1928 United States presidential election in New York

none June 2025 September 2023 1928 United States presidential election 1928 United States presidential election in New York New York Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg presidential no 1924 United States presidential election in New York 1924 1932 United States presidential election in New York 1932 68.3%Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072. 12.0 pp November 6, 1928 x200px Herbert Hoover - NARA - 532049.jpg Herbert Hoover Republican Party (United States) California Charles Curtis 45 2,193,344 49.79% Unsuccessful 1928.jpg Al Smith Democratic Party (United States) New York Joseph T. Robinson 0 2,089,863 47.44% 400px 440px County results Hoover #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) The 1928 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 6, 1928. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1928 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. New York was won by Republican former Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover of California, who was running against Democratic Governor of New York Alfred E. Smith. Hoover's running mate was Senate Majority Leader Charles Curtis of Kansas, while Smith's running mate was Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson of Arkansas. Hoover won with a plurality of 49.79 percent of the vote to Smith's 47.44 percent, a margin of 2.35 points. Socialist candidate Norman Thomas finished a distant third, with 2.44 percent. Although New York was Al Smith's home state and he had been elected governor there, the 1920s were a fiercely Republican decade in American politics, and New York during the Fourth Party System was a fiercely Republican state in presidential elections. In 1928, Herbert Hoover won the third consecutive nationwide Republican landslide, and the economic boom and social good feelings of the Roaring Twenties under popular Republican leadership proved too much for Smith to overcome both nationally and in his home state. However, Smith's performance in New York was still impressive in the context of the 1920s, and highly significant in shaping the state's political development. In the elections preceding 1928, New York had been more Republican than the nation as a whole, even in the nationwide Republican landslides of 1920 and 1924. Smith's narrow 2-point defeat in the midst of the nationwide Republican landslide of 1928 made New York State 15% more Democratic than the national average. Smith's 47.44 percent was also the highest vote share a Democratic presidential candidate had received in New York State since former New York Governor Grover Cleveland won the state in 1892, as Woodrow Wilson only won the state with 41% in 1912 when the Republican vote was split. Smith dramatically improved upon how Democrats before him had done and laid the groundwork for turning the state Democratic in 1932 and beyond. In 1920 and 1924, Republicans had swept every county in New York State and Democrats had received less than 30% of the vote. In 1928, Smith came within 2 points of winning the state by sweeping all five boroughs of heavily populated New York City, winning Albany County, home to the state capital of Albany, along with neighboring Rensselaer County, and winning two counties in northern New York along the Saint Lawrence River, Clinton County and Franklin County. Results 1928 United States presidential election in New Yorkhttp://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1928&fips=36&f=1 2013-07-27 1928 Presidential Election Results – New York Dave Leip's U.S. Election AtlasPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Herbert Hoover 2,193,344 49.79% 45 Democratic Alfred E. Smith 2,089,863 47.44% 0 Socialist Norman Thomas 107,332 2.44% 0 Communist William Z. Foster 10,876 0.25% 0 Socialist Labor Verne L. Reynolds 4,211 0.10% 0 Totals 4,405,626 100.0% 45 New York City results thumb|Results in New York City by assembly district. The colors are the same as above with the following additions:#f2b3be Hoover 40–50%#E27F90 Hoover 50–60%#B9D7FF Smith 