1928 United States presidential election in Indiana

none June 2025 September 2023 1928 United States presidential election in Indiana Indiana presidential no 1924 United States presidential election in Indiana 1924 1932 United States presidential election in Indiana 1932 November 6, 1928 74.9%Madison 1986 330 4.2 pp 200x200px Herbert Hoover - NARA - 532049.jpg Herbert Hoover Republican Party (United States) California Charles Curtis 15 848,290 59.68% Unsuccessful 1928.jpg Al Smith Democratic Party (United States) New York Joseph T. Robinson 0 562,691 39.59% 1928 United States presidential election in Indiana results map by county.svg 180px County results Hoover #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% Smith #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% President Calvin Coolidge Republican Party (United States) Herbert Hoover Republican Party (United States) A presidential election was held in Indiana on November 6, 1928, as part of the 1928 United States presidential election. The Republican ticket of the U.S. secretary of commerce Herbert Hoover and the senior U.S. senator from Kansas Charles Curtis defeated the Democratic ticket of the governor of New York Al Smith and the senior U.S. senator from Arkansas Joseph T. Robinson. Hoover defeated Smith in the national election with 444 electoral votes.Petersen 1963 89 Indiana was seen as critical to Smith's chances in the national election;Indicated Strength of 1928 Candidates: Smith's Chances in National Contest Compared with Coolidge and Hoover Slate of Votes Wall Street Journal May 26, 1928 however, by early July, observers predicted that the opposition of the politically powerful Indiana Ku Klux Klan and the Anti-Saloon League would make it impossible for Smith to carry the state.Henning Arthur Sears Democrats' Hopes Seen in Corn Belt and the West East: Two Battlegrounds Chosen for Inroads on States Normally Republican Washington Post July 1, 1928 no Oulahan Richard V. Republicans Turn to Fight in East; Think West Is Safe: Work's Coming Visit to This Region Stresses Belief That This Is Chief Battleground New York Times August 26, 1928 no Tucker Robert G. Indiana for Hoover Party Leaders Say: But Figures on Majority Are Being Reduced; Klan Backs G.O.P. State Fight Is in Doubt Washington Post September 16, 1928 no Tucker Robert G. Big Odds Are Faced by Smith in Indiana: Held to Have Hardest Fight of Any Democrat in Recent Years. G.O.P. Majority Claimed Washington Post September 30, 1928 no Hoover blamed Democrats and the Federal Reserve System for the interwar farm crisis in a campaign visit to Indiana in late August,Brookhart Visions Hoover Prosperity: Iowa Insurgent Asserts Republican Victory Will Solve Agricultural Problem New York Times August 27, 1928 but the Indiana Farm Bureau did not endorse either ticket.Farmers Urge Hoover to State Relief Plans: Indianans Ask for Specific Outline in Acceptance; Neither Ticket Is Endorsed New York Times July 13, 1928 Smith's Catholicism, opposition to Prohibition, and association with Tammany Hall