously in 1918, however, and he died on January 6, 1919. Attention then turned to the party's unsuccessful 1916 candidate, Charles Evans Hughes, who had run Wilson close that year, but Hughes remained aloof as to the prospect of another run, and ultimately ruled himself out following the death of his daughter early in 1920. On June 8, the Republican National Convention met in Chicago. The race was wide open, and soon the convention deadlocked between Major General Leonard Wood and Governor Frank Orren Lowden of Illinois. Other names placed in nomination included Senators Warren G. Harding from Ohio, Hiram Johnson from California, and Miles Poindexter from Washington, Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts, philanthropist Herbert Hoover from California, and Columbia University President Nicholas M. Butler. Senator Robert M. La Follette from Wisconsin was not formally placed in nomination, but received the votes of his state delegation nonetheless. Harding was nominated for president on the tenth ballot, after some delegates shifted their allegiances. The results of the ten ballots were as follows: Presidential Balloting, Republican National Convention 1920 Ballot1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 10 Before shifts 10 After shifts Warren G. Harding 65.5 59.0 58.5 61.5 78.0 89.0 105.0 133.0 374.5 644.7 692.2 Leonard Wood 287.5 289.5 303.0 314.5 299.0 311.5 312.0 299.0 249.0 181.5 156.0 Frank Orren Lowden 211.5 259.5 282.5 289.0 303.0 311.5 311.5 307.0 121.5 28.0 11.0 Hiram Johnson 133.5 146.0 148.0 140.5 133.5 110.0 99.5 87.0 82.0 80.8 80.8 William Cameron Sproul 84.0 78.5 79.5 79.5 82.5 77.0 76.0 76.0 78.0 0 0 Nicholas Murray Butler69.5 41.0 25.0 20.04.0 4.02.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Calvin Coolidge34.0 32.0 27.0 25.0 29.0 28.028.0 30.0 28.0 5.0 5.0 Robert M. La Follette24.0 24.0 24.0 22.024.0 24.024.024.024.0 24.0 24.0 Jeter Connelly Pritchard 21.010.0 0 0 0 000 0 0 0 Miles Poindexter 20.0 15.015.0 15.0 15.015.015.0 15.0 14.0 2.0 0 Howard Sutherland 17.0 15.0 9.03.0 1.00 0 0 0 0 0 Herbert Hoover 5.5 5.55.5 5.0 6.05.04.0 5.0 6.0 10.5 9.5 Scattering 11.0 9.07.0 9.0 9.09.06.0 6.0 5.0 5.5 3.5 Harding's nomination, said to have been secured in negotiations among party bosses in a "smoke-filled room," was engineered by Harry M. Daugherty, Harding's political manager, who became United States Attorney General after his election. Before the convention, Daugherty was quoted as saying, "I don't expect Senator Harding to be nominated on the first, second, or third ballots, but I think we can afford to take chances that about 11 minutes after two, Friday morning of the convention, when 15 or 12 weary men are sitting around a table, someone will say: 'Who will we nominate?' At that decisive time, the friends of Harding will suggest him and we can well afford to abide by the result." Daugherty's prediction described essentially what occurred, but historians Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris argue that Daugherty's prediction has been given too much weight in narratives of the convention. Once the presidential nomination was finally settled, the party bosses and Sen. Harding recommended Wisconsin Sen. Irvine Lenroot to the delegates for the second spot, but the delegates revolted and nominated Coolidge, who was very popular over his handling of the Boston police strike from the year before. The tally: Vice Presidential Balloting,Republican Nat'l Convention 1920Calvin Coolidge 674.5Irvine Lenroot 146.5Henry Justin Allen 68.5Henry W. Anderson 28Asle Gronna 24Hiram Johnson 22.5Jeter Connelly Pritchard 11 Abstaining 9 Source for convention coverage: Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1973), pp. 200–208. Democratic Party nomination 1920 Democratic National Convention Endorsements in the 1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)1920 Democratic Party ticket white James M. Cox white Franklin D. Rooseveltfor Presidentfor Vice President center|197x197px center|200x200px 46th & 48thGovernor of Ohio(1913–1915 & 1917–1921) Assistant Secretary of the Navy(1913–1920)ID Instructed Delegates: 74 votesDemocratic Convention Situation https://www.newspapers.com/image/687478475 November 17, 2022 The Chicago Tribune May 23, 1920HCV Highest Convention Vote: 699.5 votes86,194 votes Other candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by their highest vote count on the nominating ballotsWilliam Gibbs McAdooMitchell PalmerAl SmithJohn W. DavisEdward EdwardsRobert Latham Owencenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxU.S. Secretary of the Treasuryfrom California(1913–1918)U.S. Attorney Generalfrom Pennsylvania(1919–1921)Governorof New York(1919–1920)Ambassador to Britainfrom West Virginia(1918–1921)Governorof New Jersey(1920–1923)U.S. Senatorfrom Oklahoma(1907–1925)ID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 467 votes74,987 votesID Instructed Delegates: 104 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 267 votes140,010 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 109 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 71.5 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 28 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 42 votes28,470 votesID Instructed Delegates: 20 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 41 votes0 votesThomas MarshallEdwin T. MeredithCarter GlassHomer CummingsFurnifold SimmonsJames Gerardcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxU.S. Vice Presidentfrom Indiana(1913–1921)U.S. Secretary of Agriculturefrom Iowa(1920–1921)U.S. Senatorfrom Virginia(1920–1946)Chair of the DNCfrom Connecticut(1919–1920)U.S. Senatorfrom North Carolina(1901–1931)Ambassador to Germanyfrom New York(1913–1917)ID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesNFN Not Formally NominatedHCV Highest Convention Vote: 37 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 28 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 24 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 27 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 27 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 25 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 10 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 