40–50%#86B6F2 Smith 50–60%#4389E3 Smith 60–70%#1c4786 Smith 70–80%#112c55 Smith 80–90% 1928 Presidential Election in New York CityManhattanThe BronxBrooklynQueens Staten IslandTotal DemocraticAl Smith317,227232,766404,393184,64028,9451,167,97160.04%60.82%67.67%59.48%53.43%53.37% RepublicanHerbert Hoover186,39698,636245,622158,50524,995714,15436.71%35.74%28.68%36.13%45.87%46.09% SocialistNorman Thomas15,0768,90424,8881,88625251,0062.62%2.89%2.59%3.66%0.55%0.46% CommunistWilliam Z. Foster2,1453,2973,362396329,2320.47%0.41%0.96%0.49%0.11%0.06% Socialist LaborVerne L. Reynolds7143441,572129102,7690.14%0.14%0.15%0.23%0.04%0.02%TOTAL521,558343,947679,837345,55654,2341,945,132100.00% Results by county County Herbert HooverRepublican Al Smith Democratic Normal M. ThomasSocialist Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votescastNew York State Department of State, ‘Presidential Vote, New York State By Counties, November 6, 1928,’ Manual for the Use of the Legislature of the State of New York, 1929 (Albany, 1929) # % # % # % # % # % Albany 48,76242.99%62,38054.99%2,2231.96%720.06% -13,618 -12.00%113,437 Allegany 15,30678.90%3,49118.00%5883.03%140.07%11,81560.91%19,399 Bronx 98,63628.68%232,76667.67%8,9042.59%3,6411.06% -134,130 -39.00%343,947 Broome 39,86065.25%19,56332.02%1,5522.54%1170.19%20,29733.22%61,092 Cattaraugus 22,13567.07%10,22931.00%6021.82%350.11%11,90636.08%33,001 Cayuga 20,20262.11%11,78736.24%5121.57%240.07%8,41525.87%32,525 Chautauqua 38,22072.68%13,22325.15%1,0021.91%1390.26%24,99747.54%52,584 Chemung 25,02967.00%12,18932.63%1090.29%270.07%12,84034.37%37,354 Chenango 13,95577.21%3,98622.05%1220.68%100.06%9,96955.16%18,073 Clinton 7,82441.68%10,88858.00%570.30%20.01% -3,064 -16.32%18,771 Columbia 14,00067.92%6,40331.06%1860.90%230.11%7,59736.86%20,612 Cortland 11,96075.37%3,66223.08%2341.47%130.08%8,29852.29%15,869 Delaware 16,22578.59%4,36221.13%460.22%120.06%11,86357.46%20,645 Dutchess 28,68761.30%16,74835.79%1,3002.78%660.14%11,93925.51%46,801 Erie 144,72651.36%126,44944.87%10,1183.59%4960.18%18,2776.49%281,789 Essex 10,46266.34%5,29133.55%170.11%00.00%5,17132.79%15,770 Franklin 9,49549.86%9,50149.89%470.25%20.01% -6 -0.03%19,045 Fulton 15,04371.16%5,72827.10%3341.58%340.16%9,31544.07%21,139 Genesee 13,25169.03%5,18126.99%7393.85%240.13%8,07042.04%19,195 Greene 9,52966.71%4,44031.08%3082.16%80.06%5,08935.62%14,285 Hamilton 1,39959.51%95240.49%00.00%00.00%44719.01%2,351 Herkimer 18,62462.69%10,65435.86%4121.39%190.06%7,97026.83%29,709 Jefferson 26,36166.41%12,90832.52%4021.01%240.06%13,45333.89%39,695 Kings 245,62236.13%404,39359.48%24,8883.66%4,9340.73% -158,771 -23.35%679,837 Lewis 7,17563.25%4,16136.68%40.04%40.04%3,01426.57%11,344 Livingston 11,63264.05%5,54530.53%9685.33%150.08%6,08733.52%18,160 Madison 14,33372.20%5,21726.28%2801.41%210.11%9,11645.92%19,851 Monroe 99,80355.73%73,75941.19%5,1802.89%3360.19%26,04414.54%179,078 Montgomery 15,25760.28%9,84538.90%1780.70%290.11%5,41221.38%25,309 Nassau 71,01562.77%40,07935.42%1,9011.68%1450.13%30,93627.34%113,140 New York 186,39635.74%317,22760.82%15,0762.89%2,8590.55% -130,831 -25.08%521,558 Niagara 33,22963.35%16,88132.18%2,3024.39%410.08%16,34831.17%52,453 Oneida 44,78252.82%38,23145.09%1,6841.99%890.10%6,5517.73%84,786 Onondaga 76,27857.04%54,70640.91%2,5591.91%1730.13%21,57216.13%133,716 Ontario 17,76965.27%8,49131.19%9553.51%100.04%9,27834.08%27,225 Orange 37,33464.10%19,04732.70%1,8173.12%420.07%18,28731.40%58,240 Orleans 9,82868.77%3,79226.53%6524.56%200.14%6,03642.23%14,292 Oswego 21,84964.39%11,63934.30%4181.23%240.07%10,21030.09%33,930 Otsego 18,28674.32%6,00624.41%2981.21%160.07%12,28049.91%24,606 Putnam 4,53464.95%2,27832.63%1612.31%80.11%2,25632.32%6,981 Queens 158,50545.87%184,64053.43%1,8860.55%5250.15% -26,135 -7.56%345,556 Rensselaer 32,37048.90%33,09450.00%6380.96%890.13% -724 -1.09%66,191 Richmond 24,99546.09%28,94553.37%2520.46%420.08% -3,950 -7.28%54,234 Rockland 15,73260.34%9,76937.47%5131.97%580.22%5,96322.87%26,072 Saratoga 19,18359.60%12,24738.05%7222.24%350.11%6,93621.55%32,187 Schenectady 29,42856.58%21,27740.91%1,1832.27%1210.23%8,15115.67%52,009 Schoharie 