alienated progressives who branded the candidate as a "patron of gambling and vice." Anti-Catholic dog whistles marked the Republican campaign in Indiana, leading Protestants across denominational lines to vote for Hoover. Hoover's national surrogates warned that Smith would "flood the nation with unsavory immigrants," create an epidemic of alcoholism, and open the path to state socialism.Lichtman 1979 10–12, 54, 233–35, 276 When Smith's train crossed into Indiana, he was greeted by a burning cross visible from the window of his car.Madison 2020 150 Background Partisan coalitions in Indiana at the turn of the century reflected the regional, ethnic, and religious roots of the settler population, with the descendants of White Southerners, German Americans, and Irish Americans (especially Catholics) voting reliably Democratic, while Yankees, Nordic and Scandinavian Americans, and British Americans favored the Republican Party. Southern Indiana leaned Democratic and Northern Indiana leaned Republican, in line with the loose correlation between ethnicity and geography. The state's notable concentration of German Catholics contributed to its closeness in presidential elections during the Third Party System relative to other Lower North states. William Jennings Bryan's 1896 presidential campaign saw the state move more securely into the Republican column, as German Catholics alienated by Bryan's outspoken Evangelicalism, conservatives unnerved by the candidate's agrarian radicalism, and urban workers frightened by threats of mass layoffs in the event of a Bryan victory voted Republican for the first time. Following this political realignment, Woodrow Wilson became the only Democrat to carry Indiana during the Fourth Party System (1896–1932) in 1912. Republican support remained greater in urban areas than in rural areas based on the strength of Republican urban political machines.Phillips 1969 332–36, 310, 337 Primary elections Republican Party 1928 Republican Party presidential primaries Indiana Republican primary, May 7, 1928Congressional Quarterly 1985 397 James E. Watson Republican Party (United States) 228,795 52.95 Herbert Hoover Republican Party (United States) 203,279 47.05 432,074 100.00 Democratic Party 1928 Democratic Party presidential primaries Indiana Democratic primary, May 7, 1928Congressional Quarterly 1985 397 Evans Woollen Democratic Party (United States) 146,934 100.00 146,934 100.00 General election Summary Indiana chose 15 electors on a statewide general ticket. State law required voters to elect each member of the Electoral College individually, rather than as a group.Gause Spencer 1928 53 This sometimes resulted in small differences in the number of votes cast for electors pledged to the same presidential candidate, if some voters did not vote for all the electors nominated by a party.Petersen 1963 vii The following table quotes the official returns published by the secretary of state of Indiana, which list the votes for the first elector on each ticket.Indiana 1929 35–36 1928 United States