21 votes4,706 votesJohn Sharp WilliamsGilbert HitchcockFrancis Harrisoncenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxU.S. Senatorfrom Mississippi(1911–1923)U.S. Senatorfrom Nebraska(1911–1923)Philippine Governor-Generalfrom New York(1913–1921)ID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesNFN Not Formally NominatedHCV Highest Convention Vote: 20 votes0 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 18 votes37,452 votesID Instructed Delegates: 0 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 6 votes0 votes thumb|A ticket purchased by a guest of the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. It was widely accepted prior to the election that President Woodrow Wilson would not run for a third term, and certainly would not be nominated if he did so. While Vice President Thomas R. Marshall long had desired to succeed Wilson, his indecisive handling of the situation around Wilson's illness and incapacity destroyed any credibility he had as a candidate, and in the end he did not formally put himself forward for the nomination. Although William Gibbs McAdoo (Wilson's son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary) was the strongest candidate, Wilson blocked his nomination in hopes a deadlocked convention would demand that he run for a third term, even though he was seriously ill, physically immobile, and in seclusion at the time. The Democrats, meeting in San Francisco between June 28 and July 6 (the first time a major party held its nominating convention in an urban center on the Pacific coast), nominated another newspaper editor from Ohio, Governor James M. Cox, as their presidential candidate, and 38-year-old Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, a fifth cousin and nephew by marriage of the late president Theodore Roosevelt, for vice-president. Early favorites for the nomination had included McAdoo and Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer. Others placed in nomination included New York governor Al Smith, United Kingdom ambassador John W. Davis, New Jersey governor Edward I. Edwards, and Oklahoma senator Robert Latham Owen. (The party would nominate Davis and Smith, in that order, as its next two presidential candidates.) (23–44)Presidential Ballot23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44thJames M. Cox 425429424424.5423.5423404.5400.5391.5391380.5379.5376.5377386383.5468.5490497.5540.5568699.5William Gibbs McAdoo 364.5364.5364.5371371.5368.5394.5403.5415.5421421420.5409399405405.5440467460427412270A. Mitchell Palmer181.5177169167166.5165.5166165174176180184222241202.5211741912871John W. Davis 50.554.558.555.560.562.5635857.555.5565433 2850.55071.57655.549.557.552Robert L. Owen 343334 3334 35.533333434 34 3738.53633333233353434 34Carter Glass 252525 25 25 24 24 24 12.59.5137.5 5 41 1 0 024245.51.5Homer Cummings 554 3 344 4 3 3 3 33 3 3 4 2 2 2 3 2 0Champ Clark 2 2 2 3 22 22 2 2 2.5 2.52 22 3 2 2 2 2 2 0Annette Abbott Adams 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Eugene C. Bonniwell0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0William Jennings Bryan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Laura Clay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Irvin S. Cobb 1.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Bainbridge Colby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1Josephus Daniels 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Walker Hines 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Andrieus A. Jones 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Ring Lardner 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0James H. Lewis 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Thomas R. Marshall 000 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0John J. Pershing 001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Joseph T. Robinson 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Cora Wilson Stewart 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Oscar Underwood 0 1 9 9 46 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other candidates Socialist Party 1920 Convention of the Socialist Party of America 70px|center|link=Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party of America1920 Socialist Party ticket white Eugene V. Debs white Seymour Stedmanfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px Indiana state representative(1885–1887) Illinois state representative(1913–1915) thumb|right|Socialist Party campaign poster featuring Eugene V. Debs in his prison uniform Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs was incarcerated at the Atlanta federal penitentiary at the time for advocating non-compliance with the draft during World War I. He received the largest number of popular votes ever received by a Socialist Party candidate in the United States, although not the largest percentage of the popular vote. Debs received double this percentage in 1912.http://www.presidentelect.org/e1912.html 1912 President Elect 2016-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20081230191250/http://presidentelect.org/e1912.html December 30, 2008 dead mdy-all The 1920 election was Debs's fifth and last attempt to become president. In 1919, members of the Socialist Party who had come from Russian language federation of the party and other more radical groups within the party started to create their own papers and membership dues and cards. These members supported a platform that was similar to the Communist International and elected twelve of their members to the fifteen-member National Executive Committee. However, there was accusations of election irregularities and an Emergency Convention held on August 30, 1919, suspended seven of the party's twelve language federations and expelled the party affiliates in Michigan, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The more radical members of the party held a convention in New York City in June 1919, which was attended by 94 delegates from twenty states. A vote to create a new party was defeated by a vote of 55 to 38, causing 31 delegates to withdraw from the convention. These 31 delegates held their own convention in Chicago on September 1, where they founded the Communist Party USA.Haynes