6,90667.65%2,92628.66%3573.50%200.20%3,98038.99%10,209 Schuyler 4,74972.10%1,73126.28%1031.56%40.06%3,01845.82%6,587 Seneca 7,91166.27%3,87332.44%1471.23%70.06%4,03833.82%11,938 St. Lawrence 25,80466.23%12,56732.26%5621.44%270.07%13,23733.98%38,960 Steuben 28,02869.26%10,69926.44%1,6944.19%450.11%17,32942.82%40,466 Suffolk 41,19965.07%19,49730.79%2,5444.02%750.12%21,70234.28%63,315 Sullivan 10,33161.27%6,20736.81%2841.68%390.23%4,12424.46%16,861 Tioga 9,96376.89%2,77921.45%1981.53%180.14%7,18455.44%12,958 Tompkins 14,47172.84%5,11425.74%2441.23%370.19%9,35747.10%19,866 Ulster 25,41862.46%14,20034.89%1,0242.52%530.13%11,21827.57%40,695 Warren 11,69763.16%6,79336.68%290.16%00.00%4,90426.48%18,519 Washington 15,49966.91%7,22131.17%4281.85%150.06%8,27835.74%23,163 Wayne 18,18775.29%5,33822.10%6032.50%270.11%12,84953.19%24,155 Westchester 109,93956.22%80,92641.39%4,4082.25%2710.14%29,01314.84%195,544 Wyoming 10,83071.48%3,99226.35%3262.15%40.03%6,83845.13%15,152 Yates 7,38678.62%1,95020.76%520.55%70.07%5,43657.86%9,395Totals2,193,34449.79%2,089,86347.44%107,3322.44%15,0870.34%103,4812.35%4,405,626 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Albany Bronx Clinton Franklin Kings New York Queens Rensselaer Richmond Analysis Key to Smith's strength in New York State was his sweep of the five massively populated boroughs of New York City. A New York City native, Smith took over 60% of the vote in Manhattan and the Bronx, and also won majorities in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Up to this point, 1928 was the strongest victory ever for a Democrat in the city. Smith, a Roman Catholic of Irish, Italian, and German immigrant heritage, held special appeal to Catholic and ethnic immigrant communities that populated cities like New York and Boston. The first Catholic to be nominated on a major-party ticket, Smith's Catholicism would severely weaken his candidacy in many rural parts of the country, especially in the South,Gould, Lewis L.; The Republicans: A History of the Grand Old Party, p. 180 0199936625 but would prove an asset in appealing to voters in New York.Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 14, 40-41 9780691163246 The urban, ethnic coalition that delivered New York City to Al Smith would prove to be a harbinger of long-term realignment of both the city and the state toward the Democratic Party. 1928 began a Democratic winning streak in New York City that has never been broken since, as New York City would be solidified as one of the most Democratic cities in the United States,Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 and a major obstacle to overcome for any Republican seeking to compete in New York State. 1928 also turned the state capital of Albany, which had previously been a Republican city, into a Democratic bastion in upstate New York. This was the first time Democrats swept all five boroughs of New York City, which would also occur in 1932 and 1936. Albany and Rensselaer counties voted Democratic for the first time since 1892, Clinton County since 1864, and Franklin County since 1856. Hoover, for his part, was able to hold on to New York State's electoral votes in 1928 by sweeping much of traditionally staunchly Republican upstate New York and Long Island, where efforts from Hoover's future successor Franklin D. Roosevelt could not swing dry, Protestant Yankee voters to Smith.McElvaine, Robert S.; Encyclopedia of the Great Depression: A-K, pp. 229, 276 9780028656878 In addition, the turnout and vote number margins were not yet there in New York City in 1928 to overcome Republican dominance in the rest of the state. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt would build on Smith's coalition to flip New York State into the Democratic column, winning the state with virtually the same county map as Smith, but with stronger vote number margins and turnout. After 1928, New York State would not vote Republican again until 1948. See also United States presidential elections in New York Presidency of Herbert Hoover References expanded New York 1928 Category:1928 New York (state) elections