presidential election in IndianaIndiana 1929 35–36 Herbert HooverCharles Curtis Republican Party (United States) 848,290 59.68 4.43 Al SmithJoseph T. Robinson Democratic Party (United States) 562,691 39.59 0.90 William F. VarneyJames A. Edgerton Prohibition Party 5,496 0.39 0.04 Norman ThomasJames H. Maurer Socialist Party of America 3,871 0.27 0.27 Verne L. ReynoldsJeremiah D. Crowley Socialist Labor Party of America 645 0.05 0.05 William Z. FosterBenjamin Gitlow Workers Party of America 321 0.02 0.06 1,421,314 100.00 Results + 1928 United States presidential election in IndianaIndiana 1929 37 Ticket Electors for Candidate Votes Republican Arthur Binford 848,290 Republican Morris Ritchie 841,131 Republican Frank Gilkison 838,832 Republican James Boonshot 838,816 Republican Horace M. Trueblood 838,762 Republican William A. Guthrie 838,609 Republican Gail Roberts 838,384 Republican Benjamin F. Long 838,210 Republican Bert McKinney 838,145 Republican William M. Griffin 838,037 Republican G. Andrew Golden 838,029 Republican Charles W. Hanley 837,989 Republican Charles O. Roemler 837,807 Republican Harvey R. Swisher 837,565 Republican Oliver M. Kinnison 836,401 Democratic Meredith Nicholson 562,691 Democratic Robert W. Miers 561,316 Democratic George Badger 561,079 Democratic Lon E. Bernethy 560,758 Democratic Ephraim K. Strong 560,432 Democratic Leonard B. Marshall 560,362 Democratic Samuel E. Rauh 560,308 Democratic Jacob B. Cunningham 560,264 Democratic George W. Rauch 560,252 Democratic Samuel L. Trabue 560,195 Democratic Charles DeHority 560,183 Democratic James L. Romack 560,052 Democratic Michael F. Bohland 559,994 Democratic A. Clarence Thomas 559,283 Democratic Frederick Van Nuys 558,154 Prohibition Basil L. Allen 5,496 Prohibition Henry S. Bonsib 5,199 Prohibition Harlen Merrick 5,139 Prohibition John E. Thompson 5,106 Prohibition Jennie Brown 5,095 Prohibition Oliver P. Allen 5,091 Prohibition William F. Webster 5,090 Prohibition Ross S. Davis 5,080 Prohibition Stafford E. Homan 5,077 Prohibition James Robinette 5,053 Prohibition Morris Himler 5,042 Prohibition Margaretha M. Nold 5,004 Prohibition William Johnson 4,873 Prohibition William Elliot 4,867 Prohibition Samuel A. Kiger 4,863 Socialist Laura A. Allen 3,871 Socialist Ellsworth B. Mitten 3,713 Socialist William J. McMillen 3,711 Socialist Oscar Swiveley 3,708 Socialist George M. Larrair 3,705 Socialist Francisco D. Edwards 3,704 Socialist George G. Tilley 3,702 Socialist Doneto Ballerini 3,698 Socialist Silas Woods 3,691 Socialist Ingersol S. Walker 3,690 Socialist Gustav Pfoffman 3,680 Socialist Jacob E. Schrader 3,668 Socialist Forrest Wallace 3,592 Socialist Eugene Cooney 3,583 Socialist Joseph M. Arrington 3,574 Socialist Labor Alexander Burkhardt 645 Socialist Labor Roland Stevens 634 Workers Bertha Garner 321 Workers Blagoy Philips 314 Total votes ≈1,421,314 Results by county + 1928 United States presidential election in Indiana by countyIndiana 1929 34–35 County Herbert HooverRepublican Al SmithDemocratic William F. VarneyProhibition Norman