Fred 1924 Social Politics in the United States The Riverside Press Cambridge The Communist Party USA attempted to give its presidential nomination to Debs, but he declined the nomination. The Socialist Party held its 1919 convention in Chicago with 140 delegates in attendance. Twenty-six delegates, who were members of the party's left wing, left the convention. These delegates attempted to unite with the Communist Party USA, but formed the Communist Labor Party of America on September 2, after those attempts failed. The Socialist Party had 100,000 members before the splits, but it fell to 55,000 members while the Communist Party had 35,000 members and the Communist Labor Party had 10,000 members. The Communist Party claimed to have 60,000 members while the Communist Labor Party claimed to have 30,000 members. The United Communist Party was formed in May 1920 between the Communist Labor Party and some members of the Communist Party. The United Communist Party and the Communist Party united in December 1921 to form the Workers Party of America. Edward Henry, who was a friend of Debs, Lena Morrow Lewis, and Oscar Ameringer, nominated Debs for the party's nomination on May 13, 1920, and the 134 delegates to the national convention voted unanimously to give him the nomination. Kate Richards O'Hare, who was also in prison, was considered for the vice-presidential nomination, but Seymour Stedman was selected by a vote of 106 to 26, which was later made unanimous, to have one of the candidates campaign. James H. Maurer was also considered for the vice-presidential nomination, but he declined due to his duties as head of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor. Debs accepted the presidential nomination in an Atlanta prison on May 29, after being notified by Seymour, James Oneal, and Julius Gerber.Morgan H. Wayne 1962 Eugene V. Debs: Socialist for President Syracuse University Press1920 8 A Political Guide for the Workers Socialist Party of AmericaLaidler Henry W. Harry W. Laidler June 1, 1920 The Socialist Convention. The Socialist ReviewColeman McAlister McAlister Coleman 1930 Eugene V. Debs: A Man Unafraid Greenberg Publisher During the campaign the Socialists had four airplanes drop socialist literature over Toledo, Ohio. The wife of Charles Edward Russell claimed that the ghost of Susan B. Anthony told her to vote for Debs. Over 60,000 people donated to the Socialist Party's campaign fund. Gerber predicted that Debs would receive three million votes and that five Socialists would be elected to Congress. Debs received 913,693 votes with his largest amount of support coming from New York. His vote total was over 50 percent more than what Allan L. Benson had received in the 1916 election. Debs later chose to not run for president in the 1924 election and instead supported Robert M. La Follette.Ray P. Orman 1924 An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics Charles Scribner's Sons Presidential Ballot Eugene V. Debs 132 Farmer-Labor Party 1920 Farmer–Labor National Convention 1920 Farmer-Labor Party ticket white Parley P. Christensen white Max S. Hayesfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px State Representativefrom Utah(1915–1917) Editor of the Cleveland Citizenfrom Ohio Other candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by their highest vote count on the nominating ballotsDudley Field MaloneEugene V. DebsHenry FordLynn Fraziercenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxCollector of thePort of New Yorkfrom New York(1913–1913)State Representativefrom Indiana(1885–1887)President of theFord Motor Companyfrom Michigan(1906–1919)Governorof North Dakota(1917–1921)HCV Highest Convention Vote: 174.6 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 68 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 12.3 votesDN Declined NominationHCV Highest Convention Vote: 9 votesHerbert S. BigelowLouis F. PostJane AddamsRobert M. La Follettecenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxClergymanfrom OhioAsst U. S. Secretary of Laborfrom New York(1913–1921)Co-founder of Hull Housefrom IllinoisU.S. Senatorfrom Wisconsin(1906–1925)HCV Highest Convention Vote: 7 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 1.7 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 0 votesDN Declined Nomination Prohibition Party 1920 Prohibition National Convention 71x71px 1920 Prohibition Party ticket white Aaron S. Watkins white D. Leigh Colvinfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px Professor and Methodist Ministerfrom Ohio American politicianfrom New YorkCampaign Other candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by their highest vote count on the nominating ballotsRobert H. PattonDaniel A. PolingCharles Hiram RandallWilliam Jennings Bryancenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxProhibition Party Convention Chair(1916)Itinerant Ministerfrom PennsylvaniaCongressmanfrom California(1915–1921)U.S. Secretary of Statefrom Nebraska(1913–1915)HCV Highest Convention Vote: 85 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 28 votesHCV Highest Convention Vote: 9 votesDN Declined Nomination Meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska, there was some question whether the Prohibition Party would field an independent ticket as opposed to endorsing either Harding or Cox, but this was predicated on either making a clear statement that they would not move to weaken the Eighteenth Amendment; neither chose to make any such commitment.Want to nominate Prohibition Ticket https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/19/102875575.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20221028181614/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/19/102875575.pdf 2022-10-28 live The New York Times July 19, 1920 Lincoln, Nebraska The ticket favored by most present was that of William Jennings Bryan for president and William "Billy" Sunday for vice president, and indeed when a motion was made to nominate Bryan by acclamation, of the more than two hundred present it was only opposed by six.Drys in Stampede Nominate Bryan; Vote him, willing or not, their Party Standard Bearer in Coming Campaign. - Woman Chairman Leads – Delegates, Impatient at Talk of Refusal, Parade and Should for Convention Nominee https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/22/103200656.html?pageNumber=4 subscription The New York Times July 22, 1920 Upon hearing of his nomination, however, Bryan declined the gesture, not wishing to remain singularly focused on the prohibition question or to sever his ties with the Democratic Party entirely.Bryan rejects 'dry' nominate; Wires from Montana when he returns from fishing trip and hears of it. Will remain in his party although not sure how he will vote – Drys name Ohioan for President subscription https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/23/103463511.html?pageNumber=1 The New York Times July 23, 1920 Some had considered Billy Sunday a possible substitute but Sunday was "satisfied" with Republican nominee Warren Harding, while others thought about potentially nominating Henry Ford as their standard-bearer. With the nomination thrown wide open, the party ultimately opted to nominate keynote speaker and Methodist minister Aaron Watkins of Ohio, over other candidates such as 1916 Convention Chair Robert Patton of Illinois, itinerant minister Daniel Poling of Pennsylvania, and Congressman Charles Randall of California. Historian David Leigh Colvin of New York was nominated for the vice presidency. Presidential Balloting Vice-Presidential Balloting Ballot1 2 Ballot 1 Aaron S. Watkins 85.0 108.0 D. Leigh Colvin 108.0 Robert H. Patton 85.0 74.0 Herman P. Faris 47.0 Daniel A. Poling 28.0 24.0 Frank S. Regan 15.0 Charles H. Randall 9.0 2.0 James H. Woertendyke 12.0 American Party James E. Ferguson, a former governor of Texas, announced his candidacy on April 21, 1920, in Temple, Texas, under the badge of "American Party".Havel, James T.; The Elections, 1789–1992, p. 106 0028646231 Ferguson was opposed to Democrats whom he saw as too controlled by elite academic interests as seen when Woodrow Wilson endorsed rival Thomas H. Ball in the gubernatorial primary, and hoped to help the Republicans carry Texas for the first time (Texas never went Republican during Reconstruction).Richardson, Darcy G.; Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s, p. 76-79 0595481264 Initially Ferguson and running mate William J. Hough hoped to carry their campaign to other states,Richardson; Others, p. 81 but Ferguson was unable to get on the ballot anywhere outside of Texas. Ferguson did manage to gain almost 10 percent of the vote in Texas, and won eleven counties in the southeast of the state.Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920–1964 pp. 426-430, 456 0405077114 General election Return to normalcy Return to normalcy thumb|Warren G. Harding, Toledo, Ohio (approximately 1920) Warren Harding spoke of "return to normalcy", playing upon the weariness of the American public after the social upheaval of the Progressive Era, World War I, and the Spanish flu. Additionally, the international responsibilities engendered by the Allied victory in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles proved deeply unpopular, causing a reaction against Wilson, who had pushed especially hard for the latter. Harding also delivered his speech "Americanism" during the campaign, a rebuke to the foreign policy of being too involved in Europe, he said "It is time to idealize, but it's very practical to make sure our own house is in perfect order before we attempt the miracle of Old World stabilization. Call it selfishness of nationality if you will, I think it an inspiration to patriotic devotion-- to safeguard America first, to stabilize America first, to prosper America first, to think of America first, to exalt America first, to live for and revere America first."2016-10-20 January 20, 1920: Americanism Miller Center https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-20-1920-americanism 2026-10-09 millercenter.org en Ethnic issues Irish Race Conventions Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial left|thumb|Poster for the 1920 Democratic presidential ticket Irish Americans were powerful in the Democratic party, and groups such as Clan na Gael opposed going to war alongside their enemy Britain, especially after the violent suppression of the Easter Rising of 1916. Wilson won them over in 1917 by promising to ask Britain to give Ireland its independence. Wilson had won the presidential election of 1916 with strong support from German Americans and Irish Americans, largely because of his slogan "He kept us out of war" and the longstanding American policy of isolationism. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, however, he reneged on his commitments to the Irish-American community, who vehemently denounced him. His dilemma was that Britain was his war ally. Events such as the anti-British Black Tom and Kingsland explosions in 1916 on American soil (in part the result of wartime Irish and German co-ordination) and the Irish anti-conscription crisis of 1918 were all embarrassing to recall in 1920.https://archive.org/details/enemywithininsid00landrich The enemy within; the inside story of German sabotage in America : Landau, Henry, b. 1892 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive Archive.org 2016-08-18http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/ASEN/ConferencePapers/Plowman%20ASEN%20Paper%202009.pdf https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/ASEN/ConferencePapers/Plowman%20ASEN%20Paper%202009.pdf 2022-10-09 live Essay by M. Plowman (2009) on the complexities of the "Indo-Irish-German" conspiracy in the USA during the war Lse.ac.uk 2016-08-18May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes Britain had already passed an Irish Home Rule Act in 1914, suspended for the war's duration. However the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin had led to increased support for the more radical Sinn Féin who in 1919 formed Dáil Éireann and made the Declaration of Independence, sparking the Irish War of Independence. Britain would pass the Government of Ireland Act 1920, by which Ireland would have two home-ruled states within the British empire. This satisfied Wilson. The provisions of these were inadequate to the supporters of the Irish Republic, however, which claimed full sovereignty. This position was also