ThomasSocialist Others Margin Total Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Adams 4,045 49.70% 4,066 49.96% 22 0.27% 6 0.07% 0 0.00% -21 -0.26% 8,139 Allen 34,234 56.38% 26,292 43.30% 87 0.14% 64 0.11% 43 0.07% 7,942 13.08% 60,720 Bartholomew 6,788 57.76% 4,881 41.53% 39 0.33% 40 0.34% 4 0.03% 1,907 16.23% 11,752 Benton 3,360 58.37% 2,368 41.14% 18 0.31% 7 0.12% 3 0.05% 992 17.23% 5,756 Blackford 3,882 59.35% 2,576 39.38% 31 0.47% 47 0.72% 5 0.08% 1,306 19.97% 6,541 Boone 6,556 58.81% 4,500 40.37% 73 0.65% 15 0.13% 3 0.03% 2,056 18.44% 11,147 Brown 959 48.51% 999 50.53% 13 0.66% 3 0.15% 3 0.15% -40 -2.02% 1,977 Carroll 4,780 59.54% 3,182 39.64% 64 0.80% 2 0.02% 0 0.00% 1,598 19.91% 8,028 Cass 10,522 61.31% 6,522 38.00% 68 0.40% 46 0.27% 5 0.03% 4,000 23.31% 17,163 Clark 8,056 56.39% 6,193 43.35% 28 0.20% 8 0.06% 0 0.00% 1,863 13.04% 14,285 Clay 7,103 56.19% 5,358 42.39% 60 0.47% 111 0.88% 9 0.07% 1,745 13.80% 12,641 Clinton 7,606 55.89% 5,895 43.31% 95 0.70% 13 0.10% 1 0.01% 1,711 12.57% 13,610 Crawford 2,672 57.39% 1,933 41.52% 33 0.71% 17 0.37% 1 0.02% 739 15.87% 4,656 Daviess 7,116 56.73% 5,324 42.45% 24 0.19% 74 0.59% 5 0.04% 1,792 14.29% 12,543 Dearborn 6,334 58.49% 4,459 41.18% 22 0.20% 12 0.11% 2 0.02% 1,875 17.31% 10,829 Decatur 5,400 58.40% 3,791 41.00% 36 0.39% 15 0.16% 4 0.04% 1,609 17.40% 9,246 DeKalb 7,373 64.04% 4,077 35.41% 52 0.45% 12 0.10% 0 0.00% 3,296 28.63% 11,514 Delaware 19,102 68.79% 8,532 30.72% 72 0.26% 54 0.19% 10 0.04% 10,570 38.06% 27,770 Dubois 3,301 35.18% 6,044 64.41% 15 0.16% 17 0.18% 7 0.07% -2,743 -29.23% 9,384 Elkhart 20,876 74.76% 6,900 24.71% 71 0.25% 62 0.22% 15 0.05% 13,976 50.05% 27,924 Fayette 5,874 62.63% 3,455 36.84% 29 0.31% 18 0.19% 3 0.03% 2,419 25.79% 9,379 Floyd 10,471 58.49% 7,327 40.93% 51 0.28% 42 0.23% 11 0.06% 3,144 17.56% 17,902 Fountain 4,960 55.60% 3,894 43.65% 43 0.48% 23 0.26% 1 0.01% 1,066 11.95% 8,921 Franklin 3,426 47.19% 3,817 52.58% 11 0.15% 5 0.07% 1 0.01% -391 -5.39% 7,260 Fulton 4,627 61.09% 2,881 38.04% 62 0.82% 4 0.05% 0 0.00% 1,746 23.05% 7,574 Gibson 8,137 57.07% 5,882 41.25% 123 0.86% 99 0.69% 18 0.13% 2,255 15.81% 14,259 Grant 14,659 65.98% 7,273 32.74% 123 0.55% 146 0.66% 15 0.07% 7,386 33.25% 22,216 Greene 8,262 57.81% 5,761 40.31% 70 0.49% 172 1.20% 26 0.18% 2,501 17.50% 14,291 Hamilton 7,690 67.60% 3,611 31.75% 70 0.62% 4 0.04% 0 0.00% 4,079 35.86% 11,375 Hancock 4,788 56.49% 3,626 42.78% 51 0.60% 10 0.12% 1 0.01% 1,162 13.71% 8,476 Harrison 4,440 54.43% 3,664 44.91% 39 0.48% 11 0.13% 4 0.05% 776 9.51% 8,158 Hendricks 5,954 64.79% 3,181 34.61% 40 0.44% 13 0.14% 2 0.02% 2,773 30.17% 9,190 Henry 10,502 68.53% 4,554 29.72% 224 1.46% 41 0.27% 3 0.02% 5,948 38.81% 15,324 Howard 12,632 66.89% 5,930 31.40% 205 1.09% 106 0.56% 12 0.06% 6,702 35.49% 18,885 Huntington 8,323 58.88% 5,678 40.17% 85 0.60% 42 0.30% 8 0.06% 2,645 18.71% 14,136 Jackson 5,151 49.78% 5,130 49.58% 48 0.46% 15 0.14% 3 0.03% 21 0.20% 10,347 Jasper 3,700 65.65% 1,915 33.98% 19 0.34% 1 0.02% 1 0.02% 1,785 31.67% 5,636 Jay 5,998 55.31% 4,759 43.89% 74 0.68% 9 0.08% 4 0.04% 