supported by many Irish Americans. The American Committee for Relief in Ireland was set up in 1920 to assist victims of the Irish War of Independence of 1919–21. Some Irish-American senators joined the "irreconcilables" who blocked the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and United States membership in the League of Nations. Wilson blamed the Irish Americans and German Americans for the lack of popular support for his unsuccessful campaign to have the United States join the League of Nations, saying, "There is an organized propaganda against the League of Nations and against the treaty proceeding from exactly the same sources that the organized propaganda proceeded from which threatened this country here and there with disloyalty, and I want to say—I cannot say too often—any man who carries a hyphen about with him [i.e., a hyphenated American] carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready."Woodrow Wilson: "Final Address in Support of the League of Nations" delivered 25 Sept 1919 in Pueblo, CO https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wilsonleagueofnations.htm American Rhetoric 2025-01-21 Of the $5,500,000 raised by supporters of the Irish Republic in the United States in 1919–20, the Dublin parliament (Dáil Éireann) voted in June 1920 to spend $500,000 on the American presidential election.http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1920062900018 Dáil Éireann – 29/Jun/1920 MINISTERIAL MOTIONS. - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN U.S.A Oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie 2015-02-24 2016-08-18 How this money was spent remains unclear. Ironically, the lawyer who had advised the fundraisers was Franklin D. RooseveltNovember 2020, the losing vice-presidential candidate. In any case, the Irish American city machines sat on their hands during the election, allowing the Republicans to roll up unprecedented landslides in every major city.November 2020 Many German-American Democrats voted Republican or stayed home, giving the GOP landslides in the rural Midwest. Campaign thumb|left|Roosevelt and Cox at a campaign appearance in Washington, D.C. Wilson had hoped for a "solemn referendum" on the League of Nations, but did not get one. Harding waffled on the League, thereby keeping Idaho senator William Borah and other Republican "irreconcilables" in line. Cox also hedged. He went to the White House to seek Wilson's blessing and apparently endorsed the League, but—upon discovering its unpopularity among Democrats—revised his position to one that would accept the League only with reservations, particularly on Article Ten, which would require the United States to participate in any war declared by the League (thus taking the same standpoint as Republican Senate leader Henry Cabot Lodge). As reporter Brand Whitlock observed, the League was a much more important issue in government circles than to the electorate. He also noted that the campaign was not waged on issues: "The people, indeed, do not know what ideas Harding or Cox represents; neither do Harding or Cox. Great is democracy."Sinclair, p. 168 False rumors circulated that Senator Harding had "Negro blood," but this did not greatly hurt Harding's election campaign. Governor Cox made a whirlwind campaign that took him to rallies, train station speeches, and formal addresses, reaching audiences totaling perhaps two million, whereas Senator Harding relied upon a "Front Porch Campaign" like that of William McKinley in 1896. It brought thousands of voters to Marion, Ohio, where Harding spoke from his home. GOP campaign manager Will Hays spent some $8.1 million, nearly four times the money Cox's campaign spent. Hays used national advertising in a major way (with advice from adman Albert Lasker). The theme was Harding's own slogan "America First". Thus the Republican advertisement in Collier's for October 30, 1920, demanded, "Let's be done with wiggle and wobble." The image presented in the ads was nationalistic, using catch phrases like "absolute control of the United States by the United States," "Independence means independence, now as in 1776," "This country will remain American. Its next President will remain in our own country," and "We decided long ago that we objected to foreign government of our people."Sinclair, p. 162 Harding's landslide came from all directions except the South. Irish- and German-American voters who had backed Wilson and peace in 1916 now voted against Wilson and Versailles. "A vote for Harding", said the German-language press, "is a vote against the persecutions suffered by German-Americans during the war". No major German-language newspaper supported Governor Cox.Sinclair, p. 163 Many Irish Americans, bitterly angry at Wilson's refusal to help Ireland at Versailles, simply abstained from voting in the presidential election. This allowed the Republicans to mobilize the ethnic vote, and Harding swept the big cities. thumb|Clifford Berryman's cartoon depiction of Eugene V. Debs' campaign from prison. This was the first election in which women from every state were allowed to vote, following the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in August 1920 (just in time for the general election). Tennessee's vote for Warren G. Harding marked the first time since the end of Reconstruction that even one of the eleven states of the former Confederacy had voted for a Republican presidential candidate. The last Republican to claim Tennessee had been Ulysses S. Grant in 1868. Despite the magnitude of Cox's defeat, his running mate Franklin D. Roosevelt became a well-known political figure because of his active and energetic campaign (despite suffering an illness in August 1921 that left him paralyzed from the waist down). In 1928, he was elected Governor of New York, and in 1932 he was elected president. He remained in power until his death in 1945 as the longest-serving American president in history. Results right|thumb|400px|Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage for the winning candidate. Shades of red are for Harding (Republican), shades of blue are for Cox (Democratic), shades of green are for Ferguson (American), grey indicates zero recorded votes and white indicates territories not elevated to statehood.https://books.google.com/books?id=9WaaAAAAIAAJ The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932 – Google Books Stanford University Press August 12, 2014 1934 978-0-8047-1696-3 The total vote for 1920 was roughly 26,750,000, an increase of eight million from 1916.The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, p. 19 Harding won in all twelve cities with populations above 500,000. Harding won a net vote total of 1,540,000 from the twelve largest cities, the most for any Republican and fifth highest for any candidate from 1920 to 1948.Murphy Paul 1974 Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present G. P. Putnam's Sons The Democratic vote was almost exactly the vote from 1916, but the Republican vote nearly doubled, as did the "other" vote. As noted earlier, the great increase in the total number of votes is mainly attributable to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. However, Georgia and Mississippi refused to let any women vote in this election, claiming that the amendment's August ratification had given women insufficient time to complete their voter registration.Hasday Jill We The Men: How Forgetting Women's Struggles for Equality Perpetuates Inequality Oxford University Press 2025 9780197800805 176–177 thumb|"Both Parties Claim Victory on Election Eve" The Atlanta Journal, November 1, 1920 The Republican ticket carried nearly two-thirds of the counties (1,949). Democrats carried only 1,101 counties, fewer than Alton Parker had carried in 1904 and consequently the fewest during the Fourth Party System until that point (Al Smith would carry even fewer in 1928). Harding carried every county in the Pacific section, where Wilson had carried 76 in 1916. In the Mountain section Cox carried only thirteen counties, seven of them in New Mexico bordering Texas, whereas Wilson carried all but twenty-one Mountain Section counties in 1916. At least one county was lost in every section in the Union and in every state except South Carolina and Mississippi. Eleven counties in Texas recorded a plurality for Ferguson. With the tipping point state of Rhode Island being decided by a 31.2 percent margin, the 1920 election has the largest margin of victory in the tipping point state in American history. Wilson had won the support of Americans of German, Italian, Irish, or Jewish descent in the 1916 election, but Cox lost in all of those demographics and received less support from Jewish voters than Debs. Harding received support from over 90 percent of black voters. The distribution of the county vote accurately represents the overwhelming character of the majority vote. Harding received 60.35 percent of the total vote, the largest percentage in the Fourth Party System, exceeding Franklin D. Roosevelt's in 1932. Although the Democratic share was 34.13 percent, in no section did its voting share sink below 24 percent, and in three sections, the Democrats topped the poll. The Democratic Party was still a significant opposition on national terms, even though Cox won only eleven states and had fewer votes in the Electoral College than Parker had won in 1904. More than two-thirds of the Cox vote was in states carried by Harding. The distribution of the vote by counties, and the study of percentages in sections, states, and counties, seem to show that it was Wilson and foreign policies that received the brunt of attack, not the Democratic Party and the domestic proposals of the period 1896–1914.The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, pg. 21 This is one of three elections since the Civil War (along with those of 1924 and 1996) in which national voter turnout was below 50 percent. This was also the third presidential election in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state; the others have been in 1860, 1904, 1940, 1944, and 2016. The eleven states of the former Confederacy provided 5.83% of Harding's votes, with him taking 35.09% of the vote in that region.Sherman 1973 263 File:United States Electoral College 1920.svg Warren G. Harding Republican Ohio 16,166,126 60.35% 404 Calvin Coolidge Massachusetts James M. Cox Democratic Ohio 9,140,256 34.12% 127 Franklin D. Roosevelt New York Eugene V. Debs Socialist Indiana 914,191 3.41% 0 Seymour Stedman Illinois Parley P. Christensen Farmer-Labor Illinois 265,395 0.99% 0 Max S. Hayes Ohio Aaron S. Watkins Prohibition Indiana 188,709 0.70% 0 D. Leigh Colvin New York James E. Ferguson American Texas 47,968 0.18% 0 William J. Hough New York William Wesley Cox Socialist Labor Missouri 31,084 0.12% 0 August Gillhaus New York Robert Colvin Macauley Single Tax Pennsylvania 5,750 0.02% 0 Richard C. Barnum Ohio 28,746 0.11% 26,788,225 531 266 Source (Popular Vote): 1920 June 10, 2023 Source (Electoral Vote): 1920 July 31, 2005 Popular vote 600px 410px Harding Republican Party (US) 60.3 Cox Democratic Party (US) 34.1 Debs brown 3.41 Christensen #0BDA51 0.99 Others #777777 1.13 Electoral vote 600px 410px Harding Republican Party (US) 76.08 Cox Democratic Party (US) 23.92 For the 1916 election, only a single radio station, 2XG, an experimental station operated by the De Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company in New York City, made an audio broadcast of the election returns."American's Returns Sent 200 Miles by Wireless Telephone", New York American, November 8, 1916, page 6. For 1920, this increased to at least four stations, including the Detroit News "Detroit News Radiophone" station,"Screen, Radio Give Returns", Detroit News, November 3, 1920, pages 1–2. 8MK (later WWJ); a temporary arrangement made by the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch in conjunction with William E. Woods of the Benwoods Company,"Wireless Phone Relays Returns of Post-Dispatch", Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, November 3, 1920, page 3. and the Buffalo Evening News, over an amateur station operated by Charles C. Klinck, Jr."'News' Wireless Service on Election Wins Praise", Buffalo Evening News, November 4, 1920, page 2. However, the most prominent station was the debut of Westinghouse's ambitious commercial broadcast service, as announcers at 8ZZ (later KDKA) in East Pittsburgh read telegraph ticker results as they came in. Later station publicity proclaimed that this broadcast "was a national sensation, acclaimed by newspapers all over the country"."It Started Hear", KDKA promotional pamphlet, 1970, page 1. However a comprehensive review of contemporary newspapers determined that reports, although positive, actually appeared only in a few local papers, thus it "was not an immediate 'sensation' and that the fame of this event developed over time with later celebratory accounts"."Battle of the Brains: Election Night Forecasting at the Dawn of the Computer Age" (dissertation) by Ira Chinoy, 2010, page 141. Geography of results 650px|thumb|left Cartographic gallery Results by state Source:https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1920&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0 1920 Presidential General Election Data – National Uselectionatlas.org March 18, 2013 States/districts won by Cox/RooseveltStates/districts won by Harding/Coolidge Warren G. HardingRepublican James CoxDemocratic Eugene DebsSocialist Parley ChristensenFarmer-Labor Aaron WatkinsProhibition James FergusonAmerican William CoxSocialist Labor Margin MarginSwingPercentage point difference in margin of Democratic and Republican candidates from the 1916 election State Total State electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % % # Alabama 12 74,556 31.37 - 159,965 67.31 12 2,369 1.00 - - - - 748 0.31 - - - - - - - -85,409 -35.94 29.54 237,638 AL Arizona 3 37,016 55.61 3 29,546 44.39 - 222 0.33 - 15 0.02 - 4 0.01 - - - - - - - 7,470 11.22 33.02 66,562 AZ Arkansas 9 71,117 38.73 - 107,409 58.49 9 5,111 2.78 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -36,292 -19.76 19.73 183,637 AR California 13 624,992 66.20 13 229,191 24.28 - 64,076 6.79 - - - - 25,204 2.67 - - - - - - - 395,801 41.93 42.31 944,050 CA Colorado 6 173,248 59.32 6 104,936 35.93 - 8,046 2.75 - 3,016 1.03 - 2,807 0.96 - - - - - - - 68,312 23.39 53.38 292,053 CO Connecticut 7 229,238 62.72 7 120,721 33.03 - 10,350 2.83 - 1,947 0.53 - 1,771 0.48 - - - - 1,491 0.41 - 108,517 29.69 26.54 365,518 CT Delaware 3 52,858 55.71 3 39,911 42.07 - 988 1.04 - 93 0.10 - 986 1.04 - - - - - - - 12,947 13.65 11.22 94,875 DE Florida 6 44,853 30.79 - 90,515 62.13 6 5,189 3.56 - - - - 5,124 3.52 - - - - - - - -45,662 -31.34 19.90 145,681 FL Georgia 14 41,089 27.72 - 107,162 72.28 14 465 0.31 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -66,073 -44.57 28.05 148,251 GA Idaho 4 88,975 65.60 4 46,579 34.34 - 38 0.03 - - - - 32 0.02 - - - - - - - 42,396 31.26 42.17 135,624 ID Illinois 29 1,420,480 67.81 29 534,395 25.51 - 74,747 3.57 - 49,630 2.37 - 11,216 0.54 - - - - 3,471 0.17 - 886,085 42.30 33.06 2,094,714 IL Indiana 15 696,370 55.14 15 511,364 40.49 - 24,703 1.96 - 16,499 1.31 - 13,462 1.07 - - - - - - - 185,006 14.65 13.68 1,262,964 IN Iowa 13 634,674 70.91 13 227,921 25.46 - 16,981 1.90 - 10,321 1.15 - 4,197 0.47 - - - - 982 0.11 - 406,753 45.44 34.10 895,082 IA Kansas 10 369,268 64.75 10 185,464 32.52 - 15,511 2.72 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 183,804 32.23 38.09 570,318 KS Kentucky 13 452,480 49.25 - 456,497 49.69 13 6,409 0.70 - - - - 3,322 0.36 - - - - - - - -4,017 -0.44 4.97 918,708 KY Louisiana 10 38,538 30.49 - 87,519 69.24 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -48,981 -38.75 40.28 126,396 LA Maine 6 136,355 68.92 6 58,961 29.80 - 2,214 1.12 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 77,394 39.12 35.10 197,840 ME Maryland 8 236,117 55.11 8 180,626 42.16 - 8,876 2.07 - 1,645 0.38 - - - - - - - 1,178 0.27 - 55,491 12.95 20.97 428,443 MD Massachusetts 18 681,153 68.55 18 276,691 27.84 - 32,267 3.25 - - - - - - - - - - 3,583 0.36 - 404,462 40.70 36.77 993,718 MA Michigan 15 762,865 72.76 15 233,450 22.27 - 28,947 2.76 - 10,480 1.00 - 9,646 0.92 - - - - 2,539 0.24 - 529,415 50.50 42.46 1,048,411 MI Minnesota 12 519,421 70.59 12 142,994 19.43 - 56,106 7.62 - - - - 11,489 1.56 - - - - 5,828 0.79 - 376,427 51.16 51.06 735,838 MN Mississippi 10 11,576 14.03 - 69,277 83.98 10 1,639 1.99 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -57,701 -69.95 17.92 82,492 MS Missouri 18 727,162 54.56 18 574,799 43.13 - 20,242 1.52 - 3,291 0.25 - 5,142 0.39 - - - - 2,164 0.16 - 152,363 11.43 15.08 1,332,800 MO Montana 4 109,430 61.13 4 57,372 32.05 - - - - 12,204 6.82 - - - - - - - - - - 52,058 29.08 48.37 179,006 MT Nebraska 8 247,498 64.66 8 119,608 31.25 - 9,600 2.51 - - - - 5,947 1.55 - - - - - - - 127,890 33.41 47.70 382,743 NE Nevada 3 15,479 56.92 3 9,851 36.22 - 1,864 6.85 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5,628 20.70 37.66 27,194 NV New Hampshire 4 95,196 59.84 4 62,662 39.39 - 1,234 0.78 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32,534 20.45 20.51 159,092 NH New Jersey 14 611,541 67.65 14 256,887 28.42 - 27,141 3.00 - 2,200 0.24 - 4,734 0.52 - - - - 923 0.10 - 354,654 39.23 27.51 903,943 NJ New Mexico 3 57,634 54.68 3 46,668 44.27 - - - - 1,104 1.05 - - - - - - - - - - 10,966 10.40 14.18 105,406 NM New York 45 1,871,167 64.56 45 781,238 26.95 - 203,201 7.01 - 18,413 0.64 - 19,653 0.68 - - - - 4,841 0.17 - 1,089,929 37.60 30.58 2,898,513 NY North Carolina 12 232,848 43.22 - 305,447 56.70 12 446 0.08 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -72,599 -13.48 2.92 538,741 NC North Dakota 5 160,072 77.79 5 37,422 18.19 - 8,282 4.02 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 122,650 59.60 61.10 205,776 ND Ohio 24 1,182,022 58.47 24 780,037 38.58 - 57,147 2.83 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 401,985 19.88 27.55 2,021,653 OH Oklahoma 10 243,831 50.11 10 217,053 44.61 - 25,726 5.29 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26,778 5.50 22.90 486,610 OK Oregon 5 143,592 60.20 5 80,019 33.55 - 9,801 4.11 - - - - 3,595 1.51 - - - - 1,515 0.64 - 63,573 26.65 24.08 238,522 OR Pennsylvania 38 1,218,216 65.76 38 503,843 27.20 - 70,571 3.81 - 15,704 0.85 - 42,696 2.30 - - - - 753 0.04 - 714,373 38.56 24.52 1,852,616 PA Rhode Island 5 107,463 63.97 5 55,062 32.78 - 4,351 2.59 - - - - 510 0.30 - - - - 495 0.29 - 52,401 31.19 26.11 167,981 RI South Carolina 9 2,610 3.91 - 64,170 96.05 9 28 0.04 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -61,560 -92.14 2.15 66,808 SC South Dakota 5 110,692 60.74 