1,239 11.43% 10,844 Jefferson 5,295 57.24% 3,906 42.22% 40 0.43% 8 0.09% 2 0.02% 1,389 15.01% 9,251 Jennings 3,705 60.76% 2,369 38.85% 20 0.33% 3 0.05% 1 0.02% 1,336 21.91% 6,098 Johnson 5,513 54.30% 4,548 44.80% 76 0.75% 14 0.14% 1 0.01% 965 9.51% 10,152 Knox 10,035 49.92% 9,837 48.93% 69 0.34% 144 0.72% 19 0.09% 198 0.98% 20,104 Kosciusko 7,973 63.18% 4,537 35.95% 82 0.65% 20 0.16% 8 0.06% 3,436 27.23% 12,620 LaGrange 3,171 64.40% 1,720 34.93% 27 0.55% 3 0.06% 3 0.06% 1,451 29.47% 4,924 Lake 48,768 59.68% 32,321 39.55% 179 0.22% 242 0.30% 209 0.26% 16,447 20.13% 81,719 LaPorte 14,763 61.32% 9,254 38.44% 25 0.10% 25 0.10% 8 0.03% 5,509 22.88% 24,075 Lawrence 9,844 68.70% 4,428 30.90% 33 0.23% 22 0.15% 2 0.01% 5,416 37.80% 14,329 Madison 23,083 64.45% 12,496 34.89% 124 0.35% 104 0.29% 7 0.02% 10,587 29.56% 35,814 Marion 109,630 59.55% 73,309 39.82% 457 0.25% 479 0.26% 225 0.12% 36,321 19.73% 184,100 Marshall 6,738 60.24% 4,377 39.13% 60 0.54% 10 0.09% 0 0.00% 2,361 21.11% 11,185 Martin 2,450 51.88% 2,245 47.54% 11 0.23% 16 0.34% 0 0.00% 205 4.34% 4,722 Miami 8,318 59.19% 5,592 39.80% 100 0.71% 36 0.26% 6 0.04% 2,726 19.40% 14,052 Monroe 8,883 67.00% 4,317 32.56% 36 0.27% 23 0.17% 0 0.00% 4,566 34.44% 13,259 Montgomery 8,863 63.69% 4,960 35.64% 72 0.52% 20 0.14% 0 0.00% 3,903 28.05% 13,915 Morgan 5,464 57.76% 3,933 41.58% 39 0.41% 21 0.22% 3 0.03% 1,531 16.18% 9,460 Newton 3,053 64.48% 1,649 34.83% 21 0.44% 10 0.21% 2 0.04% 1,404 29.65% 4,735 Noble 6,338 59.76% 4,207 39.67% 42 0.40% 17 0.16% 1 0.01% 2,131 20.09% 10,605 Ohio 1,230 57.10% 911 42.29% 12 0.56% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% 319 14.81% 2,154 Orange 5,086 61.77% 3,112 37.79% 20 0.24% 10 0.12% 6 0.07% 1,974 23.97% 8,234 Owen 3,036 55.03% 2,420 43.86% 32 0.58% 28 0.51% 1 0.02% 616 11.17% 5,517 Parke 4,729 59.25% 3,165 39.66% 39 0.49% 47 0.59% 1 0.01% 1,564 19.60% 7,981 Perry 3,772 49.89% 3,782 50.02% 2 0.03% 5 0.07% 0 0.00% -10 -0.13% 7,561 Pike 4,190 54.61% 3,409 44.43% 32 0.42% 36 0.47% 6 0.08% 781 10.18% 7,673 Porter 7,107 70.44% 2,921 28.95% 26 0.26% 32 0.32% 4 0.04% 4,186 41.49% 10,090 Posey 4,396 51.80% 4,052 47.74% 22 0.26% 14 0.16% 3 0.04% 344 4.05% 8,487 Pulaski 2,738 56.43% 2,040 42.04% 68 1.40% 6 0.12% 0 0.00% 698 14.39% 4,852 Putnam 5,351 55.72% 4,177 43.50% 24 0.25% 43 0.45% 8 0.08% 1,174 12.23% 9,603 Randolph 8,368 71.32% 3,264 27.82% 93 0.79% 7 0.06% 1 0.01% 5,104 43.50% 11,733 Ripley 5,059 53.39% 4,387 46.30% 12 0.13% 15 0.16% 3 0.03% 672 7.09% 9,476 Rush 6,640 68.38% 2,996 30.85% 68 0.70% 7 0.07% 0 0.00% 3,644 37.52% 9,711 Scott 1,719 52.68% 1,527 46.80% 15 0.46% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 192 5.88% 3,263 Shelby 7,516 56.14% 5,790 43.24% 70 0.52% 11 0.08% 2 0.01% 1,726 12.89% 13,389 Spencer 4,672 52.83% 4,152 46.95% 15 0.17% 2 0.02% 3 0.03% 520 5.88% 8,844 St. Joseph 36,844 57.56% 26,846 41.94% 169 0.26% 106 0.17% 41 0.06% 9,998 15.62% 64,006 Starke 2,759 57.32% 2,016 41.89% 12 0.25% 23 0.48% 3 0.06% 743 15.44% 4,813 Steuben 4,435 71.35% 1,730 27.83% 41 0.66% 9 0.14% 1 0.02% 2,705 43.52% 6,216 Sullivan 6,199 51.09% 5,642 46.50% 79 0.65% 184 1.52% 30 0.25% 557 4.59% 12,134 Switzerland 2,617 58.62% 1,805 40.43% 39 0.87% 3 0.07% 0 0.00% 812 18.19% 4,464 Tippecanoe 15,165 63.25% 8,720 36.37% 59 0.25% 28 0.12% 6 0.03% 6,445 26.88% 23,978 Tipton 4,774 59.30% 3,186 39.58% 74 0.92% 14 0.17% 2 0.02% 1,588 19.73% 8,050 Union 2,101 65.99% 1,069 33.57% 13 0.41% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 1,032 32.41% 3,184 Vanderburgh 29,067 59.44% 19,646 40.17% 90 0.18% 62 0.13% 40 0.08% 9,421 19.26% 48,905 Vermillion 5,192 51.41% 4,793 47.46% 31 0.31% 75 0.74% 9 0.09% 399 3.95% 10,100 Vigo 22,962 54.71% 18,509 44.10% 95 0.23% 360 0.86% 42 0.10% 4,453 10.61% 41,968 Wabash 8,537 68.25% 3,872 30.96% 68 0.54% 25 0.20% 6 0.05% 4,665 37.30% 12,508 Warren 2,644 68.57% 1,188 30.81% 12 0.31% 10 0.26% 2 0.05% 1,456 37.76% 3,856 Warrick 4,603 54.12% 3,744 44.02% 138 1.62% 15 0.18% 5 0.06% 859 10.10% 8,505 Washington 3,835 51.96% 3,518 47.66% 19 0.26% 9 0.12% 0 0.00% 317 4.29% 7,381 Wayne 15,936 67.52% 7,547 31.98% 59 0.25% 56 0.24% 3 0.01% 8,389 35.55% 23,601 Wells 4,142 48.93% 4,246 50.16% 66 0.78% 8 0.09% 3 0.04% -104 -1.23% 8,465 White 4,534 60.01% 2,980 39.44% 28 0.37% 13 0.17% 1 0.01% 1,554 20.57% 7,556 Whitley 4,519 57.43% 3,294 41.86% 51 0.65% 2 0.03% 3 0.04% 1,225 15.57% 7,869TOTAL 848,290 59.68% 562,691 39.59% 5,496 0.39% 3,871 0.27% 966 0.07% 285,599 20.09% 1,421,314 See also United States presidential elections in Indiana References Bibliography Congressional Quarterly Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections 2nd 1985 Congressional Quarterly Washington D.C. 978-0-87187-339-2 https://archive.org/details/congressionalqua0000unse Gause Fred C. Spencer William W. Election Law of Indiana with Instructions to Voters and Election Officers 1928 State Board of Election Commissioners Fort Wayne https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000047489152&seq=1 Indiana Year Book of the State of Indiana for the Year 1928 1929 Legislative Reference Bureau Indianapolis https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000029205691&seq=1 Lichtman Allan J. Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928 1979 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill https://archive.org/details/prejudiceoldpoli0000lich Madison James H. The Indiana Way: A State History 1986 Indiana University Press Bloomington https://archive.org/details/indianawaystate00madi Madison James H. The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland 2020 Indiana University Press Bloomington https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ku_Klux_Klan_in_the_Heartland/efv5DwAAQBAJ Petersen Svend A Statistical History of the American Presidential Elections 1963 Frederick Ungar Publishing Company New York 62-21786 https://archive.org/details/statisticalhisto00pete Phillips Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority 1969 Arlington House New Rochelle, NY 76-79602 https://archive.org/details/emergingrepublic00kevi expanded Indiana 1928 Category:1928 Indiana elections