5 35,938 19.72 - - - - 34,707 19.04 - 900 0.49 - - - - - - - 74,754 41.02 37.12 182,237 SD Tennessee 12 219,829 51.29 12 206,558 48.19 - 2,239 0.52 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13,271 3.10 16.71 428,626 TN Texas 20 114,538 23.54 - 288,767 59.34 20 8,121 1.67 - - - - - - - 47,968 9.86 - - - - -174,229 -35.80 23.67 486,641 TX Utah 4 81,555 55.93 4 56,639 38.84 - 3,159 2.17 - 4,475 3.07 - - - - - - - - - - 24,916 17.09 38.05 145,828 UT Vermont 4 68,212 75.82 4 20,919 23.25 - - - - - - - 774 0.86 - - - - - - - 47,293 52.57 25.36 89,961 VT Virginia 12 87,456 37.85 - 141,670 61.32 12 807 0.35 - 243 0.11 - 857 0.37 - - - - - - - -54,214 -23.47 11.25 231,033 VA Washington 7 223,137 55.96 7 84,298 21.14 - 8,913 2.24 - 77,246 19.37 - 3,800 0.95 - - - - 1,321 0.33 - 138,839 34.82 39.06 398,715 WA West Virginia 8 282,007 55.30 8 220,789 43.30 - 5,618 1.10 - - - - 1,528 0.30 - - - - - - - 61,218 12.00 11.07 509,942 WV Wisconsin 13 498,576 71.10 13 113,422 16.17 - 80,635 11.50 - - - - 8,647 1.23 - - - - - - - 385,154 54.92 48.63 701,280 WI Wyoming 3 35,091 64.15 3 17,429 31.86 - - - - 2,180 3.99 - - - - - - - - - - 17,662 32.29 45.16 54,700 WY TOTALS: 531 16,144,093 60.32 404 9,139,661 34.15 127 913,693 3.41 - 265,398 0.99 - 188,787 0.71 - 47,968 0.18 - 31,084 0.12 - 7,004,432 26.17 29.29 26,765,180 US States that flipped from Democratic to Republican Arizona California Colorado Idaho Kansas Maryland Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Tennessee Utah Washington Wyoming Close states Margin of victory less than 1% (13 electoral votes): Kentucky, 0.44% (4,017 votes) Margin of victory less than 5% (12 electoral votes): Tennessee, 3.10% (13,271 votes) Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (10 electoral votes): Oklahoma, 5.50% (26,778 votes) Tipping point state: Rhode Island, 31.19% (52,401 votes) Statistics Counties with Highest Percentage of the Vote (Republican) McIntosh County, North Dakota 95.76% Leslie County, Kentucky 94.22% Sevier County, Tennessee 93.60% Sheridan County, North Dakota 92.98% Billings County, North Dakota 92.81% Counties with Highest Percentage of the Vote (Democratic) Chester County, South Carolina 100.00% Edgefield County, South Carolina 100.00% Clarendon County, South Carolina 100.00% Bamberg County, South Carolina 100.00% Hampton County, South Carolina 100.00% Counties with Highest Percentage of the Vote (American) Austin County, Texas 61.72% Fort Bend County, Texas 59.35% Lavaca County, Texas 57.76% Fayette County, Texas 55.12% Washington County, Texas 54.04% Notes See also History of the United States (1918–1945) History of the United States Democratic Party History of the United States Republican Party Inauguration of Warren G. Harding 1920 United States House of Representatives elections 1920 United States Senate elections References 30em Works cited Sherman Richard The Republican Party and Black America From McKinley to Hoover 1896-1933 University of Virginia Press 1973 0813904676 Further reading 1920 United States elections#Further reading The Road to Normalcy: The Presidential Campaign and Election of 1920 https://archive.org/details/roadtonormalcypr0000bagb registration Bagby Wesley M. 1962 Johns Hopkins Press Baltimore Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush Boller Paul F. Jr. 2004 Oxford University Press New York 0-19-516716-3 212–217 Brake, Robert J. "The porch and the stump: Campaign strategies in the 1920 presidential election." Quarterly Journal of Speech 55.3 (1969): 256–267. Burchell, R. A. "Did the Irish and German Voters Desert the Democrats in 1920? A Tentative Statistical Answer" Journal of American Studies 5#2 (1972) pp. 153–164 online Daniel, Douglass K. "Ohio Newspapers and the 'Whispering Campaign' of the 1920 Presidential Election." Journalism History 27.4 (2002): 156–164. Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations Cooper John Milton John M. Cooper (historian) 2001 Cambridge University Press New York 0-521-80786-7 https://archive.org/details/breakingheartofw00coop Duff John B. John B. Duff 1970 German-Americans and the Peace, 1918–1920 American Jewish Historical Quarterly 59 4 424–459 0002-9068 Duff John B. 1968 The Versailles Treaty and the Irish-Americans The Journal of American History 55 3 582–598 0021-8723 10.2307/1891015 Organization of American Historians 1891015 The Election of 1920 History of American Presidential Elections McCoy Donald R. Arthur M. Jr. Schlesinger Fred L. Israel https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica02schl 1971 Chelsea House New York 0-07-079786-2 Selling the President, 1920: Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding Morello John A. 2001 Praeger Westport, CT 0-275-97030-2 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents Pietrusza David David Pietrusza 2007 Carroll & Graf New York 978-0-7867-1622-7 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780786716227 Frederick, Richard G. "The Front Porch Campaign and the Election of Harding." In A Companion to Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover (2014): 94–111. The Available Man: The Life behind the Masks of Warren Gamaliel Harding https://archive.org/details/availablemanli00sinc registration Sinclair Andrew 1965 Macmillan New York Walters, Ryan S. The Jazz Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding (2022) excerpt also online review Primary sources http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfexpe.html The Presidential Election of 1920 American Leaders Speak: Recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election Library of Congress November 16, 2002 Chester, Edward W A guide to political platforms (1977) online Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840–1964 (1965) online 1840–1956 Eugene V. Debs, A Word to the Workers! New York: New York Call, n.d. [1920]. —Socialist campaign leaflet. External links Presidential Election of 1920: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress 1920 popular vote by counties 1920 Election Links https://web.archive.org/web/20181211090705/http://www.davidpietrusza.com/1920-links.html December 11, 2018 Category:Presidency of Warren G. Harding Category:Warren G. Harding Category:Calvin